It has become a habit that whenever supreme leader Kim Jong-il feels a bit insecure, he will make an announcement that he is testing another weapon. He is doing it again, and it is no different from the past even though it is a nuclear bomb that he intends to test this time.

At least two distinctive features already stand out in this latest crisis. First of all, North Korea knows full well that the international community, let alone the US and China, cannot afford to see the collapse of its archaic society and government. Just imagine a population of 35 million spreading all over the Korean Peninsula, crossing the border into China and South Korea, creating chaos and turning the whole region upside down. That is the nightmarish scenario no one wants to see. So, in a way, everybody has to tolerate the North Koreans. The US might ease the financial sanctions that have worked effectively in blocking the financial lifeline of North Korea.

Prior to the 1994 six-party talks in Geneva, there was recognition among major powers that the current leadership of North Korea would not be able to hold its own and that the country had to be liberated and reunited with South Korea. However that idea came to a drastic halt because all the powers concerned finally realised that the price tag would be too high if Kim Jong-il refused to go peacefully.

Furthermore, South Korea's President Ryo Moo-hyun has his own ideas when it comes to dealing with North Korea, which ironically are not in any way congruent with those of the south's two major allies, the US and Japan. As long as differences exist among the three, Pyongyang will continue to have a picnic with its nuclear threats.

Second, North Korea understands realpolitik at the highest level. For one thing, Pyongyang knows that if one wants to be a pariah state, one has to make sure one is the worst pariah state. North Korea cannot be a middling pariah state; it must be the worst pariah state to survive. If any country wants to stand up against major powers, it must make sure that it can withstand criticism from them for a long time.

For instance Iran, with huge reserves of oil, has already become a standard bearer of how to go against the US and thrive at the same time. How many countries can enjoy that kind of longevity? In the near future, more and more countries will emulate such behaviour.

In fact, North Korea's growing intransigence is already being emulated elsewhere. Nearer home there is Burma, which in the past nearly two decades has transformed itself from a regional pariah state to an international pariah state with an agenda at the UN Security Council. Will Burma change? Of course not.

In fact, Rangoon has learned from North Korea that being a pariah state at the international level has advantages too because it gets a lot of attention, both negative and positive. Eventually, the military junta learned that these two forces cancelled each other out and what remained was still good for the country. After all, Burma still enjoys assistance from international organisations and foreign governments even though at the end of month pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi will have been under house arrest for a total of 11 years.

In dealing with North Korea, close collaboration among the members of the UN Security Council is crucial, especially between the US and China. South Korea must also realise that this is not about a family feud but about global security and stability.