More sanctions on N. Korea

This appears on Bloomberg View:

No one knows how North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will respond to growing pressure on his regime, other than by scouring the thesaurus. But the U.S. and China seem to be stumbling toward a more effective strategy for confronting him. More boldness from the latter, and restraint from the former, will be necessary to see it through.

New U.S. sanctions that give the Treasury Department the authority to block banks and businesses that do business with North Korea from using the U.S. financial system are a powerful tool.

And the U.S. has every right to decide for itself who can and cannot participate in its financial system.

China isn’t wrong to insist that, in the long run, the only way to defuse this crisis is through dialogue.

China should be focused on driving Kim back to the table, which means cracking down not just on North Korean businesspeople but the Chinese intermediaries they use to evade sanctions.

President Donald Trump needs to restrain his rhetoric. It’s unlikely that Chinese leaders take it seriously anymore, and as for Kim, Trump’s insults only reinforce his argument that the North confronts a mortal threat from war-mongering Americans. South Korean President Moon Jae-in has pleaded that this crisis be managed “in a stable manner.” The U.S. has brought out a big stick. Trump should let it speak for itself.