North Korean nuclear blast tests Obama and diplomacy

Steven Thomma and Jonathan S. Landay
McClatchy Newspapers

last updated: May 25, 2009

WASHINGTON — North Korea's new in-your-face test of a nuclear weapon poses a grave new challenge to President Barack Obama, one with no clear path to a solution.

Obama vowed Monday that the international community would "stand up" to North Korea for its belligerent action, and the United Nations Security Council unanimously condemned the North Korean test Monday afternoon, calling it a "clear violation" of a 2006 U.N. resolution.

However, Obama's and the international community's options are limited, and the prospects are none-too-promising for influencing a rogue nation headed by an aging dictator in poor health who may believe his legacy is making his impoverished country a nuclear power.

The new test also comes as Obama is facing a long and pressing agenda, including wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and another nuclear nemesis in Iran. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Monday that his country wouldn't abandon its uranium enrichment program in exchange for a relaxation of Western economic sanctions.

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