HONOLULU — North Korean "Dear Leader" Kim Jong Il is a hard person to like; he is even a harder person to ignore. At a time when the rest of the world would prefer to focus its attention elsewhere, the North Korean leader is trying his best to shine the spotlight on the one area of the world where the global financial crisis matters little, his own already failed state.

I'm talking about Kim's announced intention — in the face of several still valid United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions in 2006 demanding otherwise — to soon conduct a "satellite launch" using Pyongyang's newest long-range ballistic missile, an action that all others are calling a barely disguised missile test.

Some would add the seizure of two newswomen to this list of attention- getting devices; I do not. I'm inclined to believe that the hugely paranoid Kim probably believes his own press statements accusing the journalists of being spies. If anything, he likely sees this incident as a test of his resolve, even as his announced satellite launch appears aimed at testing the resolve of others.