North Korean Shennanigans

If anyone can explain to me just what the North Koreans goals are I am all ears. I get (sort of) religious based terrorism. It's not as if that particular brand of trouble-making hasn't been going on since recorded history. But the North Koreans? They don't appear to be overly religious!

I have read that "ambiguity in the midst of strong denial" is an important part of North Korea's strategy. Apparently during a recent visit to Beijing by Kim Jong Il North Korean officials proclaimed their innocence, or more importantly that they were not responsible for the sinking of a South Korean corvette. The reports went on to say however that the North Korean leader himself remained silent which would allow him to maintain that he did not directly lie to the Chinese should he need them later.

It's great that these great games of Chess, or perhaps Go take place. It's great that the protocols of diplomacy allow for such refined nuance. But how does that help when at the same time the evidence points to a North Korean torpedo as the cause of the sinking of the ChonAn and the deaths of 46 sailors?

It seems that North Korea's role is to be a bully although why South Korea accepts the role of victim is beyond me. Perhaps it's the fear that if the bully is pushed the violence will escalate, and in this case the bully has nuclear weapons.

Funny, I know another nation that likes to play the same cat and mouse game. In Iran's case it's almost more understandable-they are looking for regional hegemony. Maybe that's what North Korea wants, and the region in this case is the Korean peninsula. In any event, if the threat of nuclear war is what allows Kim to lead us on a merry dance, and if Iran is able to act with relative impunity without nuclear weapons, how will the world feel once they have them?

No, I am not war-mongering. I am thinking rather of a German proverb which roughly translates to "As long as my neighbour wants war I shall have no peace". Warren Chamberlain learned that the hard way. Appeasement doesn't seem to influence bullies.