N. Korea: A Dangerous Game of Cat and Mouse

By the time anyone reads this commentary, North Korea may have tested a long-range missle that could reach Alaska. Or they might not have.

The reclusive Stalinist state has been known for many years for its policy of brinkmanship. What North Korea is not known for is following through on its threats.

Certainly, it would make common sense for any nation not to perform an act meant to antagonize not only The United States, but also its Asian neighbors. However, North Korea's history is not one of common sense.

Ever since an armistace ended the Korean War in 1953, the North has engaged in a continuous war of words and sometimes has moved into an active military role, especially at sea where it captured the United States intellegence vessel Pueblo in 1968 and has had a number of scrimmages with its Southern rival offshore.

The government of President Kim Jong il, known to his people as "The Dear Leader," cares little about the welfare of its citizens, other than Kim's own family, the small cadre of government officials close to him and, above all, the military. And the "Dear Leader" is even more dangerous because of his reported indulgence in erotic movies and literature and, very possibly,
illicit drugs.

There have been cases in history of tyrants starving people to death, but the North Korean regime may be setting a record, at least in proportion to population, for starving its own population. The country has little or no economy to speak of. It is merely a type of Spartan state, reclusive to excess, keeping its population in a continual state of siege and in virtual ignorance of what goes on in the rest of the world.