North Korea: shadow on the sun?

Pyongyang is nothing if not a recidivist.

After a year of relative détente -- during which North Korea agreed to dismantle its main nuclear facility and welcomed the New York Philharmonic Orchestra -- Pyongyang has resumed the sabre-rattling of earlier years.

In recent days, it has test-fired missiles, kicked out South Korean officials from an industrial zone, and unleashed a fierce broadside on South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, who took office on February 25 and pledged to take a tougher line on North Korea than his predecessors. Pyongyang may hope its bluster has some influence over parliamentary elections on Wednesday, when Lee's conservative party attempts to wrest control of the South's parliament from left-of-centre forces.

If conservatives win a majority, it should strengthen Lee's hand. He has warned Pyongyang it should ameliorate human rights, play by the nuclear rules and return 1,000 Korean War prisoners if it still wants to receive financial aid. Pyongyang has received billions of dollars over the last decade from Lee's left-of-centre predecessors under a so-called 'sunshine' engagement policy. Indeed, the North's influence on South Korean politics has waned over the years and the fiery rhetoric should have almost no impact on the election.