For the Archive:

The Chosun Ilbo discusses some of the obstacles–insurmountable, in my view–to an agreement on denuclearizing North Korea. And of course, reaching an agreement is one thing; making it stick is another. There’s a category four moral equivalency alert near the end of the piece, where it suggests that U.S. and North Korean “hard-liners” are to peace what Scylla and Charibdis are to ancient Greek shipping:

[N]egotiations could equally run into problems if U.S. neoconservatives raise the North’s human rights record and the Kim Jong-il regime itself.

Oddly, not one hard-liner I know advocates or threatens war, the mass imprisonment of dissidents, starving the poor, or infanticide of the racially impure. I realize how subtle and nuanced a distinction that may be for some . . . . The piece also notes,

The experts said the biggest point to watch is how actively the U.S., which provided North Korea with 500,000 tons of heavy oil annually since the Geneva Accords, participates in energy aid to the North.

And if you’re a regular here, you already know what Congress will say to that.

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The USFK is handing over the counterfire mission to South Korea. This comes as a surprise, given that’s this is such a core, sensitive technology-intensive task. Still, it’s in keeping with my belief that the South Koreans ought to feel responsible for the military and diplomatic means by which they protect their own security. My hope is that this will eventually lead to a more mature approach to statecraft.

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Finally, more proof that capital is a coward. In this case, it’s the very well-advised coward known as Moody’s, which somehow acquired the power to assign credit ratings to nations. Moody’s concludes that the nuclear diplomacy with North Korea hasn’t progressed, which has resulted in consequences for South Korea’s credit rating.