It could reasonably be argued that the cruelest and most dangerous regime in the world today is Communist North Korea.
Its starvation of its own people and its vicious suppression of religious and political dissent over a number of decades are tragically and thoroughly documented. Its hostility toward South Korea and Japan is certainly no secret. And its pursuit of nuclear weapons - and development of missiles to deliver them - represents a terrifying threat to free peoples around the world.
So it is disgusting to learn that the U.N. has appointed Communist North Korea to chair the U.N. Conference on Disarmament.
If the U.N. were a remotely responsible organization, North Korea would not even be a member of the world body - much less appointed to a position of leadership at a conference related to controlling nuclear weapons.
It is a mystery why the United States continues to foot the bill for a large part of the U.N.'s often counterproductive operations. Incredibly, more than a fifth of the U.N. budget comes from American taxpayers.
It appears unlikely that we will ever see much positive return on that massive investment.