North Korean Nuclear Crisis Analogy

An interesting analogy from an article by L. Gordan Flake titled Inter-Korean Relations and Seoul-Washington Ties (Insight Into Korea, Herald Media 2007).

"While North Korean officials have likened the shutdown and disablement of the Yongbyon reactor to "castrating a bull," Seoul and Washington should remain focused on the potential offspring of the Yongbyon program, the "pregnant cows and young bulls" represented by the fissile material and the nuclear weapons already removed from Yongbyon, not to mention ongoing uncertainty regarding its highly enriched uranium program."

"While shutting down a balky and antiquated 5 mega-watt research reactor - that by most accounts North Korea had to struggle to keep operating just so they could shut it down - is indeed progress, to keep up with the farm analogies, it is tantamount to shutting the barn door after the cows have already escaped the barn."