Just some idle rambling on my part.
The present Bush administration policy(from the time of his inauguration) toward North Korea has been one of isolation. The revelation of nuclear weapons developement, has just resulted in a stepping up of that policy. If one was to look back in history, you might see a comparable situation with disturbing results. The US emargo of oil to Japan, led the Japanese to conclude that their only solution was to go to war with the US. Now, from my pespective, there are a lot of differences between the Korean and Japanese cultures and their value systems, so that might not be a true indication of any tendency on North Korea's part. But it does make you wonder what they might do, if they feel their back is to the wall. They've already made threats that further sanctions as a response to their nuclear program would be considered an act of war.
But of course, the main problem behind the implementation of current US policy is the fact that we can't get our allies in the region to follow suit. Both Japan and South Korea have policies of reconcilliation with North Korea, and are completely unwilling to risk the chance of war by cooperating with current US policy. That might also be the reason for plans for an overall decrease in US forces, in South Korea, exist.
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