Will there be any more US-North Korea talks?

While the North Korean Rhetoric occurring regularly last spring has finally waned, strong, turbulent tensions between the United States and North Korea still exist in a big way. When the missile scares finally died down, Pyonyang publicly announced that it would resume production of nuclear weapons at one of the DPRK's nuclear plants, despite the cooling towers being demolished a few years ago under a commitment to the six-party talks.

The "six-party talks" were the consequence of North Korea withdrawing from the NPT (Non-Proliferation Treaty) in 2003. The idea was to find a non-violent, reasonable, peaceful resolution to the North Korean nuclear weapons program. North Korea, South Korea, China, Japan, Russia, and the US all took part in these talks.

Unfortunately it was all short lived. The six-party talks unofficially ended in 2009 when the DPRK launched a "satellite" (a suspected missile test) against the will of the UN. The satellite was an immediate failure as it tumbled into the Pacific Ocean.

The UN Security Council agreed to a Presidential Statement that condemned North Korea for the launch, and stated the Council's intention to expand sanctions on North Korea. North Korea responded angrily to the UN council resolution, saying “We will never again take part in such talks and will not be bound by any agreement reached at the talks.” (source)

Today, dialog between Washington and North Korea would not be expected to end the lingering threat of nuclear war - which will probably last for some time - rather, it may simply help defuse current tensions and prevent another escalation.

Perhaps China, who's usually apathetic to the unsettling tension between the US and the DPRK, could be persuaded by the US government to leverage North Korea into having bureaucratic talks once again. US Secretary of State, John Kerry, said "We will not be so stuck in the mud that an opportunity to actually get something done is flagrantly wasted." The future of more dialog between both nations is hopeful, but it is hard to see anything we can actually agree on. (source)