The Korean question does concern U.S.

Re “North Korea’s not our problem,” Opinion, Oct. 11

Last I heard, South Korea was a valued, trusted and friendly ally of the United States, an important part of the world economy and the originating country of many good American citizens, including a lot of our neighbors in Southern California. North Korea is not our problem? What better message to send Koreans and our other allies that America cannot be trusted to come to the aid of its allies, as well as live up to its treaty obligations.

This is America, not France.

MICHAEL HUGGINS

Irvine

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It was the trip to North Korea in 1994 by Bill Clinton’s emissary, Jimmy Carter, that set the scene for the North Koreans to get nukes. Carter negotiated a settlement that said we would give them the necessary “supplies” for them to build nuclear power plants in exchange for us not attacking them; they were not to build nuclear bombs with the “supplies.” We kept our part of the deal and, of course, North Korea broke its part and built weapons.

How naive of Carter and Clinton to trust the North Korean regime to keep its word. Now we are left with their legacy of failed foreign policy.

JUDY HERBST

Beverly Hills

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President Bush refuses one-on-one talks with North Korea. What would the scene be like today if Bush’s hero, Ronald Reagan, had chosen to not speak one-on-one with Mikhail Gorbachev?

ANNE WOLD

Rancho Palos Verdes