High Hopes

The six-party talks on the North Korean nuclear issue resumed after a13-monthlull,but progress is not assuredAfter a hiatus of 13 months and anuc lear test by North Kor ea,thesi x-party talks on the nuc lear disar-mament of the Kor ean Pen i n s u l a resumed in Beijing on December18amid high stakes and high exp e c t a tions.With North Kor ea’s nuc lear test inOc t o b e r,the second phase of the fifth rou n d of the talks has implications far beyond thesix countries invol v ed—China,J…