Off His Axis

President Bush today announced that North Korea was tentatively off his axis of evil, after the rogue nation submitted a declaration of its nuclear programs to the Chinese government.

It sounds like great progress in terms of U.S. relations with North Korea, and particularly in terms of containing that country's nuclear threat. But the progress is relative.

Bush made time in his Rose Garden announcement this morning to characterize President Clinton's approach to North Korea as failed appeasement. Yet there is a persuasive argument to be made that Bush's bullheaded approach to foreign affairs had its second-worst outcome in North Korea.

Beginning in Bush's first term, after he branded North Korea as "evil" and accused the country of violating the nuclear deal signed during the Clinton administration -- an accusation that, it emerged last year, was based on flimsy intelligence -- the North Korean regime launched an accelerated nuclear program and successfully built a small arsenal of weapons, including one that was exploded in a 2006 test.

Only now, in the twilight of Bush's second term, are we seeing any positive movement. And there are significant questions about how much the North Korean regime is really giving up.

Here's an excerpt from Bush's exchange with Deb Riechmann of the Associated Press this morning:

Riechmann: "Mr. President, what do you say to critics who claim that you've accepted a watered-down declaration just to get something done before you leave office? I mean, you said that it doesn't address the uranium enrichment issue, and, of course, it doesn't address what North Korea might have done to help Syria build its reactor."

Bush: "Well, first, let me review where we have been. In the past, we would provide benefits to the North Koreans in the hope that they would fulfill a vague promise. In other words, that's the way it was before I came into office. Everybody was concerned about North Korea possessing a nuclear weapon; everybody was concerned about the proliferation activities. And yet the policy in the past was, here are some benefits for you, and we hope that you respond. And, of course, we found they weren't responding. And so our policy has changed, that says, in return for positive action, in return for verifiable steps, we will reduce penalties. And there are plenty of restrictions still on North Korea. And so my point is this, is that -- we'll see."

Howard Schneider and Blaine Harden write for The Washington Post: "President Bush today lifted some trade sanctions against North Korea and acted to remove the country from a list of states that sponsor terrorism, after the isolated Stalinist regime turned over a key document detailing its rogue nuclear program.

"Nearly seven years after Bush described North Korea as part of 'an axis of evil' and less than two years after Pyongyang stunned the world by exploding a small nuclear device, Bush said the receipt of the nuclear disclosure marked the start of an 'action for action' process meant to end with the full dismantling of the country's nuclear facilities and weapons. . . .

"Provisions of the Trading with the Enemy Act were lifted today by proclamation. In addition, North Korea's name will be removed from the list of state terrorism sponsors in 45 days, following Congressional notification, Bush said.

"'The U.S. has no illusions about the regime in Pyongyang. We remain deeply concerned about human rights abuses. . . . nuclear testing and proliferation, ballistic missile program, and the threat it continues to pose,' Bush said, adding that the U.S. will continue to demand full verification that all aspects of North Korea's nuclear program have been shut down.