Roy McFarland has been placed in temporary charge at the Pirelli Stadium, and Brabin is backing the former U's boss to be a success.

BBC: Brabin calls on strikers to react

But sending Bolton to the United Nations without the backing of the Senate would make him a temporary fill-in ambassador, raise questions about his authority and possibly diminish his standing.

NPR: Bush Wants Floor Vote on Bolton

That in turn leads dogged optimists to argue that this may be nothing more than a temporary diplomatic setback after all: the ailing Mr Kim needs the backing of nuclear hardliners in the armed forces, they explain, to steady the regime while he lines up one of his sons to take over the family dynasty.

ECONOMIST: North Korea's nuclear spectacular