Failed Diplomacy: The Tragic Story of How North Korea Got the Bomb

by Charles L. Pritchard

" North Korea's development of nuclear weapons raises fears of nuclear war on the peninsula and the specter of terrorists gaining access to weapons of mass destruction. It also represents a dangerous and disturbing breakdown in U.S. foreign policy. Failed The Tragic Story of How North Korea Got the Bomb offers an insider's view of what went wrong and allowed this isolated nation—a charter member of the Axis of Evil—to develop nuclear weapons. Charles L. ""Jack"" Pritchard was intimately involved in developing America's North Korea policy under Presidents Clinton and Bush. Here, he offers an authoritative analysis of recent developments on the Korean peninsula and reveals how the Bush administration's mistakes damaged the prospects of controlling nuclear proliferation. Although multilateral negotiations continue, Pritchard proclaims the Six-Party Talks as a failure. His chronicle begins with the suspicions over North Korea's uranium enrichment program in 2002 that led to the demise of the Clinton-era Agreed Framework. Subsequently, Pyongyang kicked out international monitors and restarted its nuclear weapons program. Pritchard provides a first-hand account of how the Six-Party Talks were initiated and offers a play-by-play account of each round of negotiations, detailing the national interests of the key players—China, Japan, Russia, both Koreas, and the United States. The author believes the failure to prevent Kim Jong Il from ""going nuclear"" points to the need for a permanent security forum in Northeast Asia that would serve as a formal mechanism for dialogue in the region. Hard-hitting and insightful, Failed Diplomacy offers a stinging critique of the Bush administration's manner and policy in dealing with North Korea. More hopefully, it suggests what can be learned from missed opportunities. "

Genres: History, Politics

228 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Former President Bill Clinton was at least able to get North Korea to make an Agreement, if not official, to halt its nuclear weapons program. Unfortunately, before he was able to visit the Hermit Kingdom and ensure a permanent agreement, he ran out of time and Bush took office. By the time Bush left in 2008, the DPRK has not only built up its nuclear arsenal, but tested a weapon underground. Why? This book explains, as best it can without divulging classified information from a diplomat/envoy who worked for both the Clinton and Bush administrations.
This book was frustrating, if only because he took you behind the scenes and I found myself, as I did then, listening to Bush’s speeches, yelling “you jackass, are you trying to start a war? This is exactly how you start a war!” Sadly, it all comes down to partisan politics and the craving for war. First, it was “anything Clinton/the Democrats did, just no.” It didn’t matter that what he and they did was working. Familiar names came into play: Bolton, Kelly, and others. Can nukes be made from a LWR? Yes, but it’s extremely difficult and easy to discover. The hardliners who cut the legs off our diplomats, who worked behind their backs, and whom did everything they could to get us to this point now should be thrown in prison.

[Salvatore Leone · Rating 3 out of 5]

What there was is good but it is not as detailed as I was hoping for.