The AP reports this morning that North Korea is “sorry” for its recent nuke test, will suspend its threatened three additional tests, and may even come back to the long-stalled six-party talks about it’s nuclear program (among other issues).

Don’t buy it. Today’s news means only one thing: that we — and particularly Jack Wheeler, TheVanguard.Org board member and architect of the Reagan Doctrine — were right about the NorK nuke. In short, it fizzled; and more to the point, the entire North Korean plutonium stockpile has been ruined by stupid NorK scientists who don’t know what they’re doing.

Kim Jong Il had hoped no one would notice, of course, but that was a no-chance deal from the get-go. He’s now heard how stupid his people are — and how stupid he looks — from Washington, Moscow, Beijing, France, you name it. There’s no hiding the debacle. And with a reasonably united Security Council front supporting sanctions (and willing to publicly pretend that the test was a very big deal), the ace Kim thought would force George Bush to heel has become the proof that North Korea is out of cards.

This doesn’t mean they’re not dangerous, mind you. Nor does it mean they won’t do everything they can to fix what they’ve screwed up, on this as well as on their rocket program.

But it does mean that — through no fault of the Clinton foreign policy that gave Kim the store — we’ve gained some time. Count on George W. Bush to use it well.

Much has been written (including by me) about the perils of the party of Nancy Pelosi, Barney Frank and Charlie Rangel capturing the U.S. House of Representatives this November.

But losing the Senate would have a far greater effect. And the particular Senators who would lead the new regime are among the most extremist ever elected in this country.

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