If you want to know what's going through the mind of the North Korean regime, go back to the murder of Muammar Gaddafi. The way the North Koreans look at it, Gaddafi gave up his nuclear bomb, and lost his head. The lesson of Saddam Hussein's end is another cautionary tale for the North Koreans. If Saddam had held onto his weapons of mass destruction–and lots of them–the Obama Administration would have had second thoughts about invading his country. Or so I'm told by a former CIA colleague, and one of the best-informed North Korean watchers around. North Korea's Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un, like his father and his grandfather, exists in a rococo fantasy. He truly believes that North Korea possesses an invincible military, that his generals are brilliant, that he could take Seoul in a matter of days. As a superpower, he also believes that North Korea deserves a nuclear arsenal. There can't be any other avenue to the international respect North Korea deserves. (MORE: North Korea's Nuclear Cul-De-Sac) It's in this context, as delusional as it may be, that it's close to certain that Kim Jong Un has no intention of backing down in the current confrontation with the U.S. While it's unlikely his intention is to start a war with the United States, he also doesn't intend to give up an inch to cool things down. And superpowers don't submit at the sound of a little saber rattling. Classic diplomacy hasn't worked either. The State Department recently explored the possibility of bypassing the North Korean regime hardliners, especially those inside the Kim family, and instead make some sort of deal with the rational elements in the leadership. But it proved impossible to break through the impenetrable armor of this little hermit kingdom. China has been another fruitless avenue. Although the Chinese provide 90% of North Korea's fuel, and nearly half of its food, there's only so much pressure the Chinese can bring to bear on the North Koreans. Again, it goes back to North Koreans' sense of(http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=world.time.com&blog=19871253&post=80021&subd=timeglobalspin&ref=&feed=1)
Via: TIME GlobalSpin