The Bushies throw everything that the Clinton administration tried to do with North Korea out the window and then then when they are backed into a corner try to cover up their stupidity by arguing that they are the ones being flexible and pragmatic.
The difference between Saddam Hussein and Kim Jong Il is that one is a megalomaniac and the other, at this point, merely wants -craves- respect. The only ideology now in North Korea, as in China, is pride, and whether or not there is anything to be proud of, in the North's case at least, is beside the point. China has stature, and North Korea has none, except as a threat. They want a seat at the table. They need trade, and food. Seoul understands this, and we should be listening. And the fact that the new leadership was voted in for questioning the complete history of American policy -going back 50 years- is all the more reason.
"We are not planning a preemptive strike" Talking about invading North Korea, even to deny it, is pathetic and absurd. And it's scary.

Yesterday Pakistani dictator/PM Musharraf made a speech in which he said that he had made clear to his Indian counterpart during the hight of the crisis earlier this year that Pakistan would go nuclear if India invaded Kashmir. We now know how close we came, for a few weeks, to a nuclear war; much closer than we are or will ever be with Korea. Unless of course Bush insists on one-upping his playmates at every turn.

There has been some talk about hackers going after John Poindexter's personal data, and here's another nice bit of domestic blowback.

And more on the USG's support of Hussein in the 80's (copped from Atrios)