This past November, two anti-American governments each committed an act of aggression against the island territory of a neighboring democracy. North Korea shelled the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong, killing two soldiers and two civilians. Nicaragua’s well-staffed and armed military forces invaded and occupied the Costa Rican island of Calero. The North Korean aggression prompted full-throated international condemnations and calls for U.N. action. The Nicaraguan aggression, however, was largely ignored.

What explains the different reactions? For one thing, North Korea perpetrated physical violence that led to four deaths, whereas Nicaragua did not spill any blood in its conquest of Calero Island. For another thing, North Korea represents a much greater threat to regional and global stability than does Nicaragua because Kim Jong Il has a nuclear arsenal, while Nicaragua does not. But Costa Rica doesn’t have a military and depends on international law and multilateral institutions for its defense. Moreover, South Korea is a member of the G-20. It was thus to be expected that Pyongyang’s artillery bombardment would draw much more attention than Managua’s cross-border incursion.