Our hearing today focuses on the evolving crisis on the Korean peninsula and the role that China is playing in resolving that crisis. It is the most serious challenge to the foreign policies of the present Administration. Settling the nuclear question has long-range consequences for the viability of nonproliferation policies throughout the world, and the long-term stability of Northeast Asia. It is an historic test of U.S.-Chinese relations. It is a test not only of this Administration, but of the Congress, which bears substantial shared responsibilities for the strategic policies of the United States.

The Commission intends to monitor and evaluate how cooperative the Chinese are being with the U.S. There have been encouraging signs of more active Chinese diplomacy in bringing the U.S. and North Korea together. But we will wait to see if China is prepared to use the tremendous leverage it has over North Korea, which is nearly completely dependent on China for its economic well-being, to achieve a satisfactory resolution of the nuclear and missile issues. So far the record appears mixed, as China has blocked UN Security Council action to condemn North Korea for walking away from the Nonproliferation Treaty. Nor is China actively supporting the interdiction of weapons trade from North Korea to the Middle East. So, how forthcoming the Chinese government ends up in pushing back the dogs of war, and the snakes of nuclear madness into the world of terrorist states and organizations will be critical to whether the U.S and China evolve into strategic partners or not.

The Chinese, as this Commission documented in our first Report to Congress, are deeply dependent on American economic transfers and largess, and Chinese economic growth is in many ways dependent on the U.S. It is not too much to ask for Chinese cooperation on the Korea crisis at a far greater level than we have seen to date. China should step up to the plate in a bold way, not just to support U.S. interests, but because it is in their own national interest as well.

Second, certainly this is a test of American leadership. As the mainstay of the Northeast Asian democracies of the last 50 years, the U.S. cannot and should not dodge our role. It demands leadership of a tough, dogged, even risky type, despite our resources being stretched elsewhere. A crossroad is approaching, one road sets loose a new psychology in the world which invites politics by nuclear blackmail and increasingly massive and mindless violence. The other stops this potential psychology dead in its tracks at the Korean border. It will either be the end of global anti-proliferation policies, or a milestone of their success.

Third, as a Congressional advisory Commission, we are interested in the role that Congress must play in the development and resolution of any new agreement with North Korea contemplated by this administration. There are consultative procedures that should be followed with the Congress, and as an arms control agreement that involves the vital interests of the U.S., which by necessity will be long in duration, and with the probable use of appropriated U.S. funds for many years to implement it, it fits the traditional criteria that has been used by the Congress in the past in determining that it should be treated as a Treaty, requiring Senate approval according to constitutional procedures.

The stakes are very high. The Commission is trying to understand the policy of the Administration on this issue, so that we can recommend to the Congress what approaches to China should emerge from this experience, and provide incentives for China to work unambiguously with us in fashioning a long run satisfactory solution.

Lastly, Americans have always insisted on strong and transparent verification mechanisms. We are very pleased to hear from Ms. Paula DeSutter, the Assistant Secretary of State for Verification and Compliance. We are particularly interested in your thoughts on an appropriate verification system, which will be a major challenge as you know.