Little more than four years ago, the North Korean nuclear weapons program was largely under lock and key, the threat seen as a fleeting crisis of a previous decade.
North Korea's main nuclear center at Yongbyon, 60 miles north of Pyongyang, was monitored 24 hours a day by U.N. surveillance cameras. International inspectors lived near the site. Seals were in place over key nuclear installations and a nuclear reactor at Yongbyon was gathering dust.
So what went wrong?
The story of Monday's announcement of a nuclear test is one of failed policies, neglect and missed opportunities...
Read rest at site.
The Washington Post notes:
Analysts say Kim has already succeeded in at least one way. With its declaration of a nuclear test, North Korea has made the price of a military solution to the standoff -- something Bush administration officials had largely dismissed given North Korea's arsenal of ballistic missiles and its million-man army -- even higher. Some suggested Monday that it may already be too late to turn back the clock.
Of course if the Bush administration hadn't botched the diplomacy this wouldn't have happened would it? Then again they had John Bolton in charge of WMD proliferation at State during that time. Some job to give a guy who helped steal an election for you isn't it?
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