Korean pressure

The North Korean crisis has been pretty quiet lately, at least until KEDO decided to halt the North Korean reactor project.

This is pressure on North Korea to come back to the negotiating table. We’re betting that North Korea won’t escalate as a result. The only levers we have are power, food, and military action. We’re not going to starve people, and even if we were so inclined, the UN is working on food aid. We’re not going to invade a nuclear power. That leaves cutting the nuclear power plant construction, which has the advantage of not making the North Korean situation any worse. It just blocks one method of making things better, so it’s about the most palatable pressure possible.

No telling how North Korea will react. That reaction will determine if applying pressure was in fact the best thing to do.