United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton dropped a bomb on the Senate on Wednesday North Korea was ready to halt its nuclear program but she downplayed the news, saying it was only a modest step in the right direction. It was peculiar behavior from a senior member of the Obama administration in an election year but, what can we do, we have been through this before - twice. On two separate occasions already, North Korea has promised to suspend its nuclear program in exchange for humanitarian aid, only to turn around and carry out a nuclear test (in 2006 and 2009). And yet, the news is dramatic because it is the first major global headline credited to North Koreas new young leader, Kim Jong Un, who celebrated his 30th birthday on January 8. For Japan and South Korea, the news is extremely significant. The reclusive communist regimes nuclear program poses a giant threat to its two neighbors. Washington was yet again the chief mediator. The North Korean issue, at this juncture, clearly projects onto the Iranian issue. In a few days U.S. President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will sit down and discuss the Iranian nuclear program. Obama will probably tell his guest that the administrations success with North Korea was achieved through negotiations, not military threats. Netanyahu, in all likelihood, will remind the president of the results of North Koreas two previous promises. If the prime minister wants to get more specific, he will also remind Obama that Pyongyang - after all its pledges - still possesses enough fissile material for six to eight nuclear bombs. Talks between Washington and the new regime in Pyongyang were conducted by the countries delegations to the U.N., and began 24 hours after the announcement of Kim Jong Ils death. Both sides needed to see results: Obama in order to get re-elected, and Kim Jong Un to establish his leadership. Wednesdays announcement does not herald a new era (China, North Koreas partner, also is not ready for it), or North Korea abandoning its nuclear capabilities. The announcement only serves to express Washingtons and Pyongyangs shared willingness to renew talks with all relevant parties (North Korea, South Korea, the U.S., Russia, China and Japan). It is the same exact thing, by the way, that Iran, our North Korea wants.
