In September [2016], North Korea conducted its fifth and most powerful nuclear test to date. This latest provocation coming just weeks after they fired off three additional missiles during the G-20 summit in China. While U.S. and United Nations sanctions have undoubtedly hurt the North Korean economy, Kim Jong-un continues to willingly and belligerently defy U.N. Security Council resolutions as well as international norms. Clearly, he is not fazed by the Obama administration's so-called plan of strategic patience, and so continues with behavior that endangers the world. As good as the additional sanctions have been, without China's enforcement, it will never be enough. China prefers the status quo in North Korea rather than risk a flood of North Korean refugees and a shared border with the Korea-U.S. alliance. Time and again, North Korea has proven that, so long as it is able, it will continue to advance its nuclear program, for both internal domestic strength as well as international bargaining power. While the United States has shown a willingness to negotiate with North Korea when it takes even modest steps toward denuclearization, North Korea has shown no interest in maintaining international norms.
