North Korea Asserts New Willingness to Talk

Source: New York Times

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea said on Monday that it was open to a form of dialogue to help resolve the dispute with the United States over its nuclear weapons program — but not to six-nation talks involving other regional powers.

The statement, from North Korea’s Foreign Ministry, was seen as an unusually conciliatory-sounding expression of willingness to engage the United States in direct, one-on-one talks — a longstanding North Korean preference.

The statement followed remarks over the weekend by Sin Son-ho, the top North Korean diplomat at the United Nations, who said his government was “not against a dialogue” with Washington.

North Korea’s suggestion appeared to brighten the prospects for dialogue between Pyongyang and Washington after months of tensions punctuated by the North’s long-range rocket launching in April and its second nuclear test in May.



Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/27/world/asia/27korea.html

Then we can talk.

We need the six-party talks so that neither we nor, more especially, NK can claim that the other made promises or statements it didn't make and use that as a pretext to violate whatever agreements are reached.

In short, there need to be witnesses as to what is said and agreed to.

That's exactly what the DPRK would do.

They are one bizarre bunch, those guys.

The only reason the six party thing even began was because the Bush* Cabal thought it was beneith them to talk to North Korea. For the first four years there were no talks at all..This is called diplomacy and the USA was completely without it for the last eight years..

US: Sure, we'll give you a week to discuss how you will cooperate in the 6 party talks. If you spend 5 days discussing the shape of the table, well, it's on you.

Meanwhile, release our two journalists as a good faith gesture.