One day after the Bush administration announced it would remove North Korea from the terrorism blacklist, the country’s leadership said it would resume disablement work at its Yongbyon nuclear complex and it would allow the International Atomic Energy Agency to inspectors to check the work so they can see with their own eyes that the North is complying with the U.S. and U.N.

As noted in our report yesterday, one of the main reasons North Korea reopened its nuclear facility was because its leaders were disappointed that they were not taken off the infamous blacklist. 

Map of North Korea

All the United States would have to do to make North Korea comply once again was to remove the country ruled by communists from the list.

The stick is often used these days in order to force hostile regimes to comply with rules established by the United Nations and other international bodies. The stick is, of course, important, but without the carrot, one will always fail in the long run. In the end, individuals and countries do not merely react to the stick, you also need to promise and give them something in return for good behavior. North Korea’s reaction today should serve as a reminder of this golden rule.