A Presidential Bull in the China Shop Roh Against U.S.-Japanese Sanctions on N.Korea Spot the Odd One Out Seoul-Washington Discord Over N.Korea to Deepen Minister Lambastes U.S. for 'Failed' N.Korea Policy Roh Defends Minister’s Right to Slam U.S.

Only the UN Security Council is empowered to speak for the international community. Its 15 members unanimously adopted a resolution on North Korea last Saturday which condemned the North's missile tests and urged UN members to stop supplying materials that Pyongyang could use to build missiles. As of now, that is the only position the international community has taken on the missile question. Washington and Tokyo are now searching for specific ways of sanctioning North Korea based on that resolution.

Is Lee aware of a position deliberated on by the international community in a place other than the UN? His remarks distinguishing "cooperation between South Korea, the U.S. and Japan" from "cooperation with Japan, China and Russia based on cooperation between South Korea and the U.S." suggest that he expects China and Russia to take a different view from the international community. But China and Russia are permanent Security Council members that supported the North Korea resolution.

The president last week cited three principles for dealing with the North's missiles: cementing cooperation with the U.S., continuing inter-Korean dialogue and restraining Japan's excesses. In contrast, not sidelining the Japanese prime minister was a cornerstone in the U.S. president’s North Korea policy. If Seoul believes it can restrain Japan's excesses in collaboration with that U.S. administration, it labors under a misapprehension.

Is North Korea guided by a similar principle of not sidelining the South Korean president? Not at all. The North is busy stabbing its only ally in the international community in the back any chance it gets. The government has only itself to blame, bumbling about in search of an international community that exists only in its head.