If there really were a world "community," one of its citizens, North Korea, might be in a prison for the crim-inally insane.

Within the last 10 years, agents of the ever-angry communist dictatorship have bombed passenger planes, blown up foreign leaders as far off as Burma and so on. Now North Korea is making nuclear weapons for fear and profit, an activity that the world plainly cannot ignore.The Clinton administration's latest recipe to get Pyongyang to play by civilization's rules is reportedly heavy on carrots.

If North Korea will stop work on its A-bomb project and submit to resumed inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency, Wash-ington may cancel joint U.S.-South Korean military maneuvers slated for 1994, expand diplomatic relations with the hermit nation, and drum up foreign-aid dollars for its dirt-poor economy. This strategy may fail, but it's worth gingerly pursuing.

For one thing, the "sticks" approach just isn't working. Ever since the North pulled out of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty in February, the world has been scolding and blustering. But how does one embarrass a pariah or ostracize a recluse?

Trade sanctions are a thought. But recent history (see: Iraq, Serbia, Haiti) shows that siege tactics work far better against forts than nations. Besides, an embargo might just feed North Korea's paranoia, prompting it to speed up its nuclear program or to lash out violently.

For now, it's prudent to act as though North Korea's leaders - the father-son team of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il - are rational creatures.

If through bomb sales to the Irans and Libyas of the world Kim & Son hope to gain security, power and some national wealth, why not offer them the same ends via stronger ties to the non-rogue bloc? Scratching the U.S.-South Korea military exercises might be a fruitful opening gesture.

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