I think the North Koreans have seriously misread the international situation. Perhaps someone can explain to me how this advances the North Korean cause. Which, I’ve heard, consists primarily of the desire for economic aid as soon as possible.
Does KJI think that GWB won’t follow through on his promise to stem the spread of WMDs? :dubious: Moreover, :eek:
What about not only China, but Japan and South Korea? Do the North Koreans want a nuclear Japan? Japan could crank out a hundred nukes within a couple years, I’d wager.
Perhaps it is time to get past the Axis of Evil speech being clumsy and imprecise, which it was. Now it might be time to consider the obvious danger being posed by North Korea, again.
Avoid a war? Stop isolating a paranoid, weak country, and start reintegrating it into the international community.
First locally, then regionally, then more globally. Slowly, steadily. Help encourage inter-Korean ties. They’ve already improved loads in recent years.
North Korea does not want to be ‘reintegrated’ into the international community.
I am curious, though. Why is this a American problem in the first place? The PRC, Japan, and South Korea should be a little more concerned then America about NK. But they seem more comfortable in foisting the problem off on America, and just yipping from the sidelines. Why is that?
How are we isolating them? President Clinton sent them a whole bunch of goodies for them to pretend like they were suspending their nuclear program. Is it Bush’s one speech? I’m not convinced that GWB made KJI into what he is at all.
Brutus, the South Koreans, Chinese and Japanese are involved. They would prefer not to upset the North Koreans. The artillery, Taepo Dongs, SCUDs, and FROGs that the North Koreans (certainly) have now threaten them, not us. Only the most modern, as yet untested, North Korean missiles threaten the US.
However, the recent talks went horribly. So horribly that North Korea mentioned exporting nuclear weapons. Talk about isolating North Korea. That ought to do it.
War is not a real option for either side. There’d be millions of casualties, even Fox news cant ignore that (well maybe). A war would be too hot for Bush and much less meatphoricaly fatal for kim jong il. Only Rumsfeld’s crazy enough to try and take a hard line on this one.
We could always give them a couple of light reactors to meet their power needs, and promise not to attack them, in exchange for their dismantling their uranium based weapons program. Of course, some find that option less palatable than war or nuclear proliferation.
Squink, that’s what my Carter joke was about. We DID give them light reactors by a deal HE brokered. Where do you think the nuclear fuel is coming from to build the nukes?
We could have built them a gas fed power plant, or hydroelectric or even one powered by the hot air from polititians.
If we feed N Korea, and they continue to build more weapons, then what we are really doing is funding their weapons program. It’s time for them to fend for themselves.
Remember, they tested a rocket by firing it OVER Japan. Can you Imagine someone testing a rocket over the US. We’d be scared to the point of poop relocation.
Magdiver, the foundation work on the promised reactors at Kumho only started in 2002, eight full years after the signing of the agreed framework. Thus we have not yet given them them the light reactors, as you claim.
I think the solution has to come from China. China is the only country that really has leverage over North Korea.
Mobilizing a division or two near the border, cutting off imports of NK good and exports of Chinese goods, and cutting off their energy. China could do that. And North Korea can’t credibly threaten China like it can South Korea or Japan.
Unfortunately, Kim Jong Il apparently feels that he has South Korea and the United States trumped with his nuclear bombs and his 12,000 artillery tubes aimed at Seoul. Hence the hard line.
He can’t make a similar threat against China. And he needs China to stay in business. So China’s the crucial factor.
But North Korea can not be allowed to export nuclear materials to rogue nations. It’s worth a war to stop that. So let’s hope we can stop it without a war.
With the Soviet Block gone, we really could care less about North Korea. The Japanese dont have to produce Nukes, we’ll give them to them. Solves both of our problems. Besides, I’d highly doubt that the United States and Japan are ever going to be out of ‘love’ with eachother. South Korea on the other hand…
If you ask me, the only thing keeping Kim from going to war with the South is our prescence, because he knows that as soon as he moves a single soldier, there will be massive retaliation. If not nuclear retaliation. All bets are off now.
I agree with Sam. If China folds, thats the end of Kim. If China keeps playing with North Korea, we should threaten revoking trade status. They need it more than we need to give it to them.
You are correct, The nuke material probably came from the old reactor rods. Guess the inspectors didn’t fulfill their job. I also thought we were buying the old rods but apparently not. They still have them.
You still want to give them 2 more plants? I realize the light water plants are less productive for weapons use, but they can still be subverted. They could just as easily burn coal, or oil for their power needs. I’m not too worried about a charcoal bomb.
How do you propose to guarantee that Men-Ta-Lee-Ill and his NK cronies won’t sell their nukes, especially since they have already stated that they WILL sell them?
I’d like to see some good faith negotiations from both sides. North Korea has no oil, and has serious problems meeting its needs with indigenous coal and hydroelectric power. It’s obvious that in the past, the US failed to use NK’s chronic power shortage to best advantage, but that’s no reason to discard a perfectly good carrot. The tactic of pressuring China, as espoused by Sam, has yet to yield much in the way of fruit for anyone. Perhaps such a breakthrough is mere months away, but if it fails, it’s not the only peaceful way to resolve our problems with Kim Jong Il.
You’re just restating the Carter doctrine. The problem is, they broke their promise not to build Nukes. That’s why we cut off their free oil shipments.
Korea has problems meeting their needs because they spend all their money on Military ventures. Not because they don’t have the resources. This is the same situation with Saddam. We just found warehouses full of medicine that never reached the people in Iraq. These are the things dictators do. They answer to nobody and act accordingly.
Carter is still trying to treat Korea like a welfare state. His philosophy is, if we just give them a little more “stuff” they’ll be happy. Read is op ed: