For decades, the Korean peninsula has been trapped in a cycle of lofty promises and bitter stalemates. Demands for North Korea to surrender its nuclear arsenal have consistently met with defiance, while each new round of sanctions or military drills has only hardened Pyongyang’s resolve. In this context, a proposal to accept a verifiable freeze on nuclear production ~ rather than immediate disarmament ~ represents a rare flash of realism in an otherwise stagnant debate. The logic is disarmingly simple.

North Korea continues to expand its stockpile, reportedly adding dozens of warheads each year. Pretending that this trajectory can be reversed through the same old ultimatums is wishful thinking. Halting the manufacture of new weapons, even temporarily, would at least cap the growth of a threat that now endangers not only Seoul and Tokyo but the wider international order. A freeze is not a solution, but it is a start ~ a breathing space in........

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