EDITORIAL from the Korea Times on May 26)

Second nuclear test
No longer tolerate North Korea's dangerous game

North Korea's second nuclear test has sent a clear message to the world that the
communist state has no intention of giving up its nuclear weapons program.

The
test is also tantamount to a total disregard of repeated international calls for
denuclearization. There is no doubt that Pyongyang is trying to undo all its
denuclearization commitments which had been made at the six-nation nuclear
disarmament talks during the past several years.
We cannot but express our grave concerns about the North's latest underground
atomic bomb explosion which was conducted near the town of Kilju in North
Hamgyong Province on Monday. The explosion came 19 months after the North tested
its first nuclear device in October 2006. It also followed Pyongyang's April 5
long-range rocket launch. On the sidelines of the second nuclear test, the North
also test-fired a short-range missile off its east coast.
The latest developments have come after North Korea threatened to conduct further
nuclear and long-range missile tests unless the U.N. Security Council apologizes
for sanctions on three North Korean firms. That is, the North is translating its
threats into action to ratchet up tensions on the Korean Peninsula and putting
more pressure on the United States and South Korea to make more concessions to
the world's last Stalinist country.
It is really worrisome that the North has continued to step up its outdated
brinkmanship tactics and nuclear saber-rattling in defiance of warnings from the
international community. Pyongyang's track record only shows that it has kept
developing nuclear arms technology and other weapons of mass destruction
clandestinely, while extracting energy and economic aid from the U.S., South
Korea and other countries in return for its false promises of denuclearization.
Some pundits claim that the North has been increasingly resorting to
saber-rattling tactics and nuclear blackmail in a desperate attempt to attract
more attention from the Barack Obama administration which is preoccupied with
more pressing issues related to Afghanistan and Iran. In fact, the North Korean
nuclear issue has been put on the back burner. But, it is nonsense that the North
is trying to escalate tensions by repeatedly taking provocative actions.
If it wants to bask in more of the spotlight on the world stage, Pyongyang should
return to the negotiation table, sincerely implement its denuclearization
pledges, enjoy a set of economic and diplomatic incentives as well as security
guarantees, and move toward reconciliation and peace. These are the only viable
options for the North to become a decent and responsible member of the
international community.
The Kim Jong-il regime should realize that its continued development of nuclear
bombs, missiles and other weapons of mass destruction would only lead to a
self-destruction of the impoverished state. It is an illusion for Pyongyang to
believe that those modernized arms and their technology will serve as a survival
strategy for the reclusive country. Such a strategy is unquestionably against
peace and prosperity of North Koreans suffering from hunger and poverty.
We urge the Kim regime not to try to test the patience of the U.S. and its
allies. On Friday, U.S. State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said, "Our patience,
obviously, is not unlimited." But he said Washington will continue to push on a
multilateral approach. The North should pay heed to the U.S. position before it's
too late. The international community should not tolerate the North's dangerous
nuclear game anymore.
(END)