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Watch 'em escalate everyones hopes out in the open like this, as seen in this story and this thread, and then pull another diplomatic fast one.

They'll say, 'but before we really start the six-way demarche, we really do need the assurance from the United States of non-agression codified by document"

We'll balk as we should, and then they will say, "the intransigent US side is responsible for collapsing the multi-party talks just as eveyone was getting ready to go to the meeting"

They will also work FEVERISHLY from today to start driving wedges between the 5 parties to the 6 party talks. Japan already is piling on that they want the agenda to be stacked will all kinds of issues, not only nuke, but also the kidnapping of Japanese citizens by the DPRK, etc. etc. Folks we are not yet out of the woods, but it is entirely positive, hopeful American culture to be optimistic.

Re #12. Exactly, while it's a positive step, and shows tangible progress from the Bush administration's polices, this thing's just getting started.... Think about where NK is at; at the least, they were about a week or two away from having all their drug and smuggling ships interdicted, and heavy surveillance and possible interdiction on any weapons' shipments. They needed to do something -- so if you can't manipulate the US, manipulate world opinion with the "altruistic" gesture. Here's the most likely scenario: three of four weeks from now we have multi party talks. NK comes in the meeting, rails at the US, protests continuing "nuclear war exercise" in SK and says it's not in line with the current crisis on the peninsula and their "altruistic gestures" for compromise and diplomacy. They walk out in a huff! For three weeks, the situation starts scaling up again, while NK tells the press they compromised on everything for peace and negotiations but the other side did nothing. Finally, as people start talking about interdiction, sanctions, and Security Council again, we hear whispers about back door deals for "three party" talks again, brokered by either Russia or China -- these negotiations last for three weeks, and then "joyfully, as the world's great hope!" three-way talks are scheduled again in one month..... Well, guess what??? By this time Kim just bought another three months to keep working on reprocessing and weaponizing -- this can go on for at least a year or two, manipulating world opinion by apparently munificient gestures which have no real significance. I hope for the best, but have seen this scenario many times since 1950. I hope the trampled-upon North Korean people manage to take care of this problem themselves, with or without outside help, as I'm tired of hearing about idiot Kim and the new problem he has caused.