Hasn't North Korea been trying to engange us directly for years but we will only negotiate through the six parties? Lets see if that changes and what results. If we end up directly enganging North Korea but create strains with Japan and the Republic of Korea in the process, then this move could actually be one step forward and two steps back. There is never a "leave it at that" on a public message board about politics, especially when the above scenario may result.