When I see a piece entitled, “Time to Stop Putting Up with North Korea,” I start thinking about how many thousands of Koreans will die in the opening hours of a Second Korean War, to say nothing of the American soliders who will be run over by a southward push from one of the world’s largest armies. The certainty of that massive human toll is the principal reason why every responsible policy for dealing with North Korea is unsatisfying. So when someone starts saying they’re just not gonna “put up” with the North Korea anymore and it’s time to draw a line in the sand, usually s/he either hasn’t thought the issue through or has a cavalier attitude toward devastation.

But this is the one exception! Michael Magan wants us to get tough, big buff and rough with North Korea. What does he propose?

UNSC sanctions and condemnation are a necessary but not sufficient step. Now is the time for both South Korea and the United States to step up and define a firm policy towards North Korea. The Lee administration needs to stop pursuing a reactive policy and firmly declare its position towards the North. South Korea should preempt another North Korean provocation by defining new rules of engagement such that if North Korea seeks reunification or economic growth, it must adhere to an international framework with clear conditions and benchmarks. The burden of compliance must be put on the North.

Good idea! Really! Nothing could be harmed by a pro-active South Korean proposal, backed by the United States and surely the Chinese, to actually settle sixty years’ worth of hostility on the Korean peninsula. As a diplomatic gambit, it’s a worthwhile move. It also won’t get thousands of people killed within hours of policy failure.

How on earth this is a measure to “stop putting up with North Korea,” though, I do not understand. I suppose you could make some baroque argument about how this could ultimately lead to an endgame for reunification on terms acceptable to the international community, but, I mean, c’mon.

More importantly: if this sort of creative diplomatic solution is the sort of thing that passes for toughness in conservative foreign-policy circles, then give me a bow tie and a pair of Chinos. Any effort amongst conservatives that replaces a default presumption of the success of bellicosity with a productive positive-sum approach is one progressives ought to applaud. And if it appropriates bellicose rhetoric as the sugar to to make the medicine go down, that’s cool with me.