POSTED AT 10:40 PM ON Nov. 8, 2009 | PRINT | Email | SHARE | COMMENTS (0)

In the vast arena of foreign affairs and international policy, North Korea is just one of those problems that won’t go away. It’s the cut behind your ear that would heal if only you could stop hitting it when you comb your hair.

These days, most of the news about the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea centers around its on-again, off-again nuclear program and the efforts of the United States to throw a wrench in those plans.

Though some progress has been made to this end, it has mostly been one step forward and two steps back.

The whole debacle started in 1992, when North Korea signed onto the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which would allow nuclear inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency to enter the country to ensure that all nuclear activities were on the up-and-up.

Things fell apart quickly, though, and by 1994 the United States was contemplating the destruction of the North’s nuclear facilities by military means. A last-minute visit to the country by former president Jimmy Carter produced an “Agreed Framework” that held North Korea’s nuclear ambitions at bay for the rest of the Clinton administration.

Though Kim Il-sung, the founder and eternal president of North Korea, established the Agreed Framework, he was not the one to implement its designs, as he died shortly thereafter. Instead, his son Kim Jong Il took charge of the country in late 1994 and began confounding the world with childlike tendencies, an unpredictable nature and bold fashion sense.

With the change in administration in January 2001, Kim saw an opportunity to reassert his country’s power and importance in the region. He touted North Korea’s enrichment plans for uranium in 2002 and stunned the world when he detonated a nuclear test weapon in 2006.

The response of the Bush administration to this act was predictably bumbling. North Korea had previously stated that it would not consider dismantling its nuclear facilities until it was granted direct talks with the United States.

In response to this, the Bush administration declared that it would not engage in talks with North Korea until the country agreed to dismantle its clear facilities, essentially plunging the conflict into stalemate.

Unfortunately, North Korea was holding all the cards. By refusing to even talk with the country about our interests (which, mind you, is the job of diplomats), the Bush administration left us powerless to achieve those interests.

Though minor progress was made toward the end of the Bush years, irreparable damage may already have been done to the pursuit of a nuclear-free North Korea.

Obama has refrained from making all but minor comments about our dealings with the country, insinuating that he may have a specific strategy in place that requires more finesse than stubborn reticence and brute force.

Of course, it may also indicate that he has no idea what he plans to do.

The stick isn’t working, President Obama. Let’s try the carrot. Invite Kim to Washington and have a heart-to-heart while drinking a glass of Hennessy (his favorite). If nothing else, we can be sure he won’t nuke the United States while he’s here.