North Korea agreed to six-sided talk

[Urban Ranger]

North Korea, after insisting for months on one-on-one talks with Washington, acknowledged Friday it has agreed to an American proposal for a broader discussion involving the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia.

Bush, speaking with reporters after a Cabinet meeting, called the news a positive development in the long standoff with the communist nation.

Las Vegas Sun article (The only correction is the meeting will be held in Beijing).

I am surprised that nobody made a thread on this. What do you think?

[DAVOUT]

The stance of Russia, China and Japan, at the same table, on that subject will be interesting, to say the least.

[DanS]

Interesting. I think they all might be interested in hearing what the Japanese have to say on the subject of nuclearizing and militarizing Asia.

I don't know if it will make much difference, but by all rights, those interested should have seats at the table, if anything long lasting is to be decided.

[CerberusIV]

You get nothing for nothing with NK. They are making a fuss about John Bolton and his comments about them. it will be interesting to see if the US insists he is involved in the talks or accepts that allowing NK to "dictate" who is or is not at the table is the price of getting talks at all.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/3120129.stm

[SlowwHand]

Japan has missle worries, as does South Korea.
Yeah, if North Korea doesn't want their pointy little heads handed to them, they need to recognize reality.

[TheStinger]

It wouldn't surprise me if overnight Japan changed its constitution, bulit some missiles and bombed the crap out of North Korea.

[DanS]

It wouldn't surprise me if overnight Japan changed its constitution, bulit some missiles and bombed the crap out of North Korea.

That's the spirit!

[Dinner]

The Japanese will most likely increase the pace of their rearming if North Korea doesn't stop behaiving so radically but I don't see Japan becoming involved in anything other then a defensive war to save itself or an ally.

I'd also like to point out that the Chinese Communists can get their NK lap dog to heel any time they want just by threatening NK's energy and food supplies which China is currently providing free of charge. I suspect that NK accepted the call for six way negotiations (which they've been rejecting for the last three years) is a sign the Chinese have begun to put a little pressure on the NKers. Not enough pressure for NK to back down but enough pressure where NK will at least go through the motions of negotiating.

[gunkulator]

I can't even figure out why the US is involved at all. Let the Chinese deal with their problem child.

[Dinner]

They won't.

[Defiant]

The US is worried because if left unchecked NK could have or does have a missile that can reach the West coast and that is too much risk for the US to take.
Also Japan being the 2nd leading economy, any disruption in that could affect the economy of the US, so we are pretty well involoved, to much to lose if it goes wrong, even from a distance.

[Dinner]

Not to meantion that if NK is allowed to keep nukes then it's possible, even likely, that Japan, South Korea, even Taiwan or Indonesia (now there is a scary thought) might decide to build the bomb. It might set off an arms race across east Asia.

[Sava]

They are all convening to discuss the existence of the Stargate program in a Colorado mountain installation. The Goo-ah-oold are planning an invasion and all powers are joining together to plan a counter-attack.

[rev]

Originally posted by gunkulator
I can't even figure out why the US is involved at all. Let the Chinese deal with their problem child.

Not so difficult a task, actually.

Just tell China we're about ready to let Tokyo have The Bomb and they'll slap NK around a bit in a second.

But, no, the White House would rather let the situation simmer for a year or two so that everyone thinks North Korea has nukes and the missile defense shield would be justified.

[Urban Ranger]

Just for your information: even after the LDP rammed a plan of sending their "defensive forces" to Iraq for peacekeeping through the Diet the majority of Japanese (more than 50%, that is) still strongly opposed to sending troops overseas.