North Korea’s test — VOICES for REASON

Monday: North Korea explodes what appears to be a nuclear device (for the second time in three years) and launches missiles to threaten neighboring countries. Tuesday: North Korea launches some more missiles. Wednesday: North Korea apparently restarts production of nuclear material and issues fiery threats against the West and America in particular.

Japan and South Korea — two nations within reach of North Korea’s missiles — are understandably fearful. But everyone else should be worried, too, because North Korea is thought to be a major supplier of nuclear technology and materials to Iran (and Syria). And Pyongyang’s statement includes what seems like an advertisement to potential buyers of its nuclear technology: “The results of the test helped satisfactorily settle the scientific and technological problems arising in further increasing the power of nuclear weapons and steadily developing nuclear technology.”

There have been some mild reproaches of North Korea’s actions, and some talk of (pointless) U.N. sanctions. But all of that is overshadowed by offers like this one:

“We feel the door does still remain open, that we’re ready to engage,” said State Department spokesman Ian Kelly. He described the Obama administration’s effort now as trying to “bring international pressure to bear to get them to reverse their course.”

But that’s the policy that has brought us here, in my view. The pattern goes like this: the North threatens us and our allies, we respond with negotiations, gifts and concessions, and it emerges with even greater belligerence. On it goes for years. “The real mystery is why our administrations — Republican and Democratic — haven’t learned that their quasi-religious faith in the six-party talks is misplaced,” wrote John Bolton in the WSJ, about a week before the latest North Korean test.

There’s definitely something corrupt about the mindset that underlies Washington’s longstanding policy toward North Korea; I explain my view in this article.