New York ( CNN ) -- The skirmish between North and South Korea over Yeonpyeong , an island in the disputed zone between the two sides , has brought new danger to a standoff that has been escalating for more than two years . It happened just two days after North Korea revealed a sophisticated uranium enrichment program to three American visitors from Stanford University , and in the midst of its leadership transition from Kim Jong Il to his son , Kim Jong Un . How can the international community respond in a way that will deter North Korea without pushing the situation into all-out war ? None of the options is particularly attractive : Strong sanctions and displays of force have already been tried , and failed to stop the latest attack . Military retaliation could easily escalate into war involving the Koreas , the United States and possibly China , with devastating consequences . Negotiations , many would argue , have failed , too . But among the available options , a return to negotiation seems the least bad one . This would not be `` rewarding bad behavior , '' but trying to test North Korea to see what it would take to bring us back from the brink of war . Negotiation would have to be pursued multilaterally -- most likely through the Six-Party Talks among the Koreas , the United States , China , Russia and Japan -- or perhaps even more importantly , bilaterally between the United States and North Korea . It is never possible to be sure what is going on within the North Korean regime , but its growing belligerence -- through nuclear tests , military muscle-flexing , and the demonstration of nuclear capacity to foreign visitors -- suggests that North Korea is trying to show the world it is a force to be reckoned with . Pyongyang has made it known that it wants to be accepted as a nuclear weapons state and wants to deal with the U.S. from that position of strength . This may in turn be related to the transition underway in the North Korean leadership : either Kim Jong Un himself demonstrating his toughness to his military , or groups within the military showing their loyalty to him by their forceful actions . The United States has stated repeatedly that a nuclear North Korea is unacceptable , especially because of the effect a nuclear North Korea would have on other would-be nuclear powers , above all Iran . But for now , a nuclear North Korea is a reality we must deal with . North Korea manufactured this crisis . Renewed dialogue between the United States and North Korea could reveal what combination of incentives might get the North to back down and eventually relinquish its nuclear capability -- and a nonnuclear Korean peninsula is the stated goal of all the parties in the six-way talks , including North Korea . China , which has its own interest in a stable Korean peninsula , must be brought into the negotiating process as well . The government of Lee Myung-bak in South Korea has promised `` stern retaliation '' over the Yeonpyeong attack , but knows its real options are limited . The Pentagon and State Department have strongly condemned the North Korean action but have wisely urged restraint . China has also criticized North Korea and called for a return to dialogue and a peaceful resolution of the current standoff . A space for common interest can be found among all sides with a stake in the Korean situation . What is required is the political courage , not least in Washington , to look beyond condemnation and to engage in the hard negotiations necessary to prevent the situation from spiraling out of control . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Charles Armstrong .
Charles Armstrong says North Korean attack confronts the world with difficult options . Sanctions have failed , military action could be disastrous ; talks the least bad choice , he says . Comment: Talks could reveal what it will take to get Pyongyang to abandon nukes , he says .