ARTICLE: Report: U.S. willing to make peace with North Korea by September, EAST-ASIA-INTEL.COM, World Tribune, May 18, 2007

OP-ED: 'Pyongyang's Perfidy,' By John R. Bolton, Wall Street Journal, May 18, 2007, Pg. 17

Like John Bolton, I remain very wary of rewarding North Korea on its nukes because no one's threatening Pyongyang (unlike Iran, where we've taken down regimes left and right) and because I don't think Kim will denuclearize in return (unlike with Israel v. Iran, there is no strategic imbalance to correct, so why would Kim give up a clear advantage?).

Iran, we have to find a place for in the future Middle East. It's a real country that's been around for centuries, not some post-WWII creation. The DPRK really has no future. They know it. We know it. Everyone knows it. All the Cold War-divided states are gone--except North Korea.

A peace treaty that lays the way for a slow economic buy-out of North Korea would be very welcome, but remembering how East Germany took detente (part of my dissertation), I just don't see Pyongyang going away quietly. It's either a bang or a rapid collapse. Either way, with this approach I fear North Korea's going to have a number of nukes that will complicate matters greatly.

Neither Clinton nor Bush will be fondly remembered at that point.

Thanks to Dan Hare for sending the World Tribune article.