President Bush’s latest compromise for ending North Korea’s nuclear program is agitating critics - outside his administration and in. It is an imperfect solution. But imperfect may be all one can expect after Bush wasted so much time refusing to consider any compromise at all. For six years, Bush rejected meaningful negotiations. The result? Pyongyang kept adding to its plutonium stockpile and tested a nuclear device.

Presuming the current compromise comes together - the two sides remain divided over the size of North Korea’s plutonium fuel stocks - North Korea would be removed from America’s list of terrorist states and from sanctions under the Trading With the Enemy Act. The hard-liners are right on one thing: No commitment from North Korea should ever be taken at face value.

We’re not convinced it will ever trade its nuclear capability, even for better diplomatic and economic ties with the world. That is why the emerging deal will require the most transparency and verification possible, including full access to its plutonium production records. The US must push harder on this. And if North Korea is found cheating, the world will have to impose even tougher sanctions. As we said, it is an imperfect solution. But, presuming the deal isn’t weakened even more, it may be the only choice. — International Herald Tribune