North Korean talks to start again?

Sunday, February 13, 2005 North Korean talks to start again? The AP tells us that China might get the talks rolling again: China has pledged to try and revive talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear programs, after the isolated, Stalinist state's declaration that it had atomic weapons and was boycotting disarmament negotiations. The United States and other countries involved in the six-party talks have called on China to use its influence over North Korea. Beijing is Pyongyang's last major ally and a key supplier of food and energy to the impoverished dictatorship. We should defer to the chinese in this matter I think - only they have any true leverage over North Korea, and have a lot to lose if conflict breaks out. Whatever the chinese think will keep the region stable should be considered. I wonder whether tightening the geographic noose around North Korean might not prompt Kim Jong-Il to toe the line. Or, if completely opening the borders and draining the population, as happened in eastern europe before the Berlin Wall fell, might not also do the trick. 5:34 AM | | |