North Korea has just made things easier for other countries to stand united against them. With the detonation of a nuclear bomb together with a volley of missile launches, it is very clear someone is not taking their medication.
The United Nations responded with a unanimous resolution condemning the actions of North Korea. But the way North Korea is acting, they have about as much respect for that as used toilet paper. However as global tensions rise, so do internal tensions in North Korea.
We have already seen a very different North Korea when Kim Jong-il was off line with a possible stroke. That alone signals there is strong disagreement with the policies of Kim Jong-il. What will come of this remains to be seen but no matter how you view it, it does not look good.
Connecting the Dots not being politically correct or diplomatic would simply tell North Korea if they want nuclear bombs, we will send some over just watch the sky. There will be no doubt in their mind that this is not a game played at this table. Because other countries are afraid to show their teeth, Kim Jong-il simply understands that his actions are acceptable. When dealing with a person who has a sick mind, the carrot approach does not work, and the stick must be used.
Now there are those that say this is the wrong approach, but when you come and think about it, this is how you deal with bullies. You do not let the bullies think they are the dominate player. Once that is thought is in their mind, they simply back down. As far are we know there is no magic threshold that changes that. Kim Jong-il is acting like a bully and he clearly gets away with it inside his country. But a different message must be sent when he looks past his borders. Resolutions from the United Nations Kim Jong-il simply reads as a bunch of wimps trying to be strong.
If you were dealing with another country who is not aggressive, the diplomatic approach would be the correct approach. That is probably why in the US the Secretary of State is higher in the order of succession than the Secretary of Defense. The excuse Kim Jong-il is using about the US being aggressive is just an excuse and is unchanged from the Bush administration. This seems to be misread by other countries as Kim Jong-il does not understand. It actually is just a bully tactic by Kim Jong-il so he can thump his chest on the global stage. If this goes without a return challenge that a bully will respect, sooner or later Kim Jong-il will put a nuke on a missile and fire it at someone. This may sound a bit scary, but the behavior of a bully is very predictable, and a piece of paper from the United Nations can be used in the bottom of a bird cage as far as Kim Jong-il is concerned.
