Yesterday I posted about the threats North Korea was making about firing a nuclear tipped missle if the US would not sit down with them.
As Condoleeza Rice stated in her interview with Katie Couric, we tried that, North Korea lied, cheated and went ahead with nuclear plans. The we came to the six party talks, which North Korea walked away from.
QUESTION: Let's get back to North Korea if we could, Secretary Rice. What do you, the President and your entire foreign policy team have against one-on-one talks with North Korea?Text of interview with Condoleeza Rice can be found here.SECRETARY RICE: Well, I think it's a misconception that we don't talk to the North Koreans. In the context of the six-party talks, Chris Hill, our negotiator, has had discussions in effect one-on-one with the North Koreans. But it's in the context of the six-party talks because you have to ask yourself, Katie, why are the North Koreans so insistent that there be bilateral talks? It's because they don't want the pressure of having China and South Korea and Russia and Japan at the table too. They would like nothing better than to have all of the pressure be on the United States to deliver a deal, and then if something goes wrong to have others turn to the United States and say this is your problem, you fix it.
Now North Korea, like a child having a temper tantrum because he cannot get his way, issues more threats.
"If the U.S. keeps pestering us and increases pressure, we will regard it as a declaration of war and will take a series of physical corresponding measures," the statement, said without specifying what those measures could be.
We need to call on the UN to come together as an international body and impose sanctions, not just in words but in actions. The time for soft diplomacy is over. It is time to deal with this threat, one way or another.
