By confessing its production of nuclear weapons last week, North Korea tipped its cards, hoping the United States would relinquish its hostile stance toward the Communist country.

“If the United States is willing to withdraw its hostile policy toward the North, the North also is ready to resolve security concerns through dialogue,” said Kim Yong Nam, the country’s nominal head of state.

With a crumbling economy and little international support, North Korean officials hope the confession will win them re-entry into the global economy and normalized relations with the world superpower.

If the United States is smart, it will treat North Korea as if it were Iraq admitting to producing biological weapons. The world will hold us to the precedent we set when dealing with Kim Yong Nam and his countrymen. We must treat them firmly and fairly, not as friends. North Korea has no grounds for demanding the United States’, or any other country’s, cooperation.

Known as the Agreed Framework, Pyongyang promised the United States in 1994 it would freeze its nuclear program in exchange for two modern 1,000-megawatt reactors.

North Korean officials said they considered the agreement null and void because of delays in the promised construction of two nuclear reactors. Construction has been slowed by delays in funding.

So far, Bush has dealt with last week’s announcement calmly. Bush called the news a “troubling discovery” and expressed optimism that the situation could be resolved through multinational diplomacy.

“This is a chance for people who love freedom and peace to deal with an emerging threat,” Bush said. “It’s a discovery that we intend to work with our friends to deal with, and I believe we can do it peacefully.”

If Bush and other international powers come to terms with North Korea in a peaceful manner, they should anticipate holding themselves to the same standards with Hussein and weapons inspection negotiations. It will be demanded of them.

However, North Korea has no right to push its demands to the front. Its excuse for resuming nuclear weapons production is a poor one, and with the added fact it kidnapped 11 Japanese citizens in the late ’70s, it has proven itself untrustworthy.

The Bush administration should act with care while not losing sight of its ultimate objective: eliminating terrorism. Despite North Korea’s confession, the country and its leaders should receive the same punishment Saddam Hussein and his cronies would if they were to push their biological weapons across the table while waving a white flag. We must completely eliminate the threat – immediately and objectively.