Ongoing difficulties in the six-party talks for eliminating North Korean nuclear programs continue to dominate the Northeast Asian security agenda. The public debate over the appropriate U.S. policy and negotiating strategies offers stark choices. On the one hand, the Bush administration argues for continuing a multilateral approach for bringing regional pressures to bear, especially encouraging Chinese policy leadership. The opposition, especially as voiced by democratic candidates in the 2004 U.S. presidential election, called for the resumption of bilateral talks between the United States and North Korea. The objectives of both sides in the debate focus on similar objectives, including eliminating North Korean nuclear weapons along with nuclear weapons and long-range missile development programs. Given the current lack of progress, is there a better approach for regional or multilateral negotiations?