The question was bound to come up sooner or later. Who lost North Korea? Senator John McCain, the likely Republican presidential candidate in 2008, last night blamed Bill Clinton.
North Korea's nuclear test - whether really successful or not - has become a campaign issue in November's midterm elections, with Republicans increasingly worried at losing control of Congress.
At first, Pyongyang's latest defiance of the world community, would seem to be a plus for the Republicans. In times of international tension, the public usually rallies round the flag, and the Republicans love to wrap themselves in the stars and stripes at the slightest pretext.
The Republicans say this week's bombshell can be traced back to Bill Clinton's "misguided and naïve" policies in the 1990s. Not so fast say the Democrats, who say it was the Bush administration's gung-ho, "axis of evil" approach, coupled with the invasion of Iraq that led Pyongyang to conclude that having the bomb was the best way to guard against regime change.
As the blame game heats up let's remind ourselves of the course of events. In 1994, North Korea actually agreed to close the Yongbyon reactor. In return the US promised to help build two light-water reactors and move towards normalising relations - not unlike the deal on the table with Iran. As one former US official argued, why didn't the Bush administration talk to North Korea as the Brits did with Libya.
Then George Bush came into the White House in 2001. He started a review and early in 2002 and lumped North Korea in with Iran and Iraq as the "axis of evil". So who is to blame? You be the judge.
