What is Condie up to?,,,, NK statement

[zeemike]

She tells them to "return unconditionally to the six party talks"
Just what does that mean in diplomatic language? I english it is like a mother ordering her child to take out the trash.

[Waya]

1. Is there a picture yet..........

.......of Kim Jong giving Condi the finger for this here latest stupidity?

This is another 'do as we say and pronto....or else' approach - and we all have seen how well that has worked for the Bush Regime......

[sam sarrha]

2. diplomats like Bolton calling him a Stupid Midget and now this.. they want

a Nuclear war.. WHO LET THESE DOGS OUT..!!

they are all mentally ill..!!

[pampango]

3. Kim vs. Condi

Kim: We have to explode a nuclear weapon, because the US won't talk with us one on one.
Condi: Return unconditionally to six party talks.

I know that one-on-one talks give Kim a prestige boost and is consistent with his yelling "US invasion" as often as Bush yells "terrorism." Kim has to be afraid to involve China in the talks, because they are the key to enforcing any settlement on him. They provide him with diplomatic and economic protection. There is nothing the US can realistically do to him without the consent of the Chinese.

If he can restrict the talks to NK-US, he can talk and maybe even agree to things without jeopardizing his regime. He has to worry, though, that China will one day decide that he is more of a regional irritant than he is worth.

[zeemike]

5. That was a good synopsis of the situation.

Short and easy to understand.
But you wonder what China will do because it sees Nk as a buffer between the west and yet easy access to it's technology. Are they just using NK in a chess game?

[pampango]

6. I think there has been a bond between China and NK. Call it "communist

solidarity" or shared history with the Korean War.

Of course, China is hardly "communist" any more and NK is more of a monarchy than a communist country, but they both still use the communist terminology when it suits them. Still, the solidarity bond is getting weaker and weaker, while the war bond declines as well with the passing of generations.

At some point China will look at NK as a nuclear armed destabilizing factor in their neighborhood. China would not want Japan to go nuclear, given its advanced technology and economy, with their historical distrust of Japan. They probably don't mind NK irritating the West, particularly the US, but does not want it to stir up too much trouble in east Asia.

[zeemike]

7. What I was wondering was

Would they let NK secretly sell nukes to Al Quida to use on the west? It would surly be a blow to the us if we lost a whole city and it would seriously harm our economy.
Would China take that risk?

[pampango]

8. I really do not think so. At least for the medium range future, the

health of their economy is closely linked to the health of ours, since we are a market for much of their exports.

They probably see themselves in a much stronger position if their economy continues to grow for two or three decades. Combined with their population, they would be in a position to challenge the US for global leadership, both militarily and politically. To permit an attack on the US would both damage their own economy indirectly and risk a military disaster in their own neighborhood.

There may be factions in their government (like there are in all governments) that are willing to take big gambles, but it does not seem likely to me that such a faction will determine their policy.

[zeemike]

9. All of that sounds logical

And i would hope it true. But no one has ever proved this world to be run on logic or hope
But China is close to having every thing it needs from us to modernize and become a superpower in the world both military and economic. And so I just wonder.

[katinmn]

4. Condiliar and Bolton working as diplomats. We're screwed.

[Norquist Nemesis]

10. It means "we have a bigger nuke than you do, North Korea"

It means we're fighting another undeclared war.