The louder North Korea cries for talks, the more we should think about what they really want. For a deeper analysis of how the North gets the attention of the United States, please refer to an earlier essay about how North Korea and the U.S. interact.

This time, what Pyongyang wants is relief from the threat posed by annual South Korean-U.S. combined drills that are seen as practice for invading North Korea, but also relief from sanctions that apparently are starting to hurt a bit. The North will likely promise almost anything to get the U.S. to the negotiating table, though any deal that might be reached would likely be violated as soon as any sanctions are lifted.