Redstate

By Pejman Yousefzadeh Posted in Foreign Affairs | North Korea — Comments (1) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

In response to the North Korean decision to release to the Chinese information concerning its nuclear program, the Bush Administration has taken the dramatic step of removing the designation of "state sponsor of terrorism" from North Korea and lifting American sanctions against the country (UN sanctions will remain in place). I'd like to think that this was a good and welcome step on the part of the Administration, but the following paragraph gives me great pause:

Bush called the declaration a positive step along a long road to get the nation to give up its nuclear weapons. Yet, he remained wary of the regime, which has lied about its nuclear work before. And North Korea's declaration, received six months late, falls short of what the administration once sought, leaving it open to criticism from those who want the U.S. to take an even tougher stance against the regime.

So the North Koreans can be half a year late with their declaration and its content can be deficient and yet, they will still get the benefit of having the designation of "state sponsor of terrorism" removed, in addition to having American sanctions removed? Does. Not. Compute. I can understand a partial response to the North Korean declaration that gives them some carrots but this appears to go way too far.

I guess we will wait and see whether my pessimism is founded. But the larger message to North Korea after today's announcement by the President has to be something along the lines of "obfuscation and non-compliance pays in the end."