North Korea shocked the world with its announcement Feb. 10 that it will "indefinitely" stay away from the six-party talks on its nuclear arms program and that it already has nuclear weapons.
Resorting to its notorious brinkmanship for raising the stakes when negotiations are stalled, North Korea has strengthened its "nuclear card" in an effort to force concessions from the United States. But the move is likely to cause further isolation for the reclusive state.
Japan, the U.S., South Korea, China and Russia must cooperate closely to get North Korea to return to negotiations. Otherwise, North Korea will progress further in its nuclear arms program and stockpile more nuclear weapons and materials, increasing the risk of nuclear proliferation to other countries and terrorist groups.