This newspaper time and again sides with diplomacy before military strikes. We have said Americans should not fight wars that create more wars. Wars should give peace to future generations.

But there must come a time that retaliation is necessary. And that time, in most situations, is when your country is attacked.

That is why it strikes us as strange that following the sinking of a South Korean ship by North Korea that Western powers seem to be muted or vague about the next steps. Meanwhile, Americans are outraged over the attack and many feel a few bombs on Pyongyang would be justified.

But when we stop thinking with our hearts and thinking with our minds, we realize it is a touchy situation. No one wants a Second Korean War.

If the Soviet Union can end without a war, so, too, can North Korea.

The North Korean attack gives the West a strong arm in talks. It should mean a greater U.S. presence in the region. What is needed ultimately is pressure on China to do what is right. Stop trading with the Hermit Kingdom and bring an end to the Pyongyang government.

The only true solution to the problem of North Korea is unification under the democratic South Korean government based in Seoul.