Pyongyang's missile test

Unhappily, Pyongyang treated even the tragedy of famine as an opportunity to extract political concessions. Its nuclear program was also manipulated to obtain a handsome deal in the shape of a consortium set up by the Americans and funded by the South (Korea) and Japan.

Now, however, the North would do well to realize that the time for such blackmailing tactics is past. No one wants to starve it into submission. No one would wish to halt it in its technological tracks and force to unscramble what it has achieved. Progress is a one-way street.

But unless progress is for peace, the lesson can be swift and dire. Any attempt to follow up Monday's (missile) test with other weapons would destroy confidence. Pyongyang cannot afford that if it still hopes for the huge South Korean investment that alone can raise living standards and ultimately enable the two neighbors to discuss unification on a level playing field.

-- The Straits Times, Singapore