North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il's death has strategists and policymakers asking the same question: What's next? Among some there is a strong sense that a leadership change in Pyongyang represents the best opportunity in decades for North Korea to join the international community as a normal state. Pyongyang stands at a crossroads.

The sudden death of North Korea's long-serving "Dear Leader," Kim Jong-il, has propelled the world's last remaining Stalinist state back into the international spotlight. In the process, it has refocused attention on one of the most stubborn strategic dilemmas facing the United States.

 Tussle for the Arctic heats up;

Moscow strengthens missile shield; Mapping the Musudan; Keeping up with the (nuclear) Joneses; Turkey: the weak link for NATO defenses?; Rethinking the INF Treaty

Russian missiles for Syria (and Hezbollah?); Iron Dome comes online; S-300 reinforces Russian claims to the Kurils; U.S. missile shield sets sail; Israeli defenses against the DPRK

A new end to New START; Seoul eyes longer range strikes; Romania's quest for a missile defense role; A critical hurdle for India's missile shield; Taiwan's failed attempt at deterrence

Beijing audits new rural medical system; China grapples with syphilis epidemic

North Korea's brazen, unprovoked torpedoing of a South Korean warship last month has refocused international attention - and criticism - on the Stalinist regime situated above the 38th Parallel. Beyond the public outrage now coming from Washington, however, it's painfully clear that the White House doesn't possess much by way of a coherent approach toward the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) or its "Dear Leader," Kim Jong-il.

Another step forward for Nabucco; North Korea arms bound for more than Iran?; Turkey deal on Iran sanctions -- breakthrough or delay tactic?; Turkmen leader endorses new party; Political gridlock in Baghdad

At the heart of President Obama's nuclear weapons policy lies a key assumption - that Iran, North Korea and other "rogue" states are susceptible to threats of isolation and tempted by global acceptance.
 
He may be right - and I hope he is - but history offers compelling evidence to the contrary.