North Korea's Ballistic Bid?

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Tensions flare in East Asia as North Korea is set to launch a long-range rocket later this week.
North Korean officials maintain that they are simply launching a communications satellite into orbit, but many see the launch as a thinly-veiled test of North Korea’s long-range missile capability.

Hello, I’m Charlotte Bellis and you’re watching Newsy.com.

Analysts say the confrontation will be a major test of U.S. President Barack Obama’s foreign policy credibility.

In a FOX News interview, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates confirmed that the Pentagon has no plans to shoot down the missile.

“ ‘And there is nothing we can do about it?”
‘Nope.’
‘And what does that say to you?’
‘Well, I would say we’re not prepared to do anything about it’ " (FOX News)

Also on FOX, John Bolton, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, was critical of how the White House has handled the situation with North Korea.

“This is part of the problem of the Obama Administration’s weakness and naïveté across the board. I wish they bargained with Iran and North Korea as toughly as they bargain with General Motors because these countries don’t respect weakness, they respect strength.” (FOX News)

CNN discusses the high stakes of this diplomatic brinksmanship.

“North Korea says that any more sanctions will make it quit the six-party talks and potentially restart a nuclear plant that makes weapon-grade plutonium. If they successfully launch this rocket, it could show they have the technology to send a missile as far as Alaska or Hawaii.” (CNN)

The Wall Street Journal writes that North Korea took advantage of Bush Administration diplomacy and now is the time to stand up to Kim Jong Ill.

“What (the White House) ought to do is join with Japan in shooting the missile out of the sky… It could then pull the plug on the Bush deal and enlist China and South Korea to exert new pressure on the North.” (The Wall Street Journal)

Real Clear World highlights the influence of China on North Korean policy, and how pivotal the Chinese will be in future negotiations.

“The world does not really have a North Korean missile problem. Fundamentally, it has a China problem. Nations on some level recognize this: diplomats from the United States, South Korea, and Japan have been traveling to Beijing this month to ask the Chinese to use their influence with the North Koreans.” (RealClearWorld)

So how do you think the Obama Administration should deal with North Korea? Is North Korea a legitimate threat to global security?

Please share your thoughts and check out links to our sources.

I’m Charlotte Bellis for Newsy.com.

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