Under the Obama administration, U.S. policy toward North Korea largely has devolved into the president sitting in the Oval Office, closing his eyes and hoping the nuclear monsters will go away. Alas, it hasn't worked. Pyongyang has staged its fourth nuclear test.

After the test, Obama seemed to close his eyes and hope that Beijing would make the nuclear monsters go away. Alas, that isn't likely to work either. Announced North Korea's Foreign Ministry: "The U.S. should be accustomed to the status of the DPRK as a nuclear weapons state whether it likes it or not."

The administration's frustration in dealing with North Korea is understandable. Nothing seems to have worked.