The UN Security Council passes a resolution demanding North Korea halt this business and opens the way for America to intercept North Korean ships to search for nukes.
It is interesting to see the players taking actions in regard to North Korea.
China has sent an envoy to discuss the situation with North Korea:
The Chinese mission met with reclusive North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and delivered a message from China's president, Hu Jintao, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told reporters in Beijing.
We are going out of our way to say talks with North Korea aren't ruled out:
"We want to leave open the path of negotiation. We don't want the crisis to escalate," Rice told reporters, adding that she hoped the Chinese mission was successful in getting Pyongyang to scuttle its nuclear program.
Although our willingness to talk is accompanied by threats if North Korea does more:
In Washington, Bush told ABC News that if the U.S. learned North Korea was about to transfer nuclear technology to others, the communist nation would face "a grave consequence." He did not elaborate.
As I noted earlier, we have also reassured the Japanese by pledging our nuclear arsenal on behalf of Japan, which led Japan to squelch speculation that Japan might go nuclear:
While visiting Tokyo on Wednesday, Rice said the U.S. was willing to use its full military might to defend Japan in light of the North's nuclear test. She also sought to assure Asian countries there is no need to jump into a nuclear arms race.
Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso drew a firm line against his nation developing a nuclear bomb, after he met with Rice on Wednesday in Tokyo.
The South Koreans, who have faced the prospect of Seoul being destroyed whether North Korea has nukes or not, are willing to apply a little pressure to forestall more nuke talks:
South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported that Seoul would bolster inspections of cargo heading to North Korea and halt subsidies to a joint tourism project in the North.
Yet South Korea doesn't want to aggravate the situation. No doubt.
It strikes me that these are all just short-term holding actions taken as interim measures. None of these measures can really solve the problem.
Unless North Korea halts nuclear work, Japan will go nuclear, screwing up China. South Korean and Taiwanes nukes will probably follow shortly thereafter. There goes the Chinese neighborhood, eh?
North Korea will continue to deteriorate and will either collapse and cost South Korea hundreds of billions of dollars to fix or Pyongyang will destroy Seoul in a final lashing out before collapsing in the hope of extorting money to save themselves.
Japan will face a new decision to go nuclear once North Korea can target America with nuclear missiles which would mean Japan can't quite count on us to risk Seattle for the sake of Tokyo.
America will find that we can't seal off North Korea nuclear exports for long if all it takes is an internet connection or a lap top computer to send workable bomb plans to terrorists.
So we are all trying to keep the situation from getting worse in the short run while realizing that the current path won't solve any of our problems for long. We all need to do something new. And the most likely solution is regime change in Pyongyang led by pro-Chinese North Koreans and supported by China.
China will get a pro-Chinese regime and so won't face the prospect of American troops on the south side of the Yalu in a unified democratic Korea. China could also enforce the border and keep out refugees by making sure North Korea starts on the China path of dictatorship plus capitalism. The Chinese may have practiced invading North Korea.
South Korea gets to keep North Korea separate and finally get a gradually improving North Korea that might in fifty years catch up economically with South Korea. And with a new focus in Pyongyang, South Korea could see the nuclear and conventional threat to them evaporate.
Japan will not have its cities under threat, will get answers about kidnapped Japanese citizens, and won't have to make the wrenching choice of going nuclear.
We will get a North Korea out of the nuclear sales business and keep our cities safe from North Korean nuclear missiles that won't be built. Plus we could probably withdraw our last Army combat brigade from South Korea, leaving only air power and support units in place.
The North Korean people won't be free, but if we can't get cooperation to actually free North Korea, a less oppressed and starved North Korea is better for North Koreans than the current regime.
China has to be sure that Kim won't halt his nuclear work to go forward with this radical departure from their long policy of supporting North Korea. I sincerely doubt that China will be reassured in the status quo by their visit to the Pillsbury Nuke Boy.
I still think partitioning North Korea would work better with the rump North Korea behaving more like China, but an economically developing North Korea under Chinese domination is better than a nutcase North Korea developing nuclear weapons that is a friend of China.
It seems that North Korea's test has made it clear to other nations that North Korea can't be allowed to continue on as it has been.
So when does the North Korea coup begin?
UPDATE: North Korea, too, has taken a short-term holding action to head off crisis:
Kim told Chinese State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan that "we have no plans for additional nuclear tests," Yonhap news agency reported, citing an unnamed diplomatic source in Beijing.
Kim also told the Chinese that "he is sorry about the nuclear test," the mass-circulation Chosun Ilbo daily reported, citing a diplomatic source in China. The North Korean leader also raised the possibility the country would return to arms talks.
North Korea wants nukes and the money that comes from threatening to use those nukes or sell them. But perhaps China's threats to (presumably) overthrow the regime--if rumors are to be believed--led Kim Jong-Il to pull back a bit and look to the short term while preparing for a real solution to his problem.
Just like everyone is doing.
Well, I don't know how Russia fits in. But really, they are involved by courtesy only.
