A bipartisan team, led by New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, will leave Santa Fe at 9:30 am (1530 GMT) on a four-day trip at the invitation of North Korea to oversee the recovery of remains of US soldiers killed in the Korean War, officials said.
The delegation is expected to be in Pyongyang on Sunday late in the afternoon.
The trip was announced last week, prior to a breakthrough on Friday that Washington said could allow for the transfer of 25 million dollars of allegedly illicit funds back to North Korea and subsequently advance nuclear talks.
Which is fine. I worry that John Bolton doesn't like the apparent deal. And I worry that we will face too much pressure for any deal to ensure we have a good deal. My preference is to drag out talks shy of an agreement to allow North Korea to collapse even as they retain hope they can win through negotiations. Ideally, North Korea's military continues to decline until it is too late for the Pillsbury Nuke Boy to think he can turn to the military option to preserve his regime in the face of economic collapse.
Besides, if I was determined to take down the Iranian mullah regime, I'd want the usual Complainistas to have one less argument that I was not allowing diplomacy to take place. Look, I'd say, pointing to the diplomatic track with North Korea, I am obviously willing to talk to a charter member of the Axis of Evil. I've tried with Iran. I tried letting the Europeans talk. Now it is a choice of forceful action or letting Iran get nuclear weapons. What's your choice?
Plus, dangling a deal with lots of goodies before North Korea will keep them neutral while we go after Iran. If North Korea thinks they have a way to survive will they break the apparently successful diplomatic track to support Iran by going to war? I doubt it.
So, as skeptical as I am of the agreement--though not as skeptical as many critics who call in 1994 all over again--I have some hope that this is just part of a bigger plan to take down the most urgent threat Iran.
And we can always refuse to come to that final agreement with the North Koreans if they won't play ball with us. Once North Korea is the last member of the Axis of Evil still standing, their negotiating power will decline immensely.
Just a hope based on what I might do if within my power.
