Bolton suggests stern measures aimed at North Korea

Media coverage has been about nil on North Korea continuing to drag its feet with an agreement hammered out more than a year ago focusing on the Communist nation’s nuclear weapons program, including shutting down its nuclear reactor and reprocessing facility north of Pyongyang.

Last April, a State Department spokesman said the U.S. is willing to give North Korea “a little bit more time” to act on its two-month-old pledge.

So it was refreshing to see a detailed opinion piece in Monday’s Wall Street Journal by John R. Bolton, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, reminding readers that “for the last 13 months Pyongyang has ignored, stalled, renegotiated and violated the Feb. 13, 2007 agreement,” notes Grumpy Editor.

Under that disarmament deal with the U.S., along with South Korea, China, Japan and Russia, North Korea agreed to admit U.N. nuclear inspectors to monitor and verify the shutdown of its nuclear operations in Yongbyon.

“Throughout all this ‘negotiation,’ which has mostly consisted of our government negotiating with itself, North Korea has benefited enormously,” says Bolton.  “It’s been spared the truly punishing sanctions that concerted international effort might have produced.”

Protracted six-party talks have provided Kim Jong-il with “the time to enhance, conceal and even disperse his nuclear weapons programs,” adds Bolton, now a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

Bolton goes on to describe steps to be taken, including putting a squeeze on North Korea economically, suspending the six-party talks but reconvening talks without North Korea, and strengthening international pressure on the Communist nation’s nuclear and missile programs.