Diplomacy Update

You know that the six-party goat rodeo is in real trouble when South Korea’s Minister of UniFiction gives the North “unusually caustic advice”, and when China starts to lose interest in stalling:

What is more troubling is that China does not appear to be as enthusiastic as before about bringing North Korea to the negotiating table. Instead, China is reportedly becoming reluctant to share information with South Korea, which Seoul says is vital in putting common pressure on North Korea to abandon its nuclear ambitions.

Give Lee credit where it’s due. He may have a strained relationship with the truth, but he’s clearly not stupid. Lee has the capacity for basic logic and an understanding of detail. That may not enable him to see the bigger picture accurately, but it’s more than I can say for others who’ve occupied his post.

I wish I could say that the charade is over. I wish the United States were finally prepared to extend Kim Jong Il a choice between fundamental transparency, on one hand, and political and economic extinction on the other, but I know better. Still, the North Koreans are doing their very best to advance “my” side of this debate:

Asked on arrival what he hopes to achieve in Tokyo, [North Korean delegate Kim Kye-Gwan] said: “It does not have to do with the six-party talks, and it is the United States that knows full well what needs to be done to revive the six-party talks.”

It’s interesting, that North Koreans, despite having agreed to this meeting, still seem to be playing hardball. How significantly their position shifts will be a very good clue to how badly the U.S. Treasury Department has hurt them, and whether the North Korean strategy of stalling until Bush leaves office will succeed.