Thanks to sure-footed diplomacy by Secretary of State John Kerry, South Korea's President Park Geun-hye and Chinese leaders, the outrageous rhetorical threats of nuclear attack by North Korea have receded and, so far, Pyongyang has not carried out the two specific provocations it threatened - test launches of ballistic missiles and a fourth nuclear test.
Yet the increased danger from North Korea has not ended and vigilance remains essential. The governments of countries most endangered by Pyongyang are now asking a critical question: What to do?
Fortunately, the answer is clear: The U.S., China and South Korea, with the support of Russia and Japan, should bring to fruition the diplomacy they set in motion during the past weeks of acute crisis with North Korea.
This crisis has already enabled Washington to drop its failed policy of "strategic patience" toward Pyongyang and take a new more promising approach.
For the first time since taking office in 2009, the Obama Administration has embraced diplomacy -- and close cooperation with China -- as a means of capping Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs.
The administration has joined with Beijing in reaffirming the goal of denuclearizing the Korean peninsula as a key element of the "strong, normal, but special relationship with China" that the U.S. is now seeking, in the words of Secretary Kerry.
During mid-April talks with Chinese officials, Kerry said the two countries "committed ourselves to find a peaceful solution [to the North Korea crisis]. And we say to Kim Jong-un and to the Government of [North] Korea... that they have an obvious choice here, which is to join us in an effort to find a negotiated solution."
State Councilor Yang Jiechi confirmed that "China is firmly committed to upholding peace and stability and advancing the denuclearization process on the peninsula. We maintain that the issue should be handled and resolved peacefully through dialogue and consultation." He added that "properly [addressing] the Korean nuclear issue serves the common interests of all parties."
To implement their new-found cooperation on North Korea, it is now urgent that China and the United States coordinate closely on ways of increasing pressure on Pyongyang while also developing both political and economic incentives. Clearly, they have begun to do just that, with the recent visit to Washington of China's envoy on North Korea, Wu Dawei, for consultations.
