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We had many callers tonight and three guests: Dan Plesch a columnist for the UK , Professor Sung Yoon Lee a research associate at the and Clifford May president of the .

The conversation tonight was compelling and the debate was of a high calibre ...

Ravinder suggested a naval blockade of the DPRK but Professor Sung Yoon Lee said that would be hard to implement but perhaps some sort of naval "quarantine" would suffice.

Mohammed in Iran favoured negotiations that would recognise the DPRK's "right to be secure."

Dudley in Adelaide says the DPRK is a "pawn" and that the West is "on the ropes" because "the East dictates the terms of the conflict."

Dan Plesch says, "There is no reason the North should be so enmeshed in poverty when the South is so prosperous."

John from Cincinnati says "The people are being hurt by their own leaders. I sure hope action doesn't come just from one country. We need an embargo on anything going in and out of there."

Clifford May, president of the Foundation for the Defence of Democracies: "North Korea doesn't have to be poor. The DPRK regime cheated on the Clinton deal."

Aki from Tokyo -- well within range of the DPRK's potential weaponry -- called and he wants the US to take military action.

Professor Sung Yoon Lee pushed the China option: "There is a chance to get China to come off the fence and be a respectable member of the international community. They are sensitive to how they are viewed in the outside world."

Clifford May speaking from Washington D.C. suggested the DPRK leadership were impervious to sanctions: "Sanctions do not necessarily mean food, you can sanction against hi tech equipment and weaponry - that would be a more useful form of sanction. Starvation amongst the populace does not cause Kim Jong Il to shed a tear."

Scott in China expanded on the China option believing sanctions imposed by the West would be ineffective: "When the West moves against Kim Jong Il the forces are going to be overstretched. Sanctions originating from East Asia would be much more effective."

Hago called in from the US with some vociferous vocals: "We should do nothing. America is the enemy"

Professor Sung Yoon Lee finished off a raucous and entertaining evening with a historical perspective: "The principal victors of WWII have gone nuclear. Whether that's fair or not that is the reality."