John Bolton: North Korea Will Test Nukes Again

Wall Street Journal:

The curtain is about to rise again on the long-running nuclear tragicomedy, "North Korea Outwits the United States." Despite Kim Jong Il's explicit threats of another nuclear test, U.S. Special Envoy Stephen Bosworth said last week that the Obama administration is "relatively relaxed" and that "there is not a sense of crisis."

Read the whole story: Wall Street Journal

Comments

[RepubStalker]

I object to the North Koreans testing nuclear weapons. However, if they will agree to test them on John Bolton, I will grant a waiver.

[davidwayneosedach]

I am surprised they are not selling dirty bombs.

[kustom]

Gee my crystal ball could have told me that. Nothing new here , move along.

[joebaggadonuts]

Their last test was a failure. Their last missile test was a failure too. Maybe this time they will get something right. Then China can worry about them. Why is this our problem? They keep trying to play us for suckers, sending aid, and so on.

Here's a different way to look at this from Bolton's view.

Obama's right. Let them stew in their own juice until they make themselves sick from it. And don't send aid or journalists or anything over there that they can work against us. If SK wants to rejoin them and can find a way, let them. China and Japan can supply whatever we need by way of technology, SK's production is just surplus. It's about time Asia started taking care of itself. China wants to lead the way... let them.

[planetjeffy]

Hey John, this all happened on the Republican's watch. Their policy worked really well. Why does anyone listen (and report ) to what this nut is saying?

[arvay]

By not reacting, I suspect that Obama may be testing the theory that North Korea will soon run out of ways to "top" itself. Like a child throwing a tantrum, it may exhaust itself only to be greeted with -- nothing.

Pyongyang isn't going to attack South Korea or Japan, that would be suicide. Same for their missile which can strike Alaska. They may fire missiles, test bombs, generate plutonium and bomb materials. We seem to have a handle on intercepting their shipments to other nations.

In the end -- they are a starving nation dependent on China and food shipments for their very survival.

Comparing Iran to North Korea is absurd. Iran isn't trying to attract world attention so it can get food aid and respect with its nuclear technology. It faces a very real existential threat from the region's sole nuclear power -- Israel.

RE: Other nuclear proliferators. Pakistan seems to be doing very well in this regard, reportedly expanding its nuclear arsenal while receiving billions in US aid.

I don't think the irascible Mr. Bolton has ever clearly stated what his alternative would be. A military strike that will result in the retaliatory destruction of Seoul doesn't play out well. Blockade? An invitation to miscalculation and -- attention -- just what the little dictator wants.

I suspect we're stuck with the discomfort of letting North Korea stew in its own mess. Maybe there's an ambitious colonel there somewhere who'd like to run the country a bit differently

[johnr49]

No doubt Bolton thinks we should bomb the hell out of Pyongyang. Military aggression seems to be his answer to everything.

[jeliz]

Maybe if we had been talking to them over the last 8 years instead of treating them as inferior, like children, they wouldn't now be wanting to show us what big sticks they have. Escalation of nuclear programs in Iran and North Korea is a failure of the Bush administration and their lack of diplomacy with most all countries. Bush spoke of being friends with Israel. How is that possible when you let the largest country that threatens Israel's security go unchecked?

[Cyberoptic]

Bush did nothing about this for eight years except mumble and grumble and threaten, and boost arms sales for American "Wall Street" corporations.

If Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld could do nothing about North Korea in eight years, what do we expect now?

At least Clinton gave them some aid, and reduced the threat, and cost us less dollars as a nation.

So now we get the North Korea scare again. More arms sales, corporationalism.