Aggressive U.S. Policies Will Reduce the North Korean Threat

 First, while not abandoning the aim of nuclear rollback, the prime national 
security emphasis must be on ensuring that North Korea does not transfer nuclear 
materials or technologies to others—especially terrorists—and to avoid nuclear 
blackmail. The Kim regime has already sold ballistic missile technology and the 
U.S. must work with the international community to thwart any future sales of 
these technologies of mass destruction. Worryingly in the few weeks leading up 
to the nuclear test, Pyongyang was reported to have strongly hinted at threats 
to transfer nuclear materials to third parties. In addition to intelligence 
collection and sharing, the United States will continue to work with 
international partners on programs such as the Proliferation Security Initiative 
(PSI) to interdict illegal shipments. Again China will be a key partner in such 
endeavors as it has an 880 mile border with the DPRK.
    Second, the diplomatic pressure for Pyongyang to return to the negotiating 
table—the Six Party Talks—can be underlined with targeted sanctions and rigorous 
pursuit of North Korea's various illegal revenue generation schemes. China will 
be wary of sanctions that could lead to military action and will attempt to 
strike a balance between demonstrating its own displeasure at Kim's behaviour 
and avoiding total economic collapse for fear of the potential flood of refugees 
across its border. It is not clear if regime collapse and economic collapse 
could be separated.