That cornered-animal-with-the-bared-fangs schtick has worked for decades

Jennifer Lind at Foreign Affairs examines the three-pronged reason why North Korea continues to get away with its belligerence:

1.) We're nuts and unpredictable

2.) We're in horrible shape economically, and if we're nudged into collapse, it will be a humanitarian crisis for several countries.

3.) We have a nuclear arsenal.

She recounts the sequence of criminal behavior NK has engaged in over the last forty-plus years. Her article is a useful follow-up to the classic Joshua Muravchik article in Commentary a few years back entitled "Facing Up to North Korea." The whole story, while a tale of how the world became a more dangerous place, does provide us with instructive insights into how we might - if we have the clarity and the will - prevent it from becoming even more precariously close to apocalypse.