Seize chance to resume Six-Party Talks

The relations between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the Republic of Korea (ROK) seem to be thawing. Foreign ministers of the DPRK and the ROK met on the sidelines of the ASEAN regional forum recently. The DPRK and Japan, too, have tried to re-establish contacts, and the DPRK and the United States recently held their first senior-level dialogue in one and half years.

These developments show that the countries involved in the Six-Party Talks want to revive the dialogue which can take the denuclearization issue forward and maintain stability on the Korean Peninsula. The DPRK, which withdrew from the Six-Party Talks, is now the most eager party to resume them. In the past two and half years, Pyongyang has made advances in its nuclear program, but it has also invited stricter sanctions which soiled its image and put its economic development at risk.

To reduce the shortage of food grains and create a favorable environment, the DPRK has no choice but to improve relations with the US, Japan and the ROK. By doing so, it would prompt them to fulfill their promise of "opening the gate to a strong and prosperous nation" in 2012.