North Korea, how do we avoid a war?

[Squink]

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.

As we broke our promise on the delivery of the reactors. That is not “a little more stuff,” it was the crux of the 94 accords. If the administration were willing to acknowledge this, we’d be in a position to deal directly with the North Korean’s, as opposed to sitting around engaging in namby-pamby wishful thinking about having China, South Korea, and Japan do all the dirty work for us.

[hermann]

Let’s just pull our troops out of S. Korea and let them, Japan, and China worry about it.

[RD]

The first way to ease tensions is to just talk to them.
This is how we became friends with China, after all.

[Beagle]

The latest developments with analysis from MSNBC/Slate

April 28 — Last week’s long-awaited nuclear talks between the United States and North Korea seemed, at first glance, disastrous. Over lunch on Thursday, Deputy Foreign Minister Li Gun took Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly aside and told him (according to U.S. officials) that North Korea already has some nuclear weapons and that “it’s up to you whether we do a physical demonstration or transfer them.”…

…However, developments over the weekend suggested something more subtle, and potentially hopeful, was going on. Yesterday’s Los Angeles Times reported that Kelly told Japan’s chief Cabinet secretary, Yasuo Fukuda, that the North Koreans had made a “bold, new proposal.” Kelly also told other Asian officials that the meeting left him “more optimistic” than he had been after his session in Pyongyang last October…

…One positive sign from last week’s talks is that Kim may no longer be able to play this game. His deputy foreign minister’s lunchtime message was so clumsy and blatant that even China and South Korea were horrified. Until recently, these countries’ leaders were unwilling to go along with Bush’s hardball approach to Pyongyang. Now they’re waking up and seeing it might be necessary — if indeed Bush casts it as an approach, a style of diplomacy, and not just a refusal to deal with Pyongyang at all.

[Magiver]

It is pure blackmail on their part to expect us to provide for their needs at the point of a nuclear gun. They are currently demanding that the United States “negotiate” only with them, cutting out South Korea.

I actually like the idea of snubbing them for awhile. As Beagle pointed out, they are starting to look pretty nutty. The old political adage applies, if they are willing to look stupid in public, stand aside and let them.