North Korea has sabotaged itself once again by trying to trick and intimidate its negotiationg partners in Washington. No one forced the Hermit Kingdom to launch a rocket in violation of United Nations rules and international understandings.

For the glory of watching a lone missile shoot its way up into the sky, Pyongyang will lose tons of desperately needed food aid.

Meanwhile, the USA is calling off its hunt for the remains of American soldiers MIA from the Korean War.

So much for all that talk of North Korea as a rational actor.

Does Zakaria believe North Korea is a rational actor? Under his definition, as long as the North Korean regime is concerned with its survival, prosperity, and strength; as long as it is making calculations on that basis, then it is rational actor. But if Iran and North Korea are rational, then who is irrational?

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