Will our lack of a N.Korea policy make war inevitable?

[The_Rorschach]

"I agree. We'd never be in this mess if that moron Eisenhower hadn't screwed up so bad. "

FOr fear that people will take this as a glib response, allow me to elucidate: Eisenhower removed the carefully placed Seventh Fleet, which Truman had positioned to protect what remained of the Imperial Chinese infrastructure, and thus created all sorts of problems for all of Asia when Mao took over the crumbling remains of China will almost an absent thought. This act alone, more than anythign else done in connection with the Korean War, complicated the future of the world in general.

Every President we have had since then has contributed to the mess we are now in, though some more than others. I am not exactly certain of Clinton's tie to this mess, but doubtless it is there.

To answer the original question, no, there will be no war. For the same reason Japan could not further its attacks against Russia in 1905, No Korea can not risk prolonged hostile engagements now. What Kim needs is to fashion a free market and open borders between No and So Korea. The fissionable material is a bargaining chip to enter into the world market successfully, which he cannot do by any other means.