1985, North Korea signs the nuclear nonproliferation treaty. "Read my lips," says North Korea's government, "NO MESSING WITH NUCLEAR WEAPONS." They promptly ignore their own signatures and begin their nuclear program.

1991, promise by North Korea to South Korea, "We'll not SEEK or MAKE nuclear weapons. In fact, you can send inspectors in to check me out!" But the weapons machine rolls on and inspectors are rolled out.

1992, promise by NK to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), "If those Americans will stop their military exercises in our backyard, you can come in and look." Guess who keeps their end of the bargain, and who does not?

1992, North Korea promises the U.S., "You take your tactical nuclear weapons away, and we'll stop dabbling in the nuclear." U.S. agrees, Korea renaeges.

October 21, 1994. To gain "regional stability" (to bribe the NK government into not starting a nuclear war), the United States flat out gives two entire nuclear reactors (the good kind) to Chosun. Ballpark assessment of cost: MULTI BILLIONS OF DOLLARS. (And you know where the U.S. government gets its money!) Doesn't seem to work. While the work is being done as we promised, North Korea is in their nuclear weapons kitchen, stirring up trouble. And inspectors are denied access.

1995-1999, a famine-paralyzed but still hard-hearted (Pharaoh-like) government demands that the U.S. give it food. Merciful Americans cannot resist. The spin in NK government circles: "You see how the United States repentantly pays us for the grief it has caused?" More than that, many of the neediest Koreans never see the relief. Only those who support the regime, and especially the military, prosper during that time, if staying barely alive through one of the worst famines of history can be called prospering.

1998, NK says to Bush," Hey, we're keeping our nose clean. We haven't sold missiles to your enemies (lately). You should pay us for the lack of revenue that has created!" Sure enough, the good old U.S. of A. dishes out the dollars.

1998, North Korea does the unthinkable. It launches a multi-stage missile over Japan. Harsh rhetoric follows from world leaders, including the Americans. But soon the yearly shipment of 500,000 tons of fuel oil is sent as scheduled and as promised in the 1994 Geneva settlement. What a strange nation, this America, that props up its enemies so they can hit again. And what a strange nation, this North Korea, that can make such outrageous demands of a nation that could demolish it in a few days. Some argue that our monthly gifts are nothing but a ransom.

1999, NK says, "Okay, you can inspect our facilities. Just give us a $300 million inspection fee!" Done.

Where does your hard-earned (tax) dollar go? For one place, into the nuclear pockets of a Stalinist regime on the other side of the world. So we are involved in this thing after all. So it is hard to ask people like you to dig deeper, and voluntarily, but I ask anyway: There are some truly empty pockets in North Korea, many of them belonging to our brothers and sisters in Christ. Let's find a way to fill those, also.