Talking to DPRK

Whether Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to the Democratic People' Republic of Korea (DPRK) will be the prelude to resumption of the Six-Party Talks remains unclear. But there are signs that the talks could become a reality if the parties concerned show sincerity and make enough effort in the right direction.

After the second trilateral leaders' meeting of China, Japan and Republic of Korea (ROK) on Saturday, Premier Wen said he got the impression from his visit to DPRK early last week that this neighbor was not opposed to the Six-Party Talks, and was willing to improve relations not only with the United States, but also with ROK and Japan.

That is the opportunity Premier Wen refers to for the resumption of the talks. As is known, DPRK's consent to the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula is the key to re-opening talks. Its pullout from the talks, because of US "condemnation" of its missile launches and nuclear tests earlier this year, had stalled the talks. The six-party negotiations include the US, ROK, Japan, DPRK, China and Russia.