Next Step on Korea
By John F. Kerry
Wednesday, August 6, 2003; Page A17
The Bush administration's reported decision to meet again with North Korean officials looks like a positive development. But the administration's erratic handling of the North Korean nuclear crisis over the past year leaves it little room for error. It first ignored the threat because it was preoccupied with Iraq, then played it down -- thus leading Pyongyang to think we would accept a nuclear North Korea -- then proposed a dialogue, but steadfastly refused to talk directly with the North Koreans. All this served only to create confusion and put North Korea's despotic leader, Kim Jong Il, in the driver's seat. Now, finally, the administration is getting off the merry-go-round; the question is where we go from here.
It's time to lay aside the failed efforts of the past year and engage in a negotiation process that, mindful of the hard realities on the Korean peninsula, promises a comprehensive solution to the challenges we and our allies face there.
Since the end of last year, North Korea has moved quickly to restore its capacity to produce nuclear weapons. It has resumed plutonium production, reportedly begun reprocessing plutonium fuel rods, continued work to enrich uranium and withdrawn from the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. A North Korea armed with nuclear weapons and a nuclear weapons production line is, as former secretary of defense William Perry argues, a "nightmare scenario."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21979-2003Aug5.htmlI don't know how I missed this Op-Ed piece from a few days ago, sorry if it's a dupe.
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