On North Korea, Joseph said the administration’s 2009 policy of “strategic patience” with Pyongyang ignored the isolated state’s nuclear program and produced predictable results.

North Korea “revealed a modern enrichment facility after years of denial,” he said, noting the regime’s underground nuclear tests, multiple missile launches, and escalation of tensions with military provocations.

The administration then gave in to North Korea and bribed the regime with 265,000 tons of wheat as part of a food aid program designed to coax negotiators back to the nuclear arms talks.

“The charade quickly fell apart with the failed rocket launch, a testament to the fecklessness of engagement without pressure on these types of regimes,” Joseph said.

Rogue states such as Iran and North Korea are not seeking Cold War-style deterrence against the United States, Joseph said. Instead they seek a limited capability to hold a small number of cities “hostage” to the threat of a nuclear attack.

“If they can do that, then the whole calculus sort of changes in their region,” he said.