WHILE THE WORLD SLEEPS – AT 3:44 A.M. ET:  While the world naps, and Keith Olbermann attacks Bristol Palin, serious people are worried about serious things.  From The Wall Street Journal:

VIENNA—The Obama administration told the United Nations nuclear watchdog that North Korea likely has built more than one uranium-enrichment facility, significantly raising the proliferation threat posed by the secretive communist state.

U.S. and European officials are pressing the International Atomic Energy Agency to better scrutinize Pyongyang's potential role in sharing its nuclear technologies with third countries. But the U.N. agency's ability to monitor Pyongyang is limited: North Korea kicked out the IAEA's inspectors in 2009.

Oh, that's okay.  Jimmah Carter said last week that North Korea really truly, cross-their-heart-and-hope-to-die wants to negotiate.  Aren't you encouraged?

The IAEA already is investigating evidence that North Korea transferred a nearly operational nuclear reactor to Syria, which Israeli jets subsequently destroyed in 2007. U.S. and U.N. officials now worry Pyongyang could begin exporting its advanced centrifuge equipment to its military allies in Iran and Myanmar.

"A uranium enrichment capability in [North Korea] could bolster its pursuit of a weapons capability and increases our concerns about prospects for onward proliferation of fissile material and of sensitive technologies," Glyn Davies, the U.S. ambassador to the IAEA, told the agency's 35-member board Thursday.

Mr. Davies said the U.S. believes Pyongyang may have already developed uranium-enrichment facilities beyond the one site it showed a visiting American scientist, Siegried Hecker, last month.

COMMENT:  And this is after years of negotiations and commitments by Pyongyang.  Now the North Koreans are facing a weak American president and an American population tired of overseas commitments.   But the law of averages here is very much against us.  Sooner or later, we are going to wake up to a mushroom cloud somewhere in this world, and realize the implications for us.  If you think security at airports is tight now, you ain't seen nothin'.

December 3, 2010