Is North Korea's Possession Of A Nuclear Arsenal Permanent?

© KCNA / Reuters

Denny Roy, Japan Times: North Korea goes permanently nuclear — does it matter?

North Korea’s possession of an arsenal of nuclear-armed missiles increasingly looks permanent. The U.S. government will continue to refuse to officially recognize this reality, mostly out of deference to Tokyo. However, the region has settled into a new status quo.

Pyongyang’s apparent strategy is to indefinitely delay substantial steps toward denuclearization while trying to coax disproportionate concessions from the United States. Fortunately, the emergence of a nuclear North Korea has not proved catastrophic. Most of the serious anticipated dangers have not come to pass.

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WNU Editor:  North Korea has made it very clear since their first nuclear test that they were not going to give up their nuclear arsenal. And unless there are any major changes in North Korea (which I doubt), this is going to be the fact for a very long time. The focus has to be on engagement and mutual compromises. I see this as a long term affair, and patience is going to be required.