Nuclear diplomacy

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has traveled to Berlin, Germany, to commemorate today the 20th anniversary of the Berlin Wall's fall.

When the secretary is not helping to celebrate the symbolic end of the Cold War, she will be discussing with German and other leaders two recurring problems of today — Iran and North Korea's nuclear programs.

The international community may be ready to make a move in both cases. Iran continues to ignore international attempts to monitor its nuclear program. North Korea refuses to return to six-party disarmament talks.

Iran is expected to decline the U.N. watchdog agency's deal to send uranium abroad for enrichment to ensure that it would not be used to make a nuclear bomb. North Korea probably will resist U.S. pleas to rejoin the international negotiations.

"This is a pivotal moment for Iran, and we urge Iran to accept the agreement as proposed," Secretary Clinton said last week. "We will not alter it and we will not wait forever."

The question is how to answer Iran's lack of cooperation as well as North Korea's. Will Russia and China continue to block U.N. sanctions against Iran, or will they cooperate? How will the international community respond to North Korea?

A united response would be most effective. So far, that has not happened.