North Korea’s nuclear tests last year were a fizzle. No doubt Pyongyang has a nuclear device. Whether Kim possesses a real and usable weapon is another matter. And the missile test was a failure. That does not mean North Korea cannot develop usable warheads and launchers. For the time being, however, over reaction on our part is wasted energy.

Iran meanwhile claims that it has no nuclear weapons ambitions; that its programs are for the peaceful use of atomic energy. Most Americans are suspicious of that promise. And a good many believe that Iran will develop nuclear weapons or at least the capacity to build them if needed much as is the case with Japan. Israel remains on guard and has warned that a preemptive attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities is surely not unimaginable. How the Gulf States and Turkey would respond to Iranian nuclear weapons is also an important part of the equation.

That said, no one will be happy if both or either state develops real nuclear weapons capabilities. Beyond spending billions on missile defenses yet to be proven, since preemption or military action by the United States with or without allies seems entirely unrealistic and sanctions and other international leverage have not worked in the past, what should the Obama administration do?

First, expand the six party talks on Korea to include all known nuclear states. The principal purpose of this forum is to prevent the use or spread of nuclear weapons. A second aim is to prevent the spread of nuclear materials that could be used by terrorists and other groups. Pakistan and India should be included as well as Iran and Israel.

Iran's chief nuclear negotiator on Monday denied Tehran was linked to weapons seized in Thailand this month from a plane travelling from North Korea, after reports that their final destination might have been Iran.

There have been growing concerns about North Korea's close missile cooperation with Iran, which Washington suspects is seeking to build nuclear weapons.



Last week, a high-ranking Thai government security official on a team investigating the arms seized from the impounded plane in Bangkok said the weapons were likely destined for Iran.



"The question that we are after such things is completely baseless and we are not at all after such weapons, let alone bringing in or importing from other countries," Saeed Jalili told a news conference in Tokyo.



"Our approach is ... completely different from that of North Korea. We seriously oppose nuclear weapons of mass destruction," he said.



Jalili stressed that Iran, unlike North Korea, is a member of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), a global treaty to stop the spread of nuclear weapons, and of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).



Iran is at odds with the West over its declared plans to use enriched uranium to generate electricity, a programme the United States and European allies fear is a cover to develop the ability to produce atomic bombs.

Last week, Iran angered the West by test-firing a missile called the Sejil 2, with a reported range that would put Israel and U.S. Gulf bases within reach.

Earlier on Monday, Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada told Jalili he was "strongly concerned" about the nuclear situation in Iran and that the international community was very worried about ties between North Korea and Iran, a Japanese foreign ministry official told reporters.