The six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons programs may take a new turn on the heels of Mr. Barack Obama's becoming the 44th president of the United States. But it is unclear whether the talks will progress toward hoped-for results in a short time.
North Korea has made conflicting statements since just before and after Mr. Obama's inauguration. They may just be negotiation tactics aimed at raising the ante, or represent different tacks adopted by the country's leadership and its military hardliners.
On Jan. 24, when North Korean leader Kim Jong Il met with Mr. Wang Jiarui, the Chinese Communist Party's international department director, Mr. Kim was quoted as saying that Pyongyang "is dedicated to denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula, and hopes to peacefully coexist with all sides and does not want to see tension on the peninsula." It was Mr. Kim's first such appearance since reportedly suffering a stroke in August. He seemed to have the new U.S. administration in mind and set to go ahead with denuclearization if conditions are met.