It has only been a few weeks, but Hillary Clinton has already flip flopped on the issue of the North Korean uranium program:

The United States does not have concrete evidence to prove that North Korea has a clandestine uranium-based nuclear program, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Friday.

“I don’t have any doubt that they would try whatever they possibly could. Have they? I don’t know that, and nobody else does, either,” Clinton said in an interview with FOX News from Seoul, where she was visiting on the third leg of her four-nation Asian tour that also brought her to Tokyo, Jakarta and Beijing.  [Yonhap]

Clinton’s statement sounds amazingly similar and just about as believable as former South Korean Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung’s declaration that there was “No concrete evidence of human rights violations in North Korea“.   This is how intellectually dishonest Clinton’s statement is in light of evidence such as this:

• uranium detected on aluminum tubes
• uranium detected on the pages of their nuclear declaration
• The North Koreans admitted in 2002 to Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly that they had an HEU program.
• A.Q. Kahn admitted to proliferating HEU technology to North Korea.
• The North Koreans admitted in 2007 that they bought HEU equipment.
• Best yet is the fact that just today US intelligence released information showing that the North Koreans are operating a plant that can produce a small amount of highly enriched uranium.

Plus listen to Clinton’s own words at her confirmation hearing:

“Our goal is to end the North Korean nuclear program – both the plutonium reprocessing program and the highly enriched uranium program, which there is reason to believe exists, although never quite verified,” she said.

Her vision of North Korea policy was much stronger in her written statements provided to Senator Richard Lugar before the hearing.

“The new Administration will pursue direct diplomacy bilaterally and within the Six-Party talks to achieve the complete and verifiable elimination of North Korea’s nuclear weapons programs, and an accounting for North Korea’s past plutonium production, uranium enrichment activities, and proliferation activities,” according to the written statement provided to answer Senator Lugar’s questions on the nuclear issue.

“Sanctions should only be lifted based on North Korean performance. If the North Koreans do not meet their obligations, we should move quickly to re-impose sanctions that have been waived, and consider new restrictions, going forward.”

She also made clear the U.S. position that no diplomatic tie will be formed with the North unless the nuclear crisis is resolved.

“Normalized relations will not be possible without the complete and verifiable elimination of North Korea’s nuclear weapons programs, and an accounting for North Korea’s past plutonium production, uranium enrichment activities, and proliferation activities,” she said. “We must also continue to address North Korea’s human rights abuses, which must be part of any normalization process.” [Joongang Ilbo via One Free Korea]

This sure doesn’t sound like someone who doesn’t belive there is no concrete evidence of a secret uranium program.  If there is no evidence of one existing then why is Secretary Clinton demanding that the North Koreans account for one?

She knows they have a secret uranium program, but now she is reverting back to playing politics since the confirmation hearing is done and out of the way.  She just told Republicans what they wanted to hear so they would not block her confirmation.

Now that it is over, she is desperately trying to continue the myth that Agreed Framework 1.0 was a success until the Bush Administration ruined it.  The Bush Administration canceled the deal due to the North Korean’s secret uranium program that began under the Clinton Administration.  For the myth of Agreed Framework 1.0 as being a success to continue it is contingent on the false belief that North Korea does not have a uranium program.

Additionally she is trying to put her rhetoric in line with the beliefs of new North Korean nuclear envoy Stephen Bosworth who is a staunch appeasement advocate for the North Koreans.  Conditions are now being set for appeasement and it will be called a diplomatic success while the North Koreans give up little to nothing in return, just like with the Agreed Framework 1.0.

While this charade is going on better options are being ignored.