N. Korea: We Have Nukes, No More Talks
This could be really really bad. North Korea has admitted that they have nuclear weapons (six of them) and has decided to cut off the multi-lateral talks.
North Korea said on Thursday that it had manufactured nuclear weapons for its self-defense and was suspending participation in six-way talks on its atomic arms program for an “indefinite period.”
Washington has recently stepped up its efforts to revive the six-party talks, sending an envoy to the region last week with letters for Chinese President Hu Jintao, South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
In North Korea’s clearest statement yet that it already possesses nuclear arms, the official KCNA news agency quoted a Foreign Ministry spokesman as saying:
“We had already taken the resolute action of pulling out of the NPT (Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty) and have manufactured nukes to cope with the Bush administration’s evermore undisguised policy to isolate and stifle the DPRK (North Korea).
Reuters: NKorea Says Made Nuke Weapons, Shuns 6-Way Talks
Instinct tells me that North Korea just wants to feel important. They want the attention of the world, and a seat at the global “table.” If boasting of its nuclear capabilities is merely a cry for attention, that is likely harmless. What worries me is that greed might motivate them to sell some of those nukes. Wouldn’t we all feel like fools if “Team America: World Police” actually ended up being prophetic?
I’m not sure there is anything America can do about this, but keep trying to resume the talks. Oh, and aim a few more of our nukes at North Korea… just in case their Small-Global-Penis Syndrome turns into something worse.
