Is Kim Jong Il Coming In From The Cold?
It’s a banner week for Korean diplomacy. The yearslong six-party negotiations have at last resulted in a promise by North Korea to disable all of its nuclear facilities by the end of the year. And in separate talks, the two Koreas agreed to stop pointing weapons at each other (figuratively, though, not literally). One can’t blame the Wall Street Journal for optimistically comparing this week’s events (subscription) to the thaw between the West and Libya, which voluntarily gave up its nukes and made sufficient amends to be taken off Washington’s list of state sponsors of terrorism. As the Journal notes, the world needs a bit of this kind of good news, considering the gathering storm over Iran. But there may be a cynical devil lurking over many a Korea-watcher’s shoulder. And his name is former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton. In February, when the first tentative accord was reached between the six parties, Bolton led the neoconservative charge in assailing the Bush administration for betray
