Morning Joe: June 2, 2009

CTBT Ratification

Stories we're following today:

 Case for ratifying Nuclear Test Ban Treaty - Berger, Nunn, & Perry in Politico [link]

  • Let's be clear: we are not saying that if we set a shining example by ratifying the CTBT that Iran and North Korea will suddenly see the light and immediately abandon their nuclear programs. That is not our point.
  • We do believe, however, that if the U.S. can move forward on CTBT it would help build and sustain the international cooperation required to apply pressure on nations like North Korea and Iran still seeking the nuclear option, enhance America's standing to argue that all nations should abide by global nonproliferation norms and rally the world to take other essential steps in preventing nuclear dangers.

U.N. Hopes to Ban New Fissionable Material, Space-Based Weapons - Washington Post [link]

  • After almost a decade of deadlock, the United Nations Conference on Disarmament last week approved a working group to negotiate a treaty banning the production of fissionable material for nuclear weapons and another to discuss preventing an arms race in outer space.

N. Korea Kim's Youngest Son Named Successor - Washington post [link]

  • If Kim Jong-un does become the new leader -- and there are analysts who doubt the decision is final -- this second consecutive father-to-son hand off would be unique among nations that call themselves communist. There was no indication, however, that Kim Jong Il would be handing over power any time soon.

Kim Jong-il is a headache, but not a nightmare - Malcolm Rifkind in the Telegraph [link]

  • North Korea is in a different league. It cannot be the new regional power in the Far East. The very thought is ludicrous. It is desperately poor; its economy is puny compared to South Korea's, and both China and Japan tower over it. A nuclear-armed North Korea would be dangerous but, because of its poverty and relative insignificance, it would be a different kind of danger.

A View from the Dark Side

The Axis of Evil, Again - Bret Stephens in the Wall Street Journal [link]

  • When it comes to nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them, history offers two hard lessons. First, nearly every nuclear power has been a secret sharer of nuclear technology. Second, every action creates an equal and opposite reaction -- a Newtonian law of proliferation that is only broken with the intercession of an overwhelming outside force.

Awful Journalism

Shadow Boxing in Pyongyang - Anne Applebaum in the Washington Post [link]

  • And if, as seems likely, the Obama administration does not come up with a way to stop North Korea's nuclear program, what conclusions will the South Koreans draw -- not to mention the Japanese? Or the Taiwanese? Might some of them not conclude that the American security umbrella no longer seems quite as wide and strong as it used to? Might they not conclude that they are better off under Chinese protection?

A View from the Lighter Side

Kim Jong Il Announces Plan To Bring Moon To North Korea