Pyongyang offers dialogue and hope

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea seems to have taken a U-turn from its belligerent rhetoric after the United Nations imposed sanctions on it for conducting its third nuclear test and launching a satellite.

Although earlier it had lashed out at the joint military drills between the United States and the Republic of Korea, on Sunday the DPRK proposed talks with the US. The US has responded by saying it is open to talks.

The other major development will be the strategic dialogue between China and the DPRK on Wednesday, to be followed later by trilateral talks among the ROK, Japan and the US on how to deal with the DPRK.

The situation on the Korean Peninsula appears to be changing for the better, and the related parties should seize this opportunity to end tensions in the region. China, in fact, has been making great efforts to restore order on the peninsula.

At a meeting with visiting DPRK special envoy Choe Ryong-hae on May 22, President Xi Jinping emphasized China's commitment to the denuclearization of the peninsula. Xi told Choe that the related countries - the DPRK, the ROK, China, the US, Japan and Russia - should resume the Six-Party Talks. The peninsula seems to have witnessed some positive changes since then.

On June 6, the DPRK's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea proposed holding direct talks with the ROK, which was accepted by the ROK's Ministry of Unification. Three days later, the two sides held working-level talks at the Panmunjom border village.

The situation on the Korean Peninsula is changing for several reasons.

First, China made its stance on the peninsula issue clear and prevented the situation from escalating further. In his talks with visiting US Secretary of State John Kerry on April 13, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said: "China's stance on the Korean peninsula is consistent. No matter what happens, China will stick to denuclearization and peace on the peninsula and settling the issue through dialogue."

Though denuclearization of the peninsula is the basis of China-US cooperation, the two sides differ on how to reach that goal. For example, at the US-ROK talks the two sides agreed to exert more pressure on the DPRK to promote negotiations, which could have intensified the already simmering situation on the peninsula.