What outcome would best suit North Koreas neighbors?
South Korean President-elect Roh Moo Hyun advocates dialogue–not saber-rattling–to calm tensions. Other officials have said that Washington’s plan of economic isolation of the North won’t work. And South Korean diplomats privately object to the ham-handed rhetoric the U.S. employs when dealing with Kim, which in their eyes only drives him more into isolation. Japan is slightly more hawkish and could be spurred to develop its own nukes as a result of the crisis, but it wouldn’t sign off on any military adventures. China would prefer a non-nuclear North Korea with enough international assistance to feed its people. For China, a war on the Korean peninsula or economic collapse in North Korea would create, at the very least, a new refugee problem. On the other hand, if China helps persuade Pyongyang to back down, it could claim to be a credible partner in the global war on terrorism. Q: Would North Korea really press the button on a nuclear attack? A: That’s doubtful, given the likely Am
