North Korea’s perennial helpers, Part Two

Dr. Yearn Hong Choi, in the Washington Times, explains why the six-party talks represent the only diplomatic approach to dealing with North Korea that holds any prospect for success. He notes that a U.S. attack on North Korea seems out of the question, leaving us with no real leverage except that which we can obtain by working in tandem with China, South Korea, etc. Bilateral talks can be expected to produce only the kind of “agreed cop-out” deal negotiated by Clinton-Carter, which “helped the North Korean dictator sustain his power” without preventing him from developing nukes.
The author wonders, “how could American liberal intellectuals trust North Korea’s Kim Jong-il and distrust Mr. Bush?” Apart from this bit of naivety, the piece is worth reading.