Posted on: Wednesday, April 30, 2003

EDITORIAL
U.S. must not reject talks with North Korea

In its slowly unfolding description of talks held last week with North Korea and China, the Bush administration only yesterday admitted Pyongyang had made what amounts to a starting point for constructive discussions.

Last week Washington's reaction as talks collapsed was confined to expressions of shock over the North's off-the-cuff claim that it already possesses nuclear weapons. Actually, the CIA has long suspected the North had enough reprocessed plutonium to make one or two nuclear weapons, although it's far from clear that such weapons would be deliverable.

For reasons that may be reflective of a raging internecine dispute between the State and Defense departments, it took a week to disclose that the North had offered to scrap its nuclear programs, submit to intrusive inspections and quit testing and selling missiles if the U.S. would guarantee security and normalize relations.

The Bush administration flatly rejected that offer yesterday, correctly pointing out that to agree to it would be rewarding bad behavior.

But there's no other way to halt proliferation than rewarding bad behavior. Never mind that Washington also failed to carry out its commitments in the 1994 agreement with the North Koreans. It's also clear that the administration intends to continue policies that led the North to revive its plutonium program in the first place. That program had been frozen since 1994.

The Bush administration now demands that Pyongyang unilaterally give up its last and only bargaining chip. In exchange for what? Washington isn't letting on.

Without serious pursuit of a negotiated settlement with Pyongyang, what alternatives do Bush's people envision? Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld envisions a joint Chinese-American effort at regime change. Experienced China hands think this is a pipe dream.

The other options, which involve conflagration or North Korea's collapse, should not be on anyone's preferred list. Pyongyang has offered a starting point for negotiations; Washington should meet it halfway.