PARIS — North Korea has officially unveiled the youngest son and heir apparent of "Dear Leader" Kim Jong Il. Yet again the impoverished dictatorship has captured the world's attention. But the United States should leave the problem of dealing with Pyongyang to the North's neighbors. The so-called Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the world's first communist monarchy, poses no threat to America. North Korea's economy is a wreck.

The North's military equips under-trained, malnourished soldiers with ancient equipment. One American aircraft carrier has more firepower than the entire North Korean military. What of Pyongyang's putative nuclear arsenal? The North probably hasn't miniaturized any weapons that it might have constructed. North Korea also doesn't have a missile capable of hitting America, let alone doing so accurately.

Moreover, Kim Jong Il is evil, not stupid. He knows that the U.S. could wipe his nation off the map. He wants his virgins in this life, not the next, and wouldn't waste his time attempting to pass power to his son if he planned self-immolation in a pyre of fire. Deterrence worked against Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong and Kim's father, Kim Il Sung. It will continue to work against Kim Jong Il.