Nuke Test — Sorry About This — Fallout

Not that anyone — least of all the North Koreans — should give a shit, but I’m told the world has condemned North Korea’s nuclear test.

It’s a rare, rare day when I find myself agreeing with a WaPo editorial… and yet, they’re on to something here:

It’s time, at last, to break this pattern and call Mr. Kim’s bluff. That doesn’t mean threats of U.S military action or a blanket refusal to talk with the regime; those tactics have been tried and have failed as well. Instead, Mr. Obama should simply decline to treat North Korea as a crisis, or even as a matter of urgency. The United States should press for the toughest sanctions it can extract from the Security Council and ratchet up its own measures, including a renewed squeeze on the regime’s access to the international financial system. It should seek greater support from South Korea, China and other nations to block the North’s attempts to export missiles or nuclear materials, and to help refugees fleeing the regime. It should stand ready to resume the “six-party” talks with North Korea sponsored by China and to engage in separate, low-level bilateral discussions if they offer the hope of progress.

There should, however, be no new economic favors to the North, no further political recognition, no grand visits by the secretary of state to Pyongyang. Mr. Kim, who is 67 and ailing, and who appears to be attempting to shore up his authority so as to hand it to one of his sons, should get nothing to help him with that project. Instead, to the extent possible, his regime should be undramatically but methodically strangled by sanctions — and any easing should be linked to concrete steps by the North. A starting point must be the release of two American journalists whom Mr. Kim is holding hostage and threatening to put on trial next week. “Such provocations,” Mr. Obama said of the nuclear test, “will only serve to deepen North Korea’s isolation.” U.S. policy should aim at ensuring that this prediction proves true.

This won’t make the Hankyoreh very happy, though, seeing how they’ve been bitching about Obama’s refusal to cave into North Korea “benign neglect” policy since the North Koreans started pouting and stamping their feet about it.

The Chosun Ilbo, however, is calling for South Korea to take measures into their own hands:

South Korea faces the most pressing threat due to North Korea’s nuclear weapons and ICBMs, but has its hands tied behind its back and is incapable of a substantial response due to its commitment to the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and the Missile Technology Control Regime signed with the U.S. government. North Korea claims its rationale for having nuclear weapons is to defend itself. South Korea too now requires a deterrent. If the day comes when the republic and the lives of its citizens are threatened, we must take on the problems posed by North Korea’s nuclear weapons and ICBMs by realizing that we can no longer accept the limitations of international treaties.

Yes! Yes! Yes!

South Korea’s NIS, meanwhile, is warning that North Korea may attempt to test fire an ICBM as early as today. Also rather interestingly, the head of the NIS said in a report that North Korea informed the United States and China just 20—30 minutes prior to the test that they were going to do it. The United States informed South Korea of this at the same time South Korea was reporting to the United States that it had detected seizmic activity in the North.

Politically, you could probably guess how things are shaking down. LMB and the Grand National Party are, needless to say, pissed to high hell, and announced Seoul had decided to join the PSI to prove it. The Democratic Party, meanwhile, called the nuclear test the result of LMB’s Cold War-era North Korea policies. What North Korea’s first nuclear test — conducted on late President Roh’s watch — was the result of, they did not say. Oh, and they also called LMB’s decision to join the PSI “irresponsible.”

The Grand National Party, meanwhile, said a funny — calling North Korea’s criticism of Seoul’s participation a “laughable lack of logic,” it said if North Korea were really interested in world peace and security, it could join South Korea in the PSI!

UPDATE: North Korea continues its assault on East Sea fishing stocks, test firing two more short-range missiles.

Tagged as: North Korean nukes, nuke test, PSI