MEDIA REACTION: NORTH KOREA

UNCLAS TAIPEI 000578 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR INR/R/MR, EAP/RSP/TC, EAP/PA, EAP/PD - ROBERT PALLADINO DEPARTMENT PASS AIT/WASHINGTON E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OPRC KMDR KPAO TW SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: NORTH KOREA "`Axis of Evil' Defying U.S. on Nuclear Proliferation" The conservative, pro-unification, English-language "China Post" said in an editorial (2/15): "North Korea is now the world's No. 8 nuclear power, if its claim is true. This poses a direct challenge to U.S. President W. Bush, who has pledged to confront tyrannical regimes that promoted terror and pursued the development of weapons of mass destruction. . "By heightening the stakes, Pyongyang appears to be gambling that Washington and its allies will ultimately accept the idea of a nuclear North Korea. "So far, brinkmanship has worked well for the North Koreas. Since the crisis erupted in 2002, Pyongyang has carefully crossed U.S. red lines, with little apparent consequence. . "Regional resistance to a military strike against the North has mounted in the past year - and to many in the region, the idea of a nuclear North Korea is simply not as shocking as it once was. . "America has little appetite for making concessions to North Korea. If the talks do not resume, the Bush administration could face a tough struggle to get the issue before the U.N. Security Council, where China holds a veto." PAAL