AP Photo

Today’s summit at the White House with South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak marks a critical moment for our relationship, and a moment for asking difficult questions. Questions like: when has the conventional wisdom been as wrong about anything as it has been about North Korea? Its narrative has long held that, if we can set aside distractions like North Korea’s cheating on past agreements and its atrocities toward its own people, our diplomats can come to an accommodation based on the mutual recognition of peaceful coexistence. The events of this year have...