The next round of six-party talks, the multilateral negotiations over North Korea's nuclear-weapons programs, are scheduled to resume the week of July 25 in Beijing. While it is unclear what motivated North Korea to return to the talks, success will depend on whether the other five parties -- Japan, the United States, South Korea, China and Russia -- can convince Pyongyang that nuclear weapons do not enhance its security but rather detract from it. To do so, the five governments must work out a strategy that enables them to speak with one voice.

Much has transpired since the last round of talks, which was held over a year ago. At that meeting, the U.S. finally put a detailed proposal on the table: It reportedly provided the long awaited road map that spelled out what Pyongyang could expect in return for agreeing to the dismantlement of its nuclear-weapons programs. Instead of responding, though, the North suspended participation in the talks, citing hostile comments by the government in Washington. Pyongyang was most likely waiting for the outcome of the U.S. presidential elections, hoping for a "regime change" in Washington that would soften the U.S. position. Those hopes were frustrated by the re-election of President George W. Bush, but North Korea continued to hold out, awaiting clarification of U.S. policy.

When things were clarified, Pyongyang remained unhappy with the results. The North demanded that Washington end its "hostile policies" and retract statements calling North Korea "an outpost of tyranny" and referring to supreme leader Kim Jong Il as "a tyrant." In an attempt to up the ante, North Korea on Feb. 10 declared itself a nuclear-weapons state, a move aimed at transforming relations among the six parties and shifting negotiations from the focus on the North to disarmament throughout the region.