Doubts abound on North Korea disarmament

Is North Korea playing ball this time?

The old saying goes: fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. What about fool me for decades time and again? What is our answer tot that statement? Well, a recent article by Lee Hamilton of the IndyStar.com brings up just that question when it comes to our new glasnost-edition of North Korea. A summary of facts from an article on North Korea’s newfound willingness to play ball follows:

• Today, without a formal end to the war, we are still confronting the security challenges that the Korean conflict spawned.
• No challenge is greater than North Korea's nuclear weapons program.
• The 6,200 tons of HFO -- courtesy of South Korea -- were the first installment of the 50,000 tons pledged in exchange for Yongbyon's deactivation.
• North Korean cooperation could lead to its removal from the list of state sponsors of terrorism.
• There are no guarantees of success, especially with a regime as odious, mercurial and intransigent as North Korea's.
• This turn of events, however, is not welcome news to everyone. Both inside and outside the administration, many have criticized President Bush's commitment to engagement, accusing him of rewarding North Korea's bad behavior.
• But this change of course is a significant improvement over that of the previous six years. Bush's new flexibility on direct engagement and aid is paying small dividends, albeit only after North Korea added two to five bombs' worth of fissile material to its stockpiles, according to International Atomic Energy Agency estimates.
• American diplomats and their partners in the Six Party talks engaged in dogged and patient diplomacy. China, North Korea's neighbor and chief patron, accepted a larger role in negotiations -- one befitting an emerging power.
• The biggest challenge will be verification, including what happens to the stockpiles of fissile materials. North Korea must come clean and give up the nuclear bomb.
• The "Hermit Kingdom" is peerless when it comes to secretive and misleading behavior, and we cannot afford to take it at its word.

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Tensions Ease, Doubts Remain
By Lee Hamilton

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Our Take

Though situations may necessitate we deal with North Korea and dangle a carrot in front of them to help make the world a safer place (after all, if we don’t who will?), we need to be ever vigilante and remember we are dealing with a crafty and conniving regime that only will act in its own calculating self-interest regardless of world opinion. North Korea cannot be trusted. If they claim to disarm, it needs verified or any efforts on their part should be considered just another empty gesture on their part.