The delicately maintained peace in the Korean peninsula once again looks fragile in the wake of the war of words and exchange of artillery fire along the disputed western sea border in January 2010.

Indications are that the stalled six-party talks on the North Korean nuclear issue will resume in the coming months. While North Korea has let it be known that it is willing to return to the negotiating table, the United States showed its willingness to hold one-to-one talks with North Korea. This time, the North Korean capability/status of uranium enrichment programme would, among other things, dominate the negotiations.

The delicately maintained fragile peace in Northeast Asia received a severe jolt when North Korea conducted an underground nuclear test on May 25, 2009, followed by the test launch of four short-range missiles. Earlier on April 5, North Korea had launched a long-range rocket, which drew condemnation from the UN Security Council (UNSC) in the form of a strong presidential statement.

True to its planned schedule, North Korea defied warnings from the international community on 5 April 2009, launching a rocket capable of reaching Alaska and Hawaii. As was expected, it stirred a chorus of worldwide criticism. Yet, the emergency meeting of the United National Security Council convened for the specific purpose of debating the North Korean issue remained deadlocked. China armed with veto power remained inflexible in its position and called for “calm and restraint” from the international community in an effort to “safeguard peace and stability of the region”.

North East Asia’s fragile peace is being threatened by North Korea’s planned launch between 4 and 8 April over Japanese territory of a communication satellite. The US and its allies suspect the planned satellite launch to be a long-range ballistic missile test. The prevailing uneasy peace is accentuated by the fact that both a ballistic missile and a satellite launcher operate on very similar technology.

Prior to the Democrats coming to power the Chinese Communist Party believed that the Barack Obama administration will push harder on Human Rights and other sensitive issues. The stability in relations between Washington and Beijing during the Bush era appeared to be on test given that both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were quite critical of China during their election campaigns.

As the time for North Korea’s “disablement” of its nuclear facilities draws closer, the six- party nations, especially the United States and South Korea, have stepped up their efforts to ensure the process reaches its desired outcome. The sixth-round of the six-party talks successfully reached a ‘Second-Phased Action’ on October 3, 2007 outlining a road map for the disablement of North Korea’s nuclear programme including the 5-megawatt electric reactor, the fuel fabrication plant and the radiochemical laboratory in Yongbyon by the end of the year.

Earlier speculations negating the possibility of one-on-one talks between the United States and North Korea after Pyongyang conducted a nuclear test have proven wrong. Irrespective of the merits or the disappointments attached to the process, the negotiations that started between US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill and his North Korean counterpart Kim Kye Gwan in Berlin on January 16-18, 2007 made it possible for them to find common ground at the six-part talks held in Beijing on February 13, 2007.

China's cautious approach to defusing the ongoing North Korean nuclear crisis underscores the dilemmas that exist in its difficult relationship with North Korea on the one hand and its interests with respect to the United States on the other. What worries China more is North Korea's ambition and intention to further continue its nuclear programme. Moreover, China faces a daunting task in tackling the increasing American pressure to intensify actions against North Korea as per the UNSC resolutions.