Eyes and ears were on Beijing earlier this month, as the chief negotiators from China, North Korea, Russia, Japan, South Korea, and the United States met in Beijing for a round of the Six Party Talks. The agenda of the meeting was aimed at solidifying a protocol to verify North Korea’s nuclear program declarations, determining a timetable for disablement of its nuclear facilities, and setting a schedule for the delivery of the remaining promised energy aid to the impoverished country. After extending a day, the meeting failed to produce a single six-party agreement, and the parties were forced to return home without aid or a verification understanding in hand—perhaps none more disappointed than Assistant Secretary Christopher Hill, the Bush

administration’s chief envoy to the talks.