U.S. Relations With the People's Republic of China (2008)

U.S. Department of State

Diplomacy Is Working on North Korea

Secretary Condoleezza Rice
Op-Ed
The Wall Street Journal
June 26, 2008

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North Korea now faces a clear choice about its future. If it chooses confrontation -- violating international law, pursuing nuclear weapons, and threatening the region -- it will face serious consequences not only from the United States, but also from Japan, South Korea, China and Russia, as it did in 2006 after testing a nuclear device.

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Similarly, we know that North Korea proliferated nuclear technology to Syria, but we do not know whether that is the end of the story. Rather than just trying to address this threat unilaterally, we will be more effective in learning about North Korean proliferation and preventing its continuation through a cooperative effort with Japan, South Korea, China and Russia.

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Because of its history of illicit activities, North Korea is still isolated from the international financial system, despite the fact that the matter of Banco Delta Asia was resolved and the money returned to North Korea. All we have given up is 134,000 tons of heavy fuel oil, which cannot be used in cars, or trucks, or tanks, or high-performance engines of any kind.

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