Dear Leaders gambit

The worlds most secretive and unaccountable state,North Korea is a persistence of the Cold War dream wherein the Iron Curtain was never lifted. Thats why words and actions of this predictably unpredictable state cannot be ignored. True,theres a pattern to the way the Dear Leaders criminally deprived country has used the nuclear card to get concessions and international attention. True,North Korea has nothing else to bargain or threaten with. Yet,Mondays nuclear and missile tests,followed by more missiles the day after,must be acted upon by the international community. For one,theres an uneasy shrillness in the Norths rhetoric that,coupled with the tests,indicates a shift to an aggressive policy. Since then,it has threatened South Korea with military action following the Souths decision to join the Proliferation Security Initiative that might allow it to search the Norths ships.

After the UN condemnation of its April 5 alleged missile launch,North Korea threatened to renew its nuclear programme unless the UNSC apologised. By Mondays tests,in violation of UN Resolution 1718 (adopted after the Norths October 2006 nuclear test),the North delivered on that threat. Perhaps North Korea has no intention of giving up its weapons and nuclear programme: without these it would be just an oppressive regime,not worthy of global fear. It wants to force the US to accept its de facto nuclear capability and thereby normalise relations. The tests could also be a smokescreen for the succession of one of Kim Jong-ils sons and a tool to ensure the militarys support therein.

Nevertheless,the UNs dilemma is the kind and degree of sanctions to impose and whether those would be effective in getting North Korea to rejoin the six-party tasks. Barack Obamas options are limited and the US is altogether dependent on China,which,as the Norths closest ally,has leverage over Pyongyang. China has a record of diluting the UNSCs impact on North Korea. This time it must deliver. Isolation and diplomacy have both failed so far. If the ailing Dear Leader doesnt see reason,the result could be a dangerous renewal of hostilities in the Korean peninsula (the Korean War technically never ended) and unmitigated global proliferation.