North Korea is doing its part to ensure smooth and productive talks by getting one of its nuclear reactors ready for operation, while the U.S. will soothe North Korea by possibly, and ‘cautiously, naming a “special envoy for North Korean human rights issues.” Update: Japan will participate in this exercise by brining up the abduction of dozens of its citizens by North Korea at the talks. [read: sarcasm]

The opening ceremony of the fourth round of Six-Party talks is tentatively scheduled for 26 July in Beijing.

UPDATE (18 July): This will reportedly be North Korea’s ‘last chance‘ to negotiate in the Six-Party Talks, as the U.S. will abandon said talks and apply more pressure if they fail. The U.S., South Korea, and Japan:

…plan to keep the next round going until progress is made. They are looking at repeated bouts of intense negotiations interspersed with 10-14 day breaks, according to the daily. If that still produces no results, Washington will declare the six-party negotiations over and apply pressure. The paper said South Korea and Japan agreed concrete progress was needed in the next round. [emphasis added]

Somehow I don’t think that really scares North Korea.

ANOTHER UPDATE (20 July): The upcoming talks appear to have been very closely coordinated; North Korea is saying the talks could ‘rupture‘ if human rights come up, while the U.S. is saying human rights are on the agenda. If only they can compromise, bring it all together with something they can agree on… perhaps a ‘rupture on the agenda’?