US Does Deal With North Korea. How Long Will It Last This Time?

The Obama administration is lauding a new deal in which North Korea has agreed to suspend its uranium-enrichment program and its long-range missile and nuclear tests for a bribe of 240,000 metric tons of food aid. Over at One Free Korea, one commentator sums up what most people are thinking in It’s still Day One. Have they reneged yet?

What we don’t know is how many of its nuclear programs North Korea has agreed to “freeze,” what “freeze” means now, what it will mean a month from now, and what monitoring conditions we’ll apply — much less enforce — with respect to food aid. Talks with North Korea are the porn shoots of diplomacy — staged, loveless, and ultimately unsatisfying exhibitionism after which nothing endures except for the sense of self-debasement, years of awkward explanations, and possibly a painful burning sensation.