Agreed Framework

Recent reports from the UN nuclear watchdog and independent experts suggest that North Korea has initiated operations at a new reactor within the Yongbyon nuclear complex. This reactor could potentially produce plutonium, fueling concerns about the nation's nuclear weapons program, according to Reuters.

The on-going North Korean nuclear crisis, in addition to the previous nuclear crises with Iraq and Iran, demonstrates that we lack a coherent, peaceful approach to respond decisively to major nuclear proliferation threats.

In all three cases, world leaders have wavered between war and diplomacy. The results have been suboptimal.