The Washington Post reports that the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council — the U.S., France, Britain, Russia, and China — along with Japan and South Korea “reached agreement Wednesday on a draft U.N. resolution that condemns North Korea’s recent underground nuclear test and imposes additional military, financial and trade sanctions on the communist state.” The draft could be considered by the full, 15-member Security Council as early as today.

How will North Korea react to more sanctions? Will they test more missiles? They have already indicated that they will view sanctions as an act of war. In this analysis posted on the Carnegie Endowment for Peace website, Robert Kagan reviews the policy options facing the United States. Perhaps it’s time to ask, as Blaine Harden does in this Post report, if sanctions even work and search for a Plan B or C?