Developments In Korea: Ignored By The Media

The news media has largely ignored Secretary of State Rice's trip to Asia this week, a trip on which her first stop is in China. Why's she there? To work with the Asian countries on bringing North Korea back to the table, something that they've today declared their willingness to do. That's good news, to the extent that talking to them is what we ought to be doing but the goodness of this development is diminished by the fact that we should also be holding bilateral negotiations, and I'm saddened by the lack of press coverage this has gotten. I wouldn't have noticed it had it not been for Google News -- a website that I thank God for. Though there was one thing in the news story that I read which I disagreed with.

China, as the principal source for food and energy aid to North Korea, has more leverage over its neighbor than do other parties in the talks.

Kim Jung wants assurances that his country isn't going to be attacked and that he will be taken seriously; not food or energy. (Or, rather, the latter is a secondary concern to him compared to the former.) China does not have the most leverage in the talks. China can not reasonably say to Kim, "Hey, give the Americans what they want or we'll cut off food aid." You know why? Not because they're Commie Buddies, though they have retained their Cold War friendship, but because, if China pulled back from the North Koreans and North Korea's economy fell apart even worse, the Chinese would be hit with thousands of immigrants that they don't want and can't afford.

Talking to Kim Jung is America's responsibility, and we're the only ones who can calm that beast of a man.