Sounds good in theory, but with China remaining an ally! Impractical to the point of lunacy?

If China shared the sanctions? We'd get there far sooner? And oblige that giant to honor what she signed up for, when the rest of the world restored normalized relations!

China continues to allow NK to make a complete nonsense out of the trade embargos placed on the north?

A 35% tariff could be applied on all chinese and North Korean trade goods or commodities, by the west, the Eu, NATO alliance!

And increased by 5% every quarter until the economic pain forces alternate behavior? Must apply to ANY OTHER nation seen to be acting to destroy the effectiveness of any embargo.

For our part the sooner we become totally self reliant in all things, the better! And we need to be heading in that direction now! As an Island of sanity in a mad world!

And make a start with the UNDELAYED roll out of low cost cheap clean safe nuclear energy! And exploit that energy to the max via cooperative capitalism!

Can't Should'na died in a corfield over a century ago! However his younger brother, Won't Mustn't Should'na, is alive and well, doing as always, inventing more and more implausible reasons, why not!

I for one have little faith in a debt led recovery, or more of the same! But rather a work and production lead economic expansion!

Much of which could start as innovative enterprise and import replacement initially, then as vastly improved food production/value added exports!

All doable with the right purely pragmatic policies, that finally ensure the true national interest trumps puerile partisan politics!

We should be the ones getting richer and busier, rather than our foreign masters, and their lick spittle lap dogs!

Both north korea and all who support her!? Need to be shown which side of the bread has the butter on it!

Thus far, all we have done and via our over reliant and asinine trade relations, effectively allowed both to thumb their noses at the world!
Alan B.

My memory goes back a bit further than the author of this article. One needs to look at the reason Japan entered WW2. They were placed in a similar position to that which the author is advocating for PRNK and they responded accordingly. Methinks that the PRNK are likely to follow suit with equally serious consequences, or even more so as they build up their nuclear capabilities. Japan would be the first to suffer.

David

AlanB..
Yes, I like the idea of a tariff on China. After all, it is the manipulation of its currency which has thwarted fair trade with the West.
Your ideas of innovative production are good, but lack teeth under the current Chinese domination.
The whole world suffers from Chinese intransigence: Tariffs will freeze China out of the trade loop, and can be done quickly enough to allow America to retool its antiquated production lines, build new steel mills and realign resources trade with allied countries like Australia.
When Trump talks of reimposing Tarifs to aid American industry, this is exactly what he means to do.

Only by controlling Chinese manipulated economy and trade barriers can Australia expect to make progress in the ways you predict.