The easiest resolution to the situation would be for the North to take a cold look at reality, and fully recognize how determined the international community is to keep it from proceeding. The situation is such, however, that this looks highly unlikely. It has become clear that the North is ready to take brinkmanship to the limit, and it's hard to tell what its reckless nuclear adventure will mean for the whole of the peninsula.

The current government says that the way to keep the North from reactivating its nuclear program would be to keep up on the support. But it needs to recognize that ruling out even the possibility of sanctions and declaring that the pace and range of economic cooperation should be increased, this even after the nuclear admissions of last month, are undeniably part of the reason things have come to this.

If only this late into events, the government needs to stop being the clumsy advocate and show the North that it's serious about linking economic cooperation and the rest of the relationship to the nuclear issue. There should be no further delay in showing the North what happens if it continues its nuclear adventures.

It is unavoidable at this point for the politicians to have the issue land in their lap, right before the presidential election, and indeed, in some ways the issue rightly should take an important place in the campaign. If the immediacy of the vote makes them vague and political and causes them to make impromptu promises about what should be done, this will only divide the South's opinion and strengths, and in doing so allow the North to continue to misjudge the situation.

The comments of the candidates about the North Korean nuclear crisis, based on campaign tactics as they may be, should never be allowed to divide Southern society. Voters need to make this truth one of the more important standards they employ in choosing who to vote for. December 14, 2002