Not for the first time, American and South Korean officials are trying to get inside the head of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il after he revealed his country's nuclear ambitions.
According to sources in Seoul, North Korean officials who talked to the assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, James Kelly, on October 3-5 in Pyongyang were really looking for a breakthrough in their negotiations with the US when they came clean on their country's controversial nuclear weapons programme.
Yim Sung-joon, South Korean President Kim Dae-jung's senior secretary for national security affairs, believes that Pyongyang was actually looking for a window of opportunity rather than resorting to renewed nuclear brinkmanship when its vice-foreign minister, Kang Sok-ju, suggested that both sides table all their agenda for a package-deal discussion.
That interpretation is expected to come under intense scrutiny in the weeks ahead as Japanese, US and Korean officials gather for their regular policy consultation meetings, according to sources.
Their recommendation will be heard at a summit in Mexico at the end of this month, as Mr Kim, US President George W. Bush and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi meet on the sidelines of the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (Apec) forum.
Mr Kelly arrives in Seoul today from Beijing, where he met Chinese officials on the Korean nuclear crisis. The US, with Seoul's blessing, is asking China to play a more active role in capping Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions. Analysts believe Washington's declared policy of using dialogue, rather than confrontation, in dealing with the nuclear crisis in Korea has helped to defuse tension, enabling Seoul to explore negotiations with the North.