COMMENT When a child throws a tantrum, what do you do? Ignore it so as not to reward bad behaviour, or speak soothingly to stem the tears? That is the dilemma of any parent. Now it is the question facing the US and the rest of the world in dealing with North Korea.
Kim Jong-il, apparently recovered from last year’s stroke, is threatening to launch a long-range missile, one in theory capable of hitting Alaska. That, coupled with Pyongyang’s nuclear capabilities – demonstrated, if not all that convincingly, in a 2006 nuclear test – understandably makes its neighbours nervous. If North Korea proves it has the means to launch a nuclear bomb, it could scare Japan and others to go nuclear too.
