TEHRAN – Less than a year ago, the political and verbal tensions between the United States and North Korea peaked. At that time, Pyongyang, with its nuclear and missile tests, made the smell of the war reach the U.S. allies in East Asia (Japan and South Korea), and it was possible at any moment that a mistake by the United States and its allies and North Korea would trigger a full-scale war on the Korean Peninsula. A war that, according to some experts, could trigger the beginning of World War III in view of a possible involvement of China and Russia.

However, most analysts were of the opinion that the probability of a war with regard to its unpredictable dimensions and the efforts of both sides to avoid it are low. Now, over a period of less than a year, Washington and Pyongyang have begun direct negotiations to normalize relations. The pace of the change in the relationship between the United States and North Korea after the visit of U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un were tremendously rapid, and in addition to the relationship between the two countries, it also influenced North Korea’s internal affairs.

For example, the North Korean leader recently visited a hydropower plant under construction in northeastern country, and unlike the past criticized local government officials for delaying its completion. And in another visit, he complains about the working conditions of the workers in a factory. The public amnesty of political prisoners in the country was one of the unexpected steps he made on June 12. There are several reasons why North Korea decided to negotiate with the United States. Economic pressure may be one of the reasons.

Since the country’s independence in 1948, North Korea’s economy has relied on aid from its allies, which has led many North Korean industries to depend on technologies from countries such as China, the Soviet Union, East Germany, Poland and Czechoslovakia. But with a change in its allies’ policies, North Korea largely lost its ability to overcome economic problems.

If the talks between North Korea, South Korea, the United States and Japan go well, it can be expected that North Korea’s economy rise rapidly.

In fact, North Korea, with its underground resources and cheap labor that is accustomed to working hard, can gradually become an emerging economy in East Asia, even without unification with its southern neighbor. It seems the North Korean leader, who have studied abroad, is trying to bring his country out of isolation through an open door policy.

This is a very difficult way for the country, but the North Korean leader’s actions show that there is no dead end in politics, and national interests can turn hostility into friendship and unity between countries and nations.