(EDITORIAL from the Korea Times on June 2)

Zero tolerance
North Korea should stop further provocations

The international community has reached a point of zero tolerance toward North
Korea's endless game of nuclear brinkmanship and other provocations.

Now, it is
time to take stern and resolute action against the recalcitrant North. But the
dilemma is that the United States, South Korea and other allies have few options
to tame the unruly Kim Jong-il regime and bring it back to the negotiation table
to discuss denuclearization and peaceful coexistence.
It seems that the Stalinist country already knew what cards its adversaries hold
in a nuclear gamble. In fact, North Korea has outmaneuvered other players to
launch its long-range missile and conduct a second nuclear test accompanied by
the firing of short-range rockets. Now the communist state reportedly plans to
test-fire an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). An informed intelligence
source said that the North is believed to have moved what appears to be an ICBM
to a launch site in Dongchang-ri, North Pyongan province.
No one can rule out the possibility of Pyongyang launching the ICBM on the
occasion of the summit between South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and his U.S.
counterpart Barack Obama scheduled for mid-June in Washington, D.C. The series of
provocative acts apparently show that the reclusive country's aim is to gain
nuclear status by possessing atomic bombs and developing long-range missiles and
nuclear warheads. In other words, this proves that the North has never given up
its nuclear ambition since it signed a joint declaration for a nuclear-free
Korean Peninsula in 1992.
Also worrisome is that Pyongyang might translate its threat of military strikes
against the South into action, possibly along the maritime border on the volatile
West Sea. The South Korean military is on heightened alert after the North
recently prohibited vessels from navigating mid and upper parts of the West Sea.
Defense officials see the North's move as a possible sign of provocation.
On Monday, President Lee urged the North to refrain from any further provocation,
saying the South will not tolerate any military threats. He made the urge during
a special summit with leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) on Jeju Island. The leaders plan to issue a joint statement condemning
the North's provocations. The United Nations Security Council is also working to
adopt a resolution to impose stricter sanctions on Pyongyang.
On the sidelines of a security forum in Singapore Saturday, the defense ministers
of South Korea, the United States and Japan pledged joint action against North
Korea. Especially, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said America will not
stand idly by as the North builds the capability to wreak destruction on any
target in the region. We positively assess the international efforts to punish
Pyongyang for its nuclear blackmail and saber rattling tactics and to prevent it
from taking more reckless and dangerous moves.
But the question is what effective action the international community will take
to keep the unbridled North in check, and move forward complete, verifiable and
irrevocable denuclearization. The world should show what zero tolerance means to
North Korea, although this is easier said than done.
(END)