US Vice President Dick Cheney and like-minded individuals in the Bush Administration are urging a rethinking of diplomatic overtures to North Korea on the strength of Israeli intelligence revealing that Pyongyang helped Syria to establish a nuclear arms program.
Israel's air force reportedly bombed the suspected nuclear facility last month in response to that evidence, following months of undercover intelligence gathering inside Syria.
According to the New York Times, Cheney and National Security Advisor Stephen J. Hadley are convinced the Israeli intelligence and resulting air raid are proof positive that North Korea cannot be trusted to truly end its nuclear program in exchange for the economic aid it is now receiving.
President George W. Bush, however, is currently siding with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who the Times reported is maintaining that the intelligence presented by Israel does not merit a change in US policy toward North Korea.