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 31 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 short-ranges 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It is really worrisome that the North has continued to step up its outdated brinkmanship tactics and nuclear saber-rattling in defiance of warnings from the international community.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.