It seems that someone isn't getting enough attention lately

This is par for the course and at this point, even I expected this. The North Koreans only form of diplomacy is brinkmanship tactics. It's a risky game and one that is eventually going burn them but it's all they have.

Since the end of the last six party talks, the US has not made any concessions or even shown an interest in resuming the talks. This administration, unlike the last one, views diplomacy as a means, not an end. The best way to get the DPRK back to the table is to ignore them or put pressure on them. I'd rather see a carrier group off their coast for a while, but I don't think our current optempo would really allow for an extended tour right now.

At this point we may as well allow the nuclear test to go forward. That, at least, would put the nuclear question to rest and there's really nothing we can do to stop them from doing such a test anyway. (FWIW, it's not clear that a nuclear test would indicate the bomb was built by (or owned by) the DPRK. When Pakistan had two nuclear tests back to back, it was believed that one of them was a North Korean weapon that they moved into Pakistan to test there to keep the local heat off their back.

Another issue worth keeping an eye on.

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