Progress in Korea

North Korea's apology on Sunday for attempting to infiltrate South Korea by submarine-borne commandos in September was remarkable enough, coming as it did from a country whose past statements have been largely limited to apocalyptic military threats and crude ideological belligerence. But Pyongyang's expression of "deep regret" for the submarine episode and its promise to make sure that such infiltrations will not be repeated turns out to be part of an even broader and more promising diplomatic breakthrough.

For years North Korea has tried to freeze out South Korea by seeking an exclusive dialog with the United States. But in the process of negotiating the apology for the still mysterious submarine incident, which left 24 North Korean commandos and several South Korean civilians dead, Washington has won the North's agreement to meet jointly with Seoul and Washington as a prelude to talks on officially ending the Korean War. This is an impressive diplomatic triumph, turning a crisis into a chance for peace. It may also signal a significant easing of North Korea's dangerous isolation from the rest of the world. The Clinton administration and its individual negotiators deserve high marks.

North Korea's actions this week suggest strongly that the long-isolated Communist regime may indeed be nervously seeking to re-enter the community of civilized nations. No outsider can be sure about what goes on in Pyongyang's inner circles, but the apology and the agreement to meet jointly with Washington and Seoul seem to support the Clinton administration's hopes that careful diplomatic engagement could encourage steps towards North-South peace.

Ever since the Bush administration, American policy has been based on the assumption that North Korea fears deeply for its future in a world where it can no longer count on the support of its two giant neighbors, Russia and China. North Korea has also been suffering from severe food shortages after two years of disastrous floods. Washington fears that these adverse developments could tempt Northern leaders into rash military adventures or precipitate a sudden and disastrous economic collapse. But it also believes that careful diplomacy can avert these dangers.

That is why, despite the impatience of some critics, Washington has moved deliberately and delicately to reach an accommodation on issues like the nuclear safeguards, food assistance and the submarine affair. That strategy has not been rewarded with two quick successes, the submarine apology and the promise of wider talks. It is important for the two Korea's to build on this week's achievements, the South by moving ahead with food relief and the new nuclear reactors, the North by entering formal peace talks and permanently suspending its propaganda attacks on South Korea and its elected leaders.

-- The New York Times