China Confidential

North Korea beat Bush. But in a refreshing show of candor, the Administration admits its failure....

The US President's special envoy for human rights in North Korea, Jay Lefkowitz, said Thursday that the secretive Stalinist/Kimist regime is not likely to give up its nuclear weapons before Bush leaves office next January.

Lefkowitz also accused China and South Korea of not putting enough pressure on Pyongyang during the talks that first began in 2003 to end its nuclear weapons drive.

"It is increasingly clear that North Korea will remain in its present nuclear status when the administration leaves office in one year," Lefkowitz said in Washington.

Weasel Words

His harsh language contrasted sharply with the weasel words of Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Christopher ("Kim Jong") Hill, whose dovish devotion to diplomacy as an end instead of a means has allowed one of the planet's most deranged and dangerous governments to make a fool out of Washington.

For one thing, Lefkowitz avoided referring to North Korea by its formal name, the DPRK--which Hill delights in using, as if to show off his sophistication (to his boss, academician-turned-Secretary of State Condoleezza RIce).

Lefkowits said North Korea "has not kept its word," was "not serious about disarming in a timely manner" and "its conduct does not appear to be that of a government that is willing to come in from the cold."

Proliferation and Extortion

Lefkowitz accused North Korea of being a "serial proliferator" and using its nuclear arms to "extort" foreign aid, saying there was no guarantee that US military and nuclear strength could prevent it from passing on nuclear arms or technology to Islamists or their backers.

His remarks came after Pyongyang missed a key December 31 deadline to disable its main nuclear facilities and give a full declaration of its atomic programs in return for economic aid under a deal agreed in February 2007.

North Korea never intended to comply with the six-nation nuclear accord. As China Confidential has predicted, Pyongyang will refuse to provide information on a secretive uranium enrichment program alongside its plutonium powered nuclear plant.

New Approach

Lefkowitz called for a "new approach" in disarmament talks--"perhaps even bilaterally"--with North Korea that would permanently link human rights as part of the engagement policy and a critical condition for any normalization of diplomatic relations.

"The six-party talks have not involved human rights. However, there is a valid question of whether this continues to make sense," he said.

He said his proposed new concept of dialogue with North Korea could evolve to resemble the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which emerged with the Helsinki Final Act as a significant step toward reducing Cold War tensions.