Phoenix, I would have to say that some of your fears are justifiable. It is interesting to note that in the past, North Korean antics were used to gain concessions and aid from South Korea and the United States. For instance, when it was rumored that NK was developing a nuclear bomb, we rewarded them with generous amounts of fuel oil and promises to build two "light-water" reactors in their country. When NK launched a missile over Japan in 1998, we once again piled on the aid to the Communist country in exchange for a ban on future missile tests for a set number of years. When you get down to it, for the past ten or so years, we have been rewarding North Korea for "bad behavior." My greatest fear is that North Korea -operating from its previous set of assumptions- will conduct something really rash, (perhaps another missile test?) expecting another round of world attention and aid to placate them. However, with 9/11 and a new administration in the White House, I think that such a move by North Korea would be viewed VERY unfavorably by Washington. Instead of giving more aid to NK, the United States might view such an act as a direct threat to itself, its forces in the region, and its allies. Tensions on peninsula could rise dramatically. I truly hope such a scenario does not come to pass, but I have read a couple of other sources that have mentioned concerns to the same effect. Only time will tell.....