America has just welcomed home two of its own, Kenneth Bae and Matthew Miller, both of whom had been thrown in the slammer while visiting North Korea, and sentenced there to years of hard labor for acts that Pyongyang’s regime deemed “hostile.” We can celebrate their safe return.But it would be folly to celebrate the manner in which it was accomplished. To bring them home, U.S. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper flew to North Korea, carrying what was reportedly a message from President Obama to North Korean tyrant Kim Jong Un. State Department officials have been telling the press that Clapper’s mission involved no quid pro quo. A news story in the Wall Street Journal carries the subhead: “U.S. Didn’t Give Anything to Secure Release.”
That’s absurd. The visit to North Korea by America’s intelligence chief was, in itself, a form of tribute, in which the U.S. superpower stooped to beg a favor from Pyongyang. It was a ransom. A payola for North Korea’s hostage politics.
And, once again, the world takes notice:
That’s an in-your-face power play by Pyongyang that the rest of the world will understand, even if Washington does not. It’s unclear whether it was the U.S. that chose Clapper as the emissary, or North Korea that made the choice, and Washington said yes, he can. But the effect is the same. Clapper’s job is supposed to be collecting intelligence on such malign hellholes as North Korea, not serving as errand boy to satisfy the requirements of Kim Jong Un. If there is any notion in Washington that this might be the prelude to some sort of fruitful exchange with North Korea — more nuclear talks, perhaps — it is time to sober up. This was not a case of a penitent regime reaching out to James Clapper and his colleagues. This was extortion.
Surely an aspect of the post-American weakness the Chinese correctly perceived, as discussed in the post below.
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