HONOLULU -- U.S. President George W. Bush's recent offer to provide Pyongyang with written assurances that the United States does not intend to attack North Korea and the North's willingness "to consider" this offer provide the basis, however tentative and contentious, for a negotiated solution to the nuclear standoff that is taking place on the Korean Peninsula.

But even if the North really does return to the bargaining table -- and this is by no means assured -- a long and difficult road lies ahead in the search for common ground between the two primary antagonists in this six-party drama. The key to a successful outcome remains the willingness of the other four actors -- China, Japan, Russia and especially South Korea -- to stand firmly behind Washington's central demand: that Pyongyang "fully, verifiably and irreversibly" abandon its nuclear-weapons programs.

While Bush's comments (during the Asia-Pacific Econonomic Cooperation forum's Leaders Meeting in Bangkok last month) demonstrated some U.S. flexibility as to how that goal is ultimately achieved -- as opposed to the previous "all quids before any quos" U.S. approach -- the end result (rightfully) remains non-negotiable.