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Friday, June 15, 2007

Interesting Admission

The talks with North Korea continue to stall. They agreed to disarm their nuclear weapons programs. We released $25 million in frozen cash to get the process moving.

Yet North Korea took the time to complain of our developing missile shield:

"The U.S. is claiming that it is building a global missile defense system to protect against missile attacks from our nation and Iran. This is a childish pretext," the North Korean foreign ministry said in a statement carried by the country's official Korean Central News Agency.

"We cannot but further strengthen our self-defense deterrent if arms race intensifies because of the U.S. maneuvers," it said.

The U.S. and its allies have urged North Korea to act on its pledge to start dismantling its nuclear program now that the money issue had appeared resolved.


I find this a fascintating complaint. The North Koreans worry our missile defenses might work, so they may have to increase the number of missiles they have to overcome our defenses.

But didn't they agree that the stalled talks are all about getting North Korea to give up their nuclear weapons? Why should they care if we have defenses if in the end North Korea will have no nuclear missiles? Odd, no?

I continue to be fine with talks that neve end as long as we keep squeezing North Korea until the regime just dies.