China, US must stand together against N Korea

North Korea presents one of the most dangerous security threats in the world today. This has long been recognised and it did not require another nuclear detonation by the regime of Kim Jong Un to prove the point. It remains unclear whether this week’s explosion involved a hydrogen bomb, as Pyongyang boasts, a move that would represent an alarming advance in its weapons capability. Even so, its decision to conduct the fourth underground test in nearly a decade shows how serious, and yet intractable, the North Korean dilemma has become.

For more than two decades, the United States and the international community have used carrots and sticks to try to persuade Pyongyang to curb its nuclear ambitions. In 1994, President Bill Clinton’s administration signed a deal with the North Koreans under which they agreed to freeze plutonium production in exchange for economic cooperation. That deal fell apart in the early years of his successor George W Bush, partly because of American claims that North Korea had reneged on the bargain.

In recent years, the US and other powers have shifted to a tougher approach, punishing the regime with sanctions each time it defies international norms on nuclear non-proliferation. The United Nations Security Council may continue with this line, imposing new penalties after North Korea’s latest provocation. Far from deterring the rogue regime, such punishment has compounded both its feeling of isolation and sense of resolve. This makes it even harder to come up with an effective reply to its action this week.

Any response needs to grapple with the character of Mr Kim, North Korea’s 32-year-old leader. Like his father, Kim Jong Il, he seems to regard development of the nuclear programme as critical to the consolidation of his personal power. The optimistic view is that as his leadership becomes more secure, he may shift to a more accommodating stance, emphasising the need to boost economic growth. However, this week’s nuclear test, alongside evidence of the leader’s impetuous personality, make it hard to believe he will bend any time soon.

Given how high the stakes are, the Barack Obama administration ought to be restoring North Korea as a foreign policy priority. The President has rightly paid far more attention to securing an Iranian nuclear deal and may be tempted to sit on his laurels, but while the Iranians have been stopped before they could develop a bomb, North Korea has stealthily and steadily built an arsenal of atomic weapons.

There is a much stronger obligation on China to act. After North Korea’s last test in 2013, Beijing was visibly angered, backing a UN resolution that expanded financial sanctions. The Chinese remain North Korea’s largest trading partner, supplying most of its oil and gas. China does not want to see the regime collapse, fearing that this would trigger a refugee crisis across their common 1,287km border and the possibility of the US-backed South taking over the North. President Xi Jinping needs to rein in his troublesome ally before Mr Kim’s belligerence reaches an unacceptable level.

If this perilous stand-off is to end peacefully, it will require Mr Kim to accept the principle of denuclearisation in return for wider economic co-operation. It is impossible to guess whether he is rational enough to realise this bargain. For now, it is vital that Washington and Beijing recognise their common interest in standing shoulder to shoulder on North Korea. There is much that divides these two powers in the Asia-Pacific, but the threat from Pyongyang is one that endangers both. FINANCIAL TIMES