Yet again, there is hope that the nuclear imbroglio in the Korean peninsula might be resolved. Under the terms of a pact announced on Tuesday, North Korea will receive $ 400 million in fuel oil and assistance for disabling its nuclear facilities and allowing inspectors into the country. But for this pact to be carried through, the international community, especially the powers that have a significant stake in the stability of the region, must stay in concert, something they have had great difficulty with so far.

One of the reasons why the North Korean regime has been able to resist the international community for so long is that the significant powers in the region have worked at cross purposes, with China and South Korea on one side and Japan and the United States on the other. China saw in the North Korean nuclear capability a possible balance to Japan’s rise. South Korea, similarly, worries more about Japan than it does about a possible nuclear threat from the North. Despite the South’s long-term alliance with the US, Seoul and Washington have had noteworthy differences in their approach to the North Korean problem.

Japan and the US, the two powers that feel most threatened by North Korea’s nuclear weapons, face major problems. Japan, the former colonial power in the region, is severely inhibited by that history. Japan is essential to any deal, but Japanese leaders have had to tread cautiously to avoid charges of a return to Japanese imperialistic policies in the region.

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