This piece prompted an invitation to the Japanese Center for Conflict Prevention's 3rd Annual Symposium on World Conflict

On Thursday North Korea said it was immediately reactivating a nuclear power plant that was suspected of being at the center of a 1990s weapons program, raising concerns in a standoff at the world's last Cold War flashpoint. North Korea's decision to restart the reactor which was decommissioned after a crisis over alleged production of weapons-grade plutonium there escalates a showdown with the United States over a second nuclear program being pursued by the desperate, impoverished yet dangerous communist state.

While the rest of the world, the United States included for the most part, is focused on Iraq, the arms inspectors and Saddam Hussein, we really need to make sure that we do not become tunnel-visioned about the evils at hand. There are a few other nations out there that are not located in the Middle East that pose a threat to the United States, it’s citizens and our freedom-loving way of life, among them North Korea.

The danger that North Korea presents has been documented in the history books. They are an aggressive country as was displayed during the Korean War. During the Korean War they demonstrated exactly how brutal and cruel their culture actually would allow them to be. Make no mistake, we may be the last "Super Power” but our culture is far from being tolerant of the pain that other cultures would endure to preserve their way of life. This is a country whose leaders have opted to embrace the Demilitarized Zone instead of crafting a treaty with their southern neighbor, South Korea. They choose an armed "no-man’s land” instead of peace and a potential free trade type of situation with their neighbors to the south even though their ailing economy could benefit from such a situation.

Another danger this country poses is that repeated reports over the years have pointed out the leader of this country, Kim Jong II, could very well be a bit mentally unstable. Of course without having an experienced mental health provider examine the man we cannot know for sure but he has demonstrated erratic behavior over the years. Due to the fact North Korea doesn’t have free and open elections we cannot hear what the people of North Korea think about the matter either. Not only is it a danger to have a complete military force under the control of someone who may be mentally at odds with reality (even if it is only occasionally) it is even more globally menacing to know that he has nuclear capability as he has expressed in the not too distant past. This makes Jong just as much a threat, if not more of a threat, as Iraq’s Saddam Hussein and other leaders of nations that embrace terrorism.

We here in the United States need to make sure that we are diligent in our awareness so we do not focus exclusively on individual groups or nations that threaten our freedoms and existence as a country and the existence and freedoms of our allies. We need to make sure that we continue to maintain "global” eyes that are devoid of preconceived notions of who our enemies and allies are so that we can disseminate the facts and react appropriately when confronted with the evils of the world’s rogue groups and nations.

Frank Salvato is a political media consultant and the managing editor for The New Media Journal.us. He is a contributing writer for The Washington Dispatch, GOPUSA, OpinionEditorials, Men’s News Daily, Canada Free Press & AmericanDaily. His pieces are regularly featured in Townhall.com. He has appeared as a guest on The O’Reilly Factor, The Kevin Matthews Radio Show (Chicago) and The Brad Messer Radio Show (San Antonio). His pieces have been recognized by the Japan Center for Conflict Prevention and are occasionally featured in The Washington Times and The London Morning Paper as well as other national and international publications.