sourceThe world in which we live didn't change Monday when North Korea's official news agency reported the regime had performed a successful underground nuclear test. But since then, U.S. officials have been scrambling to fashion an adequate response, especially by the U.N. Security Council, to keep North Korea's tyrannical ruler Kim Jong Il from pursuing his nuclear weapons program, which could upset the world nuclear balance forever.
The threat posed is not just that he could acquire the wherewithal to launch a nuclear missile attack on South Korea, Japan or even the U.S. mainland. His ambitions also could trigger a more dangerous arms race in the Pacific, and desperate as he always is for funds, he might also sell nukes to Iran, that other "axis of evil" state, or to terrorist groups. North Korea already has a track record for selling missiles and missile parts, and in July it rattled Pacific Rim nations by test-firing seven missiles into the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.
Bush administration officials need to make clear to the U.N. Security Council and the American people that there should be no more delays in cutting off the North's access to heavy weaponry, nuclear materials, missile components and investment that can be diverted to militarily aggressive projects. A U.N. sanctions resolution could be passed as early as today. The U.S. had to soften its draft resolution several times to accommodate Russia and China, including added assurances that military action against North Korea would require a separate Security Council resolution.
Tags: Sanctions | REGIME | agency | U.S. | South Korea | Security | Russia | peninsula | pacific | North Korea | Korea | Japan | Iran | China
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