Washington orthodoxy holds that any deal short of total denuclearization is unacceptable, as it would grievously undermine the global nonproliferation regime.

Yet by rigidly adhering to this all-or-nothing stance in the face of an accelerating North Korean nuclear buildup, the U.S. is perversely increasing the risks of a proliferation catastrophe — in particular by allowing pressure to build on South Korea to go nuclear.

This danger was drawn into sharp relief last week when the DPRK confirmed the existence of a second uranium enrichment facility, demonstrating an ability to churn out fissile materials for new warheads alongside plutonium reprocessing