THEY WERE SO HOPING FOR CABANA BOY:

A reluctant North Korea, bitter over Bush election, soon may be forced back to the six-party talks (TIM JOHNSON, 11/05/04, Knight Ridder Newspapers)

North Korea can't stall much longer on returning to six-nation talks on the Korean Peninsula's nuclear crisis, Chinese and U.S. analysts say.

North Korea wanted Sen. John Kerry to win the presidential election because he promised direct talks with Pyongyang over its claim to be building a nuclear arsenal. President Bush's re-election means Washington is likely to stick to six-party talks as the only way to negotiate how North Korea may give up its nuclear weapons in exchange for aid.

"The North Koreans understand that they have to cut a deal to survive," said Ralph A. Cossa, the president of the Pacific Forum CSIS, a research center in Honolulu. "At some point, they are going to have to come back."

It's widely expected in the region that a fourth round of talks may occur as soon as by the end of the year, ending five months of limbo.

Some officials in Asia think the Bush administration may opt soon for a more aggressive approach to North Korea, such as referring the issue to the U.N. Security Council or more vigorously intercepting North Korean vessels on the high seas, if the talks don't make progress.

Is Rove writing their headlines?

Posted by Orrin Judd at November 5, 2004 5:37 PM