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| North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un |
By Scott A. Synder
What implications could North Korea’s holding of three Americans have on U.S. policy?
North Korea has announced the trial next week of Matthew Miller, an American currently detained in North Korea for ripping up his tourist visa and claiming asylum. This announcement follows interviews last week on CNN that the DPRK hurriedly arranged with Miller, detained tourist Jeffrey Fowle, and convicted American Kenneth Bae, who have become three American pawns in the ongoing nuclear standoff between Washington and Pyongyang.
The interviews drew greater public attention to the plight of the three Americans, but it also has exposed a potentially dangerous miscalculation. North Korea’s apparent intention in allowing international media access to the three detained Americans is to pressure the Obama administration by politicizing the hostage cases and by linking them to other issues, including North Korea’s progress in nuclear development, in the relationship. This miscalculation may make these cases harder rather than easier to resolve, since the primary effect of such publicity is to feed American public skepticism about North Korea. Rather than enhancing perceptions of North Korea’s legitimacy, the attempted linkage undermines American public support for other forms of engagement with North Korea.
Read the full story at The Diplomat