Very likely: Japan’s Asahi reports from Seoul that military hardliners appear to be calling the shots in North Korea. Maybe Kim Jong Il is being outflanked by the DPRK’s version of the neocons. Excerpts:
“Although it is difficult to tell what is actually going on inside the Kim Jong Il regime, some analysts say there have been signs of shifts in the power structures of the North Korean military and the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea. For example, North Korea, without warning, informed South Korea in May that it had canceled a test run on joint railway tracks between the North and South just a day before the scheduled date. Pyongyang’s excuse was that its military could not ensure the safety of railway travel. In addition, a meeting scheduled for late June between former South Korean President Kim Dae Jung and Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang was postponed. North Korea’s decision was surprising because Kim Jong Il is said to trust and respect the former South Korean leader he met six years ago. Given his fondness for Kim Dae Jung, the North Korean leader was unlikely to breach protocol by scrapping a planned meeting with the South Korean dignitary.
“Some analysts said a change within the North Korean military was behind the postponement. Perhaps new military leaders went over Kim Jong Il’s head to scrap his meeting with Kim Dae Jung. Kim Jong Il holds the titles that control both politics and the military. Therefore, he is ultimately responsible for the missile launches. But the military might have taken the action on its own, with Kim and other leaders unable to prevent the launches.”
Pretty good reason to start talking, it seems to me. But Bush and Bolton say no.
