Evil, Yes. Genius, No

To hear tell, the man at the center of the unfolding North Korean nuclear crisis, Pyongyang's "Dear Leader" Kim Jong Il, is a ruthless mastermind. Earlier this month, another American newsweekly put him on the cover under the label "Dr. Evil." The message: he may look bizarre, but Kim Jong Il is deadly formidable.

This is not just one magazine's judgment. China's Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan calls Kim "quick-witted." Outgoing South Korean President Kim Dae Jung, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for his 2000 summit with Kim Jong Il, praises him as a "man of insight." And...