When the North Korean dictator says jump (this time in the form of lobbing missiles) many Clintonites ask, "how high?" Bill Richardson, Madeleine Albright, Wendy Sherman, etc. have been all over the media pushing for direct talks with Pyongyang. They believe the U.S. can strike a deal with the North the same way the Clinton administration did in the 1990s. And we know that approach worked well.
I don't think the Joy Brigade in North Korea sucks up to the Dear Loser this much.
Good grief people, North Korea is slowly committing suicide. The North Koreans may be perplexed that we aren't rushing aid to rescue them after they rattle our cages, but let them remain confused. And let them die.
UPDATE: The US is offering unofficial one-on-one talks with North Korea within the six-party talks. I don't know if this just reflects standard practice, as I understand we've done this before. Or has the administration decided to pucker up and join the new Joy Brigade?
I don't like official one-on-one talks because North Korea likes to pretend South Korea doesn't really exist. North Korea wants to negotiate with us alone to bolster their position that this is so.
Yes, I don't mind talks with North Korea to string them along until they collapse:
Personally, I simply want the talks to drag on while North Korea implodes. Every month the talks go on, the more North Korea's military machine deteriorates. Each month, North Koreans head toward the point when fear is outweighed by desperation.
Yet the talks keep the North Koreans hoping for a respite to their woes if we hand them the big check again. This hope keeps them from launching a desperate war while they can do some damage and hopefully get a frightenend West to agree to shovel money at them. The West has capitulated before and Pyongyang expects us to break again.
So keep talking and let North Korea walk if they get upset about us bringing up other issues. Every month they have a weaker option of going to war. And if they go to war, all bets are off on regime change. Nobody's stopping at the DMZ this time if the North launches a war.
But we can't forget the purpose of talking is to let them die quietly. Don't undermine South Korea. Don't rescue North Korea by doing more than giving them enough aid to keep them hoping for the big payoff rather than starting a desperate war. And always be ready to walk away rather than agree to a bad deal just for the sake of affixing a fancy wax seal to an official document.
