HONOLULU -- While the Bush administration is to be commended for not overreacting to North Korea's saber-rattling and for its continuing assertion that it seeks a diplomatic solution to the current nuclear standoff, Washington needs to stop pretending that there is no "crisis" or that there is no difference between one or two suspected nuclear devices and a full-blown North Korean nuclear weapons program involving the extraction of enough plutonium for numerous bombs. This is a crisis involving both nonproliferation and Korean Peninsula security, and must be dealt with as such.
To be fair, it is wrong to accuse the Bush administration of ignoring the problem. A great deal of diplomatic effort has gone into tightening the noose around Pyongyang and demonstrating to its leadership that its actions are only further isolating the "hermit kingdom" and putting its people at greater disadvantage. U.S. President George W. Bush's willingness to wave some carrots in front of Pyongyang -- his promise of a "bold approach" toward future cooperation in return for North Korean compliance with its previous nuclear obligations -- is likewise a positive gesture that has not been sufficiently recognized and praised by Seoul.
Meanwhile, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's assertion that the United States can deal simultaneously with Iraq and North Korea, and his alert order to prepare for the deployment of strategic bombers and attack aircraft to East Asia if needed, underscore Bush's reminder that "all options remain on the table" despite his current commitment to a peaceful solution.