One of those things that make you say, Hmmm
On his Foreign Policy blog, Tom Ricks has quoted U.S. intelligence analyst John McCreary:
“During the past 40 years North Korean leaders have been blustery but fundamentally risk averse. They have done nothing that would risk the total destruction of their state -- which means Pyongyang for all practical and symbolic purposes -- until now.... The actions in the past two days represent risk accepting behavior, defiance bordering on recklessness. This behavior began shortly after Kim Chong-il's stroke in August 2008. If Kim is ordering these actions, he has had a personality change, which can occur if dementia follows a stroke, according to medical authorities.”
1 comment:
That or the cost to Pyongyang for one test is the same as the cost for ten. Look at it this way: a guy kills a guard while breaking out of jail. He may as well kill four more as the penalty is the same. I do grant that NORK seems to be doing more than it's typical crisis politics for which Bush typically paid him off as did his predecessors and interestingly Obama has made it clear he has no intention of continuing that policy. So perhaps Kim is upping the anti to force the Obama administration to follow the traditional US foreign policy line of paying blackmail of in the interest of stability in the Korean peninsula.
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