Hope rekindled over DPRK

Dramatic is the best word to summarize situations in Northeast Asia since Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) shut the door to the Six-Party Talks in late 2008, with the region's increasing tension among several parties.

While negotiations have been going on and possible compromises made, few progress can be more significant than the result reached between the leaders of China and the DPRK (two of the six parties in the talks) at a meeting in Beijing this week.

During his five-day visit to China, DPRK leader Kim Jong-il reaffirmed the importance of the long-delayed nuclear disarmament talks, and said that Pyongyang would work with China to create favorable conditions for restarting the Six-Party Talks. This signals the most sincere and strongest determination of both countries in striving for progress in the stalled multinational negotiations.