Can we completely trust Kim Jong Il?  The deal that the State Department struck with North Korea and Kim Jong Il to get North Korea to disclose part of its nuclear program –in exchange for no longer being on the list of terror sponsors and the lifting of some economic sanctions on that country — is far from a perfect deal.  That’s because the majority of the compromises were made by the United States.  Sure, we can be pleased that North Korea has one less nuke plant, but if it’s true that the plant had reached the end of its serviceable life, then this is merely a symbolic gesture with no lasting value.  We must be careful before declaring this a successful negotiation, because there is no way to prove that the disclosure information we are given by North Korea is accurate.  How do we know that Kim Jong Il is disclosing everything he’s doing, and why would he surrender this information when it wasn’t part of the deal?

Read this if you still want to believe that North Korea intends to play by the rules after getting all these concessions from the United States.  The UN certainly won’t hold them accountable.  I’m not suggesting military action.  Far from it.  But I remain skeptical of North Korea’s intentions.  As Reagan said, trust but verify.  This should be the strategy going forward in dealing with a dictator with Kim Jong Il’s history of deception.