With characteristic bluster, the insane despot Kim Jong Il has defied the will of the international community generally, and the United Nations Security Council in particular, by conducting an underground nuclear test, of yet-indeterminate magnitude. He’ll soon wish he hadn’t, because there will be swift and certain retribution from the UN – perhaps even a stern finger-wagging. And if that isn’t enough to teach the impudent little rascal some manners, you can be sure he won’t be spared some severe tut-tutting as well.
He’ll think twice before he tries that again.
3 Comments
Mal,
I don’t think Kim Jong Il is insane. But he is playing a mad chess game. Though it is so similar to those East-Asian-style crazy but calculating characters in Japanese, Chinese pop culture. In fact he is playing a card to help President Bush to win the coming midterm election of the Congress here in U.S. (If U.S. leadership under Bush Administraion and Republican controlled congress is so incompetent in Iraq but so effective in getting elected as long as outside threat comes up, why not Kim Jong Il helps Mr. Bush stay around for another 2 years? A weaker opponent means more advantage to me….) Hmm. I guess if Mark Foley’s IMs did not come out, Kim will not blow the bomb …..
Kim Jong Il is also doing Japan a big favor. As the second richest country in the world and having a well-trained and well-equiped military force but no nuclear weapon? It is really not fair to Japan. It is good to revive the debate for constitution amendment in Japan. Personally I like to see Japan to be another power in world fair again because Japan deserves it. So why can’t Japan enter the nuke race for self defense purpose? But when Japan is remilitarized and has nuclear weapons, it will be the Chinese got pissed off. (And this is in fact the reason China doesn’t want North Korea to own nuclear weapons, because Japan will soon become another super power with justification and threaten China’s ambition in Taiwan.) When China and Japan start power wrestlering, then Kim can step aside and focus on his primary target, South Korea.
South Korea is in an awkard position. South Korea wants to get U.S. military force out of the country but unable to do that. South Korea also try to help North Korea off the sanctions due to humantarian causes. But North Korea with nuke means possible U.S. deployment of Nuke in South Korea and possible conflict, or a quick invasion from North. Either way, this will blow the rising South Korean economy no less than 1997.
Kim Jong Il in fact slaps faces of China and Russia. Both countries try very hard to prove the world order is not unilateral to the will of U.S. after cold war and the 2nd Iraqi war. But China never has the gut/money to send out its army to fight as U.S. or Russia did during cold war. Most of the border conflicts after 1949 between China and its neighbors are just not glorious in comparison. It is not China is peace loving, but unable to execute those complex military operations. While Russia has no real power in its Far East area now. The humanitarian support from China can be ignored, if Kim decides to invade his primary target, South Korea, or the supplies will come from South Korea or Japan as protection fee for not using nuclear weapons…
Since UN has been already a place full of corruption for a long time. It is an organization lacking of real power to hold the justice. All permanent members in security council rarely issues resolutions without biases. With such records at UN’s side, why Kim Jong Il, Fidel Castro and all despot around the world have to listen to UN? The real power is the nuke warhead inside their garage.
Hi Eugene,
You might also like to take a look at Kevin Kim’s thoughts on the matter, which, like yours, go much deeper than my flippant reaction.
From another point of view, beside cheap flash memory chips from South Korea, now some one can buy cheap nukes from North Korea. I wonder whether the seller checks the cash payment are printed in North Korea or not ….