October 17, 2002

N. Korea Admits Having Secret Nuclear Arms

The North Korean government has acknowledged for the first time that it has been secretly developing nuclear weapons for years in violation of international agreements -- and that it possesses "more powerful" weapons, as well -- Bush administration officials said last night.
[...]
The Bush administration, stunned by the admission, dispatched envoys to the region yesterday to consult with allies and called on North Korean leader Kim Jong Il to halt the weapons project. The administration also has begun consultations with Congress about what to do next.
[...]
U.S. officials and commentators offered differing assessments last night of the implications of North Korea's announcement, with some considering it a belligerent act deserving of a strong response, and others saying it could be a bid by North Korea to create an opening to the United States.
[...]The CIA's National Intelligence Estimate, released in December, reported that North Korea had likely produced one or two plutonium-based nuclear weapons by the mid-1990s.
Administration officials have struggled with the North Korean policy since Bush took office, with some officials advocating a much more demanding approach than the engagement policy of the Clinton administration and others urging continued diplomatic flexibility.

The disclosure has not ended that debate, said one high-ranking official, who reported that some administration leaders believe "we should go to war tomorrow." He added, however, that Bush has been "very calm, cool and collected. He doesn't need another crisis."

The North Korean disclosure was "a jaw-dropper," said the official. It revealed a worrisome determination to build a nuclear device, but it also left open the possibility that Kim, who has been repairing relations with foreign rivals, unveiled the project as a way of coming clean.
The admission "represented a candor on the part of North Korean officials that we are unaccustomed to," the official said. "It has promise. It has opportunity. It has dangers."

Joseph Cirincione, director of the non-proliferation project at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said the administration faces two very distinct choices. "They either play 'gotcha' " and cut off relations, he said, "or they can justifiably claim that their tough approach produced exactly the change in North Korean behavior we had been seeking."
[...]The parallels between North Korea and Iraq are worth noting, said Henry Sokolski, executive director of the Non-Proliferation Education Center. He pointed to the administration's repeated assertions that Iraq will not be secure until Hussein is removed from power.

Lord have Mercy! I know my jaw dropped when I heard this news!
Betcha yours did, too.
This new and unlooked for candor from the North Koreans is undoubtedly in response to the Bush Doctrine and its novel embrace of the strategy of pre-emption in the face of bellicose aggression and arming by a hostile nation.
Now, I think those of us who are are theists need to pray alot and the atheists and agnostics should meditate on positive, peaceful thoughts that neither the U.S. nor the North Koreans do anything rash and stupid.

I'm gonna say a special prayer and send my best regards to the thousands of American men and women of the U.S. military who are on the South Korean border at the 38th parallel and might be a little bit trigger-happy and more nervous than usual (Who could blame you? Not I, but keep standing steadfastly and strongly).
Thanks, guys!
"...Freedom will be defended!"--President George W. Bush