How Will America Deal with a Nuclear North Korea?

KOREAN PENINSULA (Oct. 3, 2013) Republic of Korea (ROK) and U.S. Navy ships are underway in formation with the aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73), center. The George Washington Carrier Strike Group is conducting exercises with the ROK navy to strengthen maritime interoperability and U.S.-ROK alliance. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Peter Burghart/Released)

Recently North Korea test fired a missile with enough power to hit Washinton D.C. with a nuclear warhead. Pat Buchanan wonders whether or not thousands of American and South Korean lives are really worth accepting when the price to pay to keep them among the living would be a mere loss of face by the American government. Pat points to past administrations negotiating with North Korea, and wonders if it wouldn’t be best to do the same. He writes at The American Conservative (abridged):

In the morning darkness of Wednesday, Kim Jong Un launched an ICBM that rose almost 2,800 miles into the sky before falling into the Sea of Japan.

North Korea now has the proven ability to hit Washington, D.C.

Unproven still is whether Kim can put a miniaturized nuclear warhead atop that missile, which could be fired with precision, and survive the severe vibrations of re-entry.

U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley told the Security Council that “if war comes … the North Korean regime will be utterly destroyed.” She than warned Xi Jinping that “if China does not halt the oil shipments” to North Korea, “we can take the oil situation into our own hands.”

The concessions Kim is demanding are not beyond the utterly unacceptable.

What does Kim want?

Initially, he wants a halt to U.S.-South Korean military exercises, which he sees as a potential prelude to a surprise attack. He wants an end to sanctions, U.S. recognition of his regime, and acceptance of his status as a nuclear weapons state. Down the road, he wants a U.S. withdrawal of all forces from South Korea and international aid.