Precisely 11 weeks have passed since Pyongyang carried out its fifth and largest nuclear test. And it remains an open question whether the UN Security Council can put the draft of a new resolution to the vote next week.
China and the United States seem to have agreed to impose broader sanctions against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, and Beijing is reportedly to talk with Moscow to encourage it to come on board.
While strictly enforced broader sanctions are to be welcome if they manage to persuade Pyongyang that nuclear weapons are not the way to ease its security concerns, it should be borne in mind that the UN Security Council has issued a number of resolutions that have denounced the DPRK's nuclear tests and missile launches and imposed sanctions on it. However, instead of subduing Pyongyang, they have ended up making it even more defiant and provocative.
Which perhaps should come as no surprise given the U.S. and its allies in East Asia are presenting an ever-increasingly hostile posture toward Pyongyang.
In the latest development on Wednesday, the Republic of Korea and Japan signed an agreement to share confidential military intelligence, a move that will only worsen the confrontation on the Korean Peninsula and add to insecurity and instability in Northeast Asia.
Intensified cooperation between the U.S. and its allies based on the U.S.' deeply entrenched Cold War mentality runs counter to efforts to peacefully resolve the complex and sensitive situation on the Korean Peninsula.
The U.S. and its allies should take seriously the DPRK's security concerns and the concerns of other countries in the region and contribute to regional peace and stability through their words and deeds, rather than doing the opposite.
Since many of Northeast Asia's present troubles, including the quarrel surrounding the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense anti-missile system, have their roots in the approach of the U.S. and its allies to the DPRK, the fundamental way to achieve a peaceful and lasting solution is for them to change their approach.
In this respect, it is to be hoped that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is good to his word and is willing to talk with the DPRK, as a resumption of the Six-Party Talks is the only way to meet the interests of all stakeholders.
The clock is ticking, a sanctions regime that is sufficiently broad and strict and effectively applied, will hopefully prevent Pyongyang from executing a sixth nuclear test.
But engagement, not estrangement, is the best way to fulfill the expressed commitment of all to peace and stability.
