The Case for Talks With North Korea

(Bloomberg View) -- With its latest weapons test, North Korea says, Washington is now in range of its missiles. The test may also put talks with Washington in reach.

The North's announcement that it had "finally realized the great historic cause of completing the state nuclear force" may indicate some willingness to discuss pausing its weapons research. It's important to be clear about the conditions under which talks would proceed, and not to credit North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's inevitable portrayal of them as some kind of victory. The privation he has inflicted on his fellow citizens, and the disregard he shows the international community, are far graver sins than a few intemperate tweets or juvenile insults.

It's also important to note that negotiations would come after sanctions levied by the U.S. and United Nations are beginning to bite. China, which accounts for 90 percent of the North's international trade, appears to have cracked down more intensely than before on that trade. The U.S. Congress is readying even more powerful sanctions to be used against Chinese and other companies that continue to do business with the North, while the State Department has recently convinced several nations to cut off trade ties.

As with negotiations over Iran's nuclear program, talks with the North need not be accompanied by any relaxation of current sanctions -- and the U.N., which called an emergency session to discuss the latest North Korean test, can always do more to tighten loopholes. The U.S. should continue to ratchet up pressure on third countries, especially China, to end all proscribed relations with the North. By the same token, China, Russia and South Korea shouldn't overplay any signs of flexibility from the North and demand immediate concessions from the U.S. as a sign of goodwill.

The U.S. needs to play its hand carefully. Any talks would be long and frustrating. The U.S. will have to keep up all of its current efforts, and maintain discipline from the president on down, if negotiations are to have any hope of success. Making long-overdue appointments for a U.S. ambassador to South Korea and an assistant secretary for East Asia wouldn't hurt, either.

Kim has vowed never to bargain away his nuclear capability, and he's certainly not going to reverse himself before entering talks. That shouldn't be a barrier to preliminary discussions. What's crucial now is to see if there's a way to freeze the North's technological progress -- and to gauge what exactly Kim wants in return.

It's entirely possible, even likely, that Kim's latest provocation is just that. But it would be foolish not to try and find out.

--Editors: Nisid Hajari, Michael Newman.

To contact the senior editor responsible for Bloomberg View's editorials: David Shipley at davidshipley@bloomberg.net.

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