(EDITORIAL from the JoongAng Daily on July 18) - Staying alert to North threat

Hillary Clinton, the U.S. secretary of state, promised ???a tougher joint effort
to stop [North Korea's] nuclear weapons program" on Wednesday. The United Nations
Security Council revealed a list of North Korean officials and companies subject
to sanctions. Kim Yong-nam, the president of North Korea's Supreme People's
Assembly, declared that "the six-party talks came to a permanent end" on Thursday
and stressed that the North "has no choice but to take decisive measures to
further strengthen its nuclear deterrence."
As the United States and North Korea square off, neither side seems prepared to
back down. Clearly, the North Korean nuclear issue is reaching a critical point.
After two decades of more failures than success, resolving the nuclear question
is entering a new phase.
Looking back on the past 20 years, we believe resolving the nuclear conundrum
should follow some principles. First, North Korea must never, under any
circumstances, be recognized as a nuclear power. North Korea must never own
nuclear weapons and must discard whatever it already possesses.
During the two decades of nuclear negotiations, the international community has
failed to come to an agreement on this. And there was relatively little tension
before the North's second nuclear test. But that detonation and a succession of
missile tests have destabilized the Northeast Asian region and the rest of the
world.
Second, the North Korean nuclear issue must not be viewed merely as a regional
problem. It's self-evident that North Korea's nuclear development threatens
international nuclear non-proliferation.
The North's nuclear armament is a challenge to the entire international community
because it threatens the interests of countries including South Korea, the United
States, Japan, China and Russia.
Third, China's active participation in the process is of primary importance. The
reason that the past 20 years of nuclear negotiations have mostly failed is we
lack the resources for appropriate pressure to apply when necessary.
The general consensus is that the deteriorating domestic situation in the North
has played a role. As Kim Jong-il's health apparently gets worse, North Korea has
chosen confrontation rather than negotiation. By raising tensions with the
outside world, the North is trying to solidify its regime. The domestic troubles
will remain in place for quite some time, meaning tensions are also likely to
increase.
Our government must remember that provocation could occur any time as a result of
heightening tensions and must be prepared to act accordingly.
(END)