By IBD
Dec. 17, 2009 

President Obama has sent a “personal” letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, hoping to coax him back to the table to talk about cutting his nation’s nuclear program. Good luck with that.

Repeated U.S. entreaties to the hermit state to cut its nuclear arsenal have availed us nothing. Just this month, U.S. envoy Stephen Bosworth traveled to North Korea with a bunch of new diplomatic carrots for the regime.

The result? Bosworth put it this way, in classic diplomats: “We identified some common understanding on the need for and a role of six-party talks and the importance of implementation of the 2005 joint statement (to dismantle the North’s nuclear weapons).”

In short, he got nothing. But he did deliver Obama’s personal letter to Kim.

Even the Washington Post called the letter “relatively unusual” for an American president. But it’s not entirely without precedent.

Both President Clinton and President Bush sent Kim personal letters, but only after extensive diplomatic efforts had failed.

At some point, it might start to dawn on those in the White House who run our national security apparatus that personal blandishments don’t work with Kim.

The fact is Kim while cunning in his pursuit of self-preservation, is a sociopath, a mass murderer of his own people, responsible for the death by famine and torture of as many as 3 million North Koreans.

The idea that you can make a rational appeal to his moral conscience is, well, beyond silly.

Moreover, Kim may just be on the way out. There are rumblings of discontent in the totalitarian state unseen in its 61-year history.

As Claudia Rosett wrote recently in Forbes, North Korea’s normally docile citizens appear to be fed up with Kim. “Furious over a confiscatory currency ‘reform,’” Rosette writes, “citizens of the world’s most repressive state have begun publicly criticizing their government.

It is hard to overstate just how bold a move that is.”

This is extraordinary, given Kim’s murderous proclivities.

By some estimates Kim has killed 3.5 million people or more out of a population of 23 million.

The murder toll includes children and infants. The deaths have come from starvation, beatings, torture and inhumane incarceration in hellish concentration camps.

It’s bad enough that we tolerate genocide. But someday soon, he — or his ally, Iran — will have the means to attack us. Just last week, a North Korean plane was detained in Bangkok carrying 35 tons of missiles, explosives and other weaponry.

Where it was going, no one’s sure. No doubt we’ll send them a stern letter in rebuke.

Rather than sending Kim conciliatory notes, which he’ll no doubt laugh at and see as U.S. weakness, the White House would be wise to exploit the North Koreans’ disgust and anger at Kim. Our goal should be regime change and nuclear disarmament — anything short of that, including endless “six-party talks,” will be useless.

Source: Investors 

 

Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think. dan@goldcoastchronicle.com