The multifaceted character of the Korean problem and the uneven progress made by its protagonists were once again on display last week.
U.S., Japanese and South Korean officials sat down in Seoul to plan strategy regarding North Korea, while South Korea's emissaries headed north to pursue talks with Pyongyang on issues ranging from future family exchanges to the legal framework for economic cooperation and measures to reduce military tension.
Meanwhile, Tokyo and Pyongyang were just concluding another round of normalization talks, and North Korea's No. 2 official headed for New York -- before turning back at Frankfurt, Germany -- to attend the U.N. Millennium Summit.