Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones, But Names Will Make Me Nuke You…

As the North and South resume diplomatic contact, Seoul is batting for North Korea in the name game, criticizing Washington’s continued use of “outpost of tyranny” to describe the North Korean regime. South Korean Froeign Minister Ban ki Moon has himself suggested that if Washington can lay off the “tyranny” comment for a month, the six-party talks will resume in July. Pyongyang’s hopes had been raised when U.S. President George W. Bush referred to Kim Jong Il as “Mr.” rather that “Dr. Evil,” and Kim returned the favor, calling Bush “Mr.” rather than “a political idiot and human trash.” But apparently, as long as under-secretaries in the United States add “tyranny” or “evil” to descriptions of Kim or North Korea, it will hold out on resuming talks. And this scares the South leadership, as Washington has warned it will leave the talks if they don’t resume soon, and that could lead to military action. So Seoul reminds Washington not to call names, and Pyongyang sits back and smiles; pretty clever for an evil dwarf in a tyrannical outpost.