In meeting recently with Asian foreign ministers, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton "spoke of unconfirmed reports of co-operation between Asia's two most stubborn dictatorships, Burma and North Korea...She warned of the dangers posed by a relationship between the two governments" ("Clinton Says US Would Arm Its Allies Against a Nuclear Iran," The Times, July 22, 2009). The unspoken fear is that North Korea might share some of its nuclear secrets with Burma.

Remember that we are dealing with a North Korea that already has nuclear arms. In late May, North Korea tested an atomic weapon apparently as powerful as the one dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945.

These rogue dictatorships are testing the will of the West to resist their provocative efforts. The nuclear club is expanding, and no one knows the identity of the next member. (Sources: The Times, The Guardian [both London], The Wall Street Journal.)