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North Korea this week refused to retaliate against a US-backed military drill by South Korea that took place on a disputed border. The 90 minute exercise on Yeongpyong Island was expected to draw a reaction from North Korea nearly a month after it sent a barrage of artillery fire over the military drills toward its Southern neighbor, killing two South Koreans Marines and injuring over a dozen others. Even more surprising than N Korea’s lack of retaliation this week, was its offer yesterday to let nuclear inspectors back into the country. Sending the message through US diplomatic negotiator and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, the N Korean government also indicated a willingness to sell off 12,000 nuclear fuel rods. These moves are being interpreted in the Western media as calculated concessions from a regime long vilified by successive American administrations. State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said “[w]e’ve seen a string of broken promises by North Korea going back many, many years… We’ll be guided by what North Korea does, not what it says it might do under certain circumstances.”

GUEST: Thomas P. Kim, executive director of the Korea Policy Institute and professor of politics and international relations at Scripps College