North Korea Ups Nuclear Ante For Diplomacy Joe?

The WSJ headline was chilling: “North Korea Appears to Have Restarted Yongbyon Nuclear Reactor.” If so, it’s another instance of a growing lack of respect for, let alone fear of, US power in the international community, especially among terrorists & rogue states. Put more nicely by the story, the disclosure “adds a new challenge to President Biden’s foreign policy agenda [whatever that is] alongside the dangerous US withdrawal from Afghanistan & stalemated talks on restoring the 2015 deal on Iran’s nuclear program.”

According to the exclusive, UN “inspectors cite evidence of resumed operations at the plutonium-producing plant, which had been shut down since 2018” under pressure from then-President Trump. “Since early July, there have been indications, including the discharge of cooling water, consistent with the operation of the reactor,” said the report by the International Atomic Energy Agency. “It added that signs that the reactor is now being operated coincide with indications that North Korea is also using a nearby laboratory to separate plutonium from spent fuel previously removed from the reactor.”

But, back to Mr. Biden’s “Foreign Policy Agenda”, which in his career (and that of President’s Clinton & Obama) has been based on “diplomacy” aka “bribing bad actors.” Yet, history suggests kissing butt has never & will never work in making bullies like North Korea back down, unless it’s backed by a healthy respect for American power aka fear of real pain caused by real reprisals.

Davd Soul