The axis of diplomacy

Guardian Unlimited | Comment is free | The axis of diplomacy: North Korea is tweaking the American tail with its threat of a missile test. But the US need not bite

1) At the beginning of June, the US turned down an invitation issued from North Korea for its chief negotiator, Christopher Hill, to visit Pyongyang. (This was a repeat of an invitation issued last October.)

3) Of course North Korea is a repressive regime, devious and opaque in its policies, but diplomacy is about getting results. This is the view of the South Korean government, which now finds itself in the bizarre position of being lambasted by US conservatives for being too soft on the North. The South Koreans believe a collapse of Pyongyang would cause chaos across the Korean peninsula.

John Gittings is the author of The Changing Face of China