Word: pyongyang
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...wasn't lost on anyone that the architect of those sanctions, Treasury official Stuart Levey, was part of the diplomatic delegation the U.S. sent to East Asia recently. A senior Administration official says it is "deeply aware" of how effective those sanctions were. Finding ways to punish Pyongyang isn't where Obama expected to be at this point in his presidency. But that wasn't his choice. It was that of Kim Jong Il and the men who surround him - determined, for reasons only they can fathom, to remain stuck in the coldest of wars...
...when he received a reminder of the frustrations of his old job--and the perils attending his new one. North Korea's nuclear test on May 25 threatened to undo everything Hill had worked on as point man for the U.S. in the six-party talks with Pyongyang. But as the new U.S. ambassador to Iraq, he was focused that evening on bad news closer to his home: a roadside bomb in Fallujah had killed a senior State Department official working on Iraq's reconstruction and two others. Hill had given a speech earlier in the day about American sacrifices...
...actors for extra cash. The U.S. would like North Korea to stop doing all of these things. Neither side is particularly interested in finding out what happens should the other press the issue. And thus North Korea and the U.S. find themselves in a very strange Kabuki war. Pyongyang is plainly the instigator, continuing its rash of missile and nuclear tests while apparently seeking hard currency by peddling weapons to all buyers. Like automated chess pieces, U.S. military assets have responded by moving into place: to thwart any missile launch, ground-based missile defenses are being deployed to Hawaii...
...Under a June 12 U.N. Security Council resolution, the U.S. and its allies can ask Pyongyang for permission to inspect the Kang Nam. But once North Korea refuses - as it is expected to do - all the mighty U.S. military can do under the resolution is inform the U.N. and stand aside while diplomats try to force any nation resupplying the ship to allow inspectors aboard. Pyongyang has said any interception of its shipping would be an "act of war," and declared over the weekend that it would "respond to sanctions with retaliation" including "unlimited retaliatory strikes" against South Korea...
...Obama Administration has made it clear it has no desire to negotiate yet again for North Korea's good behavior. Pyongyang has sporadically engaged in such actions for more than a decade, content to use them as levers to win concessions from the international community in exchange for civilized conduct - before abandoning such pledges. Significantly, China - long North Korea's protector - also seems to be growing weary of North Korea's belligerent behavior. (Read "Your Move, China...