In a word, no, but it would hardly matter if we were.

Bosworth returned yesterday with some boilerplate remarks on how he had “useful” discussions with the North Koreans, but the word on the street is that Kim Jong Il sent his golf caddy to pick Bosworth up at the airport (I exaggerate, slightly). During the discussions that followed, the North Koreans insisted that the nukes issue is strictly bilateral, and demanded that we recognize them as a nuclear power.

In other words, Bosworth came back empty handed. Unless you’re one of the few who still believes that North Korea will disarm or stop proliferating for any price, that’s the best outcome we could have hoped for. Never overestimate the U.S. Department of State. State defines success as the authority to deliver more concessions. Yet somehow, it never seems to get a return on our investments.

You could call this “smart diplomacy” with or without irony — your choice. There is the illusory “smart diplomacy” of last year’s campaign, the one that the Human Rights Industry still praises (and they should stick to their day jobs, for any mention of human rights causes North Korea’s diplomat to walk out on you). Then there is the smart diplomacy — no quote marks — that is the actual policy, and which toes a much harder line than Bush did in his second term.

The second-term Bush was an endless string of concessions. Commendably, Obama isn’t conceding points on verification, disarmament, or aid — yet — and he’s turned Treasury loose to impose some half-decent sanctions. Less commendably, Nobel Laureate Barack Obama has been a complete failure at addressing Kim Jong Il’s atrocities toward its own people, atrocities that may be the world’s worst since the overthrow of Pol Pot.

Now Obama faces a choice. When he makes that choice, I hope he adheres to the principle of “first, do no harm,” such as by sustaining Kim Jong Il’s capacity to impose and export its misery. He can either send Bosworth back to Pyongyang with a bag of goodies — the old, failed Chris Hill strategy — or he can turn the screws and increase the financial pressure that’s showing signs of weakening the regime’s grip and giving them an incentive to be reasonable. There is plenty more we can still do to increase that pressure. Returning North Korea to the list of state sponsors of terrorism would be a good first step, especially given that North Korea’s sponsorship of terrorism has only grown more flagrant since President Bush removed it from that list.