The
nuclear crisis on the Korean
Peninsula developed through three stages: the North Korea-U.S. confrontation, the Sino-U.S.-North Korean three
party talks, and the later rounds of the six-party talks. The crisis
management includes clear targets, proper methods, as well as necessary principles to be followed. The author argues that management should be aimed at relaxing the tensions, alleviating the risks of war, establishing multilateral security mechanisms on the peninsula to eliminate potential conflicts, and finally making North Korea abandon nuclear weapons to realize a non-nuclear peninsula. To achieve this goal, all parties should resort to peaceful resolution through diplomatic
negotiations, that is, the six-party talks. Meanwhile, the following principles must be followed: formulating reasonable targets for negotiations, maintaining smooth channels for U.S.-North Korea relations, urging the concerned parties to control themselves, and remain￣ing flexible during the negotiations. The author concludes that the basis for crisis management still relies on practical and effective security cooperation among the concerned Asian-Pacific countries.