North Korea as the Crazy Man with a Nuke

02-10-2016

North Korea fired something into space the other day. They said it was a satellite. Whatever it was, it has finally stopped tumbling like a boulder and stabilized in orbit but has not yet sent data back to earth, according to NASA.

It doesn’t really matter if it was a satellite or if it in fact works. With Pyongyang, the show is the thing. They know that we know that their “satellite launch” was a cover for a test of their long-range nuclear missile program, which is still relatively primitive.

But scaring the neighbors by setting off big explosions or launching junk into space is how the Kim family, North Korea's leaders, have feathered their beds. Co-dependent foreign leaders are then supposed to step forward and decide that the best way to corral this troubled child is to give North Korea a hug and "stuff."

In the 1990s, the Clinton administration agreed to give the North 500,000 metric tons of fuel oil annually, as well as tons of grain in return for a promise to "freeze" its nuclear weapons program.

North Korea took the stuff and cheated on its nuke program anyway, then sent the grain to its armed forces and allowed its civilian population to starve.

We gave North Korea more than $1.3 billion in food and energy assistance between 1995 and 2008. The gravy train stopped in early 2009. But the Obama administration has said it would consider resuming the aid if Pyongyang dismantles its nuclear program.

And that's what this theatre -- the recent nuclear-sized explosion and missile launch -- is all about. The crazy man with a nuke routine has paid dividends before and, judging from the Obama administration's many foreign policy disasters, just might work again.

Blog Keywords: 

Blog Posts: 

Hurd on the Web