North Korea's decision to test-fire at least seven missiles on July 4 proved that, regardless of apparent technological weaknesses, it remains a threat to regional stability. The launchings prompted sharp denunciations and some sanctions from the United States, Japan, Australia and other members of the international community. Washington has said it will pursue diplomacy to deal with the crisis. But North Korea's actions also will put to the test the Bush Administration's East Asian security strategy, which features robust defense cooperation with Japan.

Prof. Joseph S. Nye, Jr., who served as assistant secretary of defense in the mid-1990s and played a leading role in the writing of two seminal documents on East Asian security strategy, considers whether Washington is adequately prepared to deal with challenges posed by a rising China, North Korean provocations, and other developments.

Washington Report is a bimonthly newsletter that provides an "inside-the-Beltway" perspective on developments in U.S.-Asia Pacific

relations. The centerpiece of the report is an interview with a leading

authority on an economic, political, and/or strategic issues of

importance to transpacific relations.