The Korean Peninsula is heating up, with North Korea mixing missile tests with an assassination via nerve gas and China launching an economic strike against South Korea for joining America's anti-missile program. Unfortunately, the Trump administration's policy appears to be to stoke the flames.
When presented with a Chinese proposal for a North Korean nuclear and missile freeze in exchange for U.S. and South Korean cancelation of ongoing military exercises, U.N. Ambassador Nikki R. Haley declared that "We have to see some sort of positive action by North Korea before we can take them seriously."
The threat of additional negative steps should be reason enough for contact. However, South Korea's U.N. ambassador, Cho Tae-yul, declared: "This is not the time for us to talk about freezing or dialogue with North Korea."