From MSNBC:
President Bush said Thursday that the United States is seeking a diplomatic solution to the nuclear standoff with North Korea, but cautioned that diplomacy will take time.
The seven missiles tested yesterday apparently landed harmlessly in the sea. Nonetheless, the situation remains tense. So tense — and so worrisome — that, as usual, there seems to be no agreement at the U.N.:
At the United Nations, there were differences over a Japanese-backed draft resolution to sanction North Korea. U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said the measure had “broad and deep support,� but Russia’s deputy U.N. ambassador told The Associated Press that Moscow would not back sanctions, as the resolution calls for.
Instead, Russia wants the council to pass a nonbinding presidential statement with the goal of getting North Korea back into six-party talks on its nuclear program.
True, North Korea could view sanctions as a declaration of war and sanctions could “provoke a hostile response from Pyongyang,” as Russia and China suggest, but at what point do we say enough is enough? This isn’t about North Korea’s sovereignty, after all, nor even about weapons testing. This is about North Korea’s determined escalation to war. A game of chicken, perhaps, an attempt to force the U.S. to the bargaining table, perhaps, but still a prelude to war — nuclear war, to be more specific. (After all, when will the escalation stop? How do we know what’s part of the game?) The tests themselves are an act of aggression. If you were South Korea or Japan, how would you respond? If North Korea really does have the capacity to launch a long-range missile at the U.S., what should Washington do?
No, bombing North Korea may not be the best option at present, but at some point something drastic may have to be done about this very real threat.
And I’m not talking about more talks.
(For more, see Creature’s reaction to Bush’s reaction to North Korea’s missile tests here.)