North Korea: From Bad To Worse

The North Korea Problem -- Richard Weitz, The Diplomat

Pyongyang has successfully tested a long-range rocket. What may happen next -- including missiles someday armed with nuclear warheads -- could make matters worse.

After announcing that its rocket was facing technical difficulties that might delay its impending test, North Korea surprised the international community by abruptly launching a three-stage rocket on Wednesday morning local time. Even more surprising than the timing was that the “Unha” (the Korean word for “galaxy”) rocket appears to have successfully placed the Kwangmyongsong-3 (“Shining Star-3”) satellite into orbit, albeit there are reports that it is encountering difficulties.

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My Comment: To put it bluntly .... nothing can be accomplished diplomatically with the regime in Pyongyang. And while I do expect the South Koreans and the Americans to continue trying to develop some form of dialogue with it's leadership .... I am not optimistic. To influence North Korea you will have to go through Beijing .... but for the moment China is more concerned about their own leadership changes and faltering economy .... and not North Korea. So where does this leave us .... a rogue regime with no restraints. My prediction .... after this missile test the next step for North Korea will be a nuclear test sometime in 2013.