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North Korea poses a real threat

World leaders must find a way to address this major problem

North Korean dictator Kim Song Un has gone beyond rattling his saber during the past few months. He has gone to waving the sword around his region of Asia, and that seems to be prompting some other world leaders to re-examine the old advice about the enemy of my enemy being my friend.

Recently, North Korea tested a new missile, this one flying farther and higher than any previously tested rocket. Kim’s regime boasted the new model is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.

In addition to the usual criticism from nations including the United States, South Korea and Japan, a new voice was added. It came from Russian leader Vladimir Putin, who commented that “there’s nothing good about” the test.

Putin normally delights in any event that brings discomfort to U.S. officials. The increasing potential for a nuclear cataclysm set off by Kim seems to have wrought a change in attitude.

Good. But the question remains, what about China? Chinese leaders already have expressed concern about Kim’s military buildup. They have more power than any other nation to bring it to a halt.

As for the U.N., one could almost hear the “ho-hum” from North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un after the U.N. Security Council voted to condemn his most recent missile test.

And by the way, the Security Council added, all countries should implement previous U.N. requests for sanctions against North Korea.

If anything, Kim will wear the U.N. vote as a badge of power. “Look,” he will tell his people, “not even the U.N. can stop me.”

Indeed, it cannot. U.S. diplomats should be looking to Beijing and Moscow, not the U.N., for help against Kim. For decades, North Korean militarism has worked to that country’s advantage. Let us hope it finally provides to be Kim’s undoing.

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