agreed.
i'm curious, what would you suggest as the best means to "handle" n. korea?
When you say 'handle', i think you're spot on. You can't have a rational conversation with a psychotic dictator like him. Just the stories of his amazing exploits (as told by him) are proof enough. There aren't many options really.
1) invade, blow the whole place to hell. After the iraq shenanigans, this is unlikely. Unless N Korea do shoot a missile at someone, then there is an excuse to invade.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090624/ap_on_re_as/as_koreas_nuclear
They seem to be asking for it.
2) Wait for the lineage to die out. Or kill them spec ops style.
3) Continue sanctions. As we've seen, doesn't work so well. Maybe turn North Korea into a Black Hole. No trade, no food no help. Let the whole country fall into a state of disrepair until they concede to demands.
4) hold a democratic type election, rig the vote and place a puppet in power. Works for everyone else! j/k
I don't see any solution except for an eventual violent showdown, which in war will mean the general population will suffer. We (the world) can continue to give them time to accrue/make weapons which will mean more bargaining power for them. I don't see any winners in any of these options.
When a dog has rabies you put it down.
