Enough Already . . . ?

The Chosun Ilbo reports that Washington is about to insist on a written commitment by North Korea to complete denuclearization, or else.

The three countries will not be content with vague reference to “denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula” or a preliminary freeze, and Washington and Tokyo have threatened to stop the talks and impose sanctions if no written undertaking is forthcoming. A Korean official said Sunday the goal of the six-party talks was “the dismantling of the North Korean nuclear program” and the sole aim of the fourth round to confirm this principle in writing.

The question is how the pair would harmonize their threat of economic sanctions with South Korea.

However, South Korea, the U.S. and Japan will give North Korea written security guarantees if it decides to dismantle its nuclear program, Japan’s Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported.

So is this a do-or-die ultimatum? Not exactly, it seems:

Meanwhile, U.S. chief negotiator Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, who arrived in Beijing on Sunday, said he hoped for measurable progress but did not expect this round to be the last.

Some details will apparently still be left to work out later if Pyongyang commits to denuclearization. But further intransigence at this stage seems particularly well advised. Now that even the North Korean Army is starving, the regime can’t afford the loss of more of its outside income. On the other hand, I certainly hope we have a better concept of pressuring the North than starving very the people who represent the greatest challenge to the regime. I hope we’ve thought of ways to get food to the truly hungry even as we make further efforts to bankrupt the regime itself.