It's time for the Bush Administration to step up to North Korea's negotiation table - preferably while China is in the room.
World leaders have already tagged the United States to lead the response to North Korea's widely condemned tests. The Bush administration, however, seems to be waiting for China to take action.
This delay is useless and ineffective. China has never taken a strong position against North Korea and likely won't do so anytime in the near future. Nor will they force North Korea into multinational talks.
"There has to be some punitive actions," said Wang Guangya, China's ambassador to the United Nations and the Security Council on Wednesday.
"But also I think these actions have to be appropriate," he warned.
This language shows the Chinese agree with sanctions but will not lead actions in imposing them, and history only proves the Asian superpower will try to remain neutral with concerns to North Korea.
President Bush rightly denounced the nuclear test on Tuesday, saying it needed a direct response.
He's right there, but his response is already headed in the wrong direction, the forceful direction that the Bush administration continues to pursue as foreign policy.
Clearly, Bush and his advisers believe that bullying is the best means to achieve international diplomacy.
In a meeting of the five permanent council members - the U.S., China, Russia, Britain and France - on Wednesday, U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said, "We think the fact that North Korea has conducted a nuclear test does amount to a clear threat to international peace and security and warrants action under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter as well as a variety of strong measures."
Bolton said the United States disagreed with much of the United Nations' proposed sanctions, meaning they weren't harsh enough.
While the intensity of Bush's desired response is unclear, it is clear the United States probably won't accept North Korea's requests for bilateral talks, as United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan pleaded for the world's superpower to do.
Annan called for the United States to hold bilateral talks with North Korea on Wednesday, while also urging the communist nation not to intensify an already "extremely difficult" situation, The Associated Press reported.
North Korea has already threatened future nuclear tests, claiming further sanctions imposed on the country would be considered an act of war.
Making matters worse, North Korea's dictator Kim Jong Il is not the type to back down, especially when he thinks the United States is vulnerable, due to its involvement in Iraq.
President Bush has already ruled out military strikes, but severe sanctions appear to be imminent. If imposed, North Korea will be forced to act, likely in South Korea.
Instead of risking global anarchy by imposing sanctions, the Bush administration needs to step back and be the bigger country.
Rather than threaten further sanctions, it's time the United States sat down to the table with Kim Jong Il. Not in bilateral talks, but in trilateral talks.
If China's position appears so important to both the United Sates and North Korea, have them be a mediator in the discussions.
In order to achieve these talks, Washington will have to be the aggressor, in terms of sparking conversation and working towards a solution.
If the Bush administration continues to use forceful language without sitting down to negotiate with North Korea, relations will continue to strain.
There's no need to push Kim Jong Il's buttons. The path to avoid war, a war the United States cannot afford to fight at this time, is to accept the fact that North Korea has joined the world's list of nuclear powers.
It's time for a new foreign policy. One that never backs down to North Korea, but one that engages them in dialogue as well.
Tyler Thompson is a journalism senior. Reach him at Tyler.W.Thompson@asu.edu.
