"It is evil, not the people of North Korea, but the regime itself and the way it has conducted its business for the last 50 years...Our policy with respect to North Korea remains one of hoping they will engage. We haven't taken that off the table... We've asked North Korea, 'Come, let's talk. Anytime, any place, without any preconditions. We're waiting '" ("Powell, Rice defend Bush's `axis of evil' speech").

In this speech made at a conference in Tokyo, Japan, Colin Powell makes it obvious that the North Korean threat remains a priority in the Capital, as it has been for the last fifty years. The world has experienced a nuclear and biological threat from North Korea since the country was created in 1945 ("North Korean Crisis" 324). The North Koreans have operational nuclear and biological research facilities, which are capable of producing weapons of mass destruction. The possession and...