North Korea Agrees to Resuming Six-Nations Talks

Well, well, well, the New York Times reports that North Korea has agreed to resume the so-called six-nations talks.

But Mr. Hill [the chief American envoy to North Korea] emphasized that the sanctions imposed by the United Nations Security Council after the nuclear test would remain in place, and he cautioned North Korea against conducting a second test.

More:

The statement by the Chinese foreign ministry said that the agreement followed a discussion among Mr. Hill and Chinese and North Korean officials that was initiated by Beijing.
[...]
“After its nuclear test, North Korea believes that it can go back to the negotiating table and play a bigger game for bigger concessions from the United States,� said Nam Sung Wook, a North Korea expert at Korea University in Seoul. “By bowing to the Chinese and South Korean demands for a return to the talks, North Korea can also expect economic assistance to start flowing against from the two neighbors.�

That sounds great, does it not?

Well… not everyone agrees:

Shi Yinhong, an international relations expert at People’s University in Beijing, said he believes Pyongyang’s agreement to return to talks is motivated mainly by its desire to head off tough enforcement of international sanctions. He said he doubts Kim Jong Il has any intention of abandoning or scaling back the nuclear program.

“His purpose has been to develop nuclear bombs and that purpose has not changed,� Mr. Shi said. “His goal now is to keep his bombs but reduce the penalty he has to pay by appearing to be negotiating in good faith.�

Something that’s very interesting:

In September, China did not sell any oil to North Korea, Chinese customs statistics show. The cut off, considered highly unusual, came before the nuclear test but after North Korea conducted a test of its ballistic missiles in July, ignoring Beijing’s pleas for restraint.

China is key. It seems more and more that China has made it extremely clear to North Korea that not everything will be accepted. China does not, in principle, want the North Korean regime to collaps but Kim Jong-Il et al. must be careful nonetheless: China does not want the US to carry out strikes against North Korean nuclear sites. Better the North Korean regime to collaps, than the US active that nearly to China’s border.