After the exhilaration of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra's one-night stand in Pyongyang, there is the inevitable letdown. In this case, the high of the concert was followed by a morning-after low; a feeling that nothing much has changed when it comes to North Korea's nuclear weaponry.
The fact that 'Dear Leader' Kim Jong-il did not condescend to join the handpicked elite in the East Pyongyang Grand Theatre no doubt reflected his own displeasure with the American response to his demands of 'action for action' before the North fulfils the terms of last year's agreements to give up its nuclear weapons.
The process of ending North Korea's nuclear programme is now at a stalemate again, and Pyongyang insists on a major concession from the US before completing the disablement of its Yongbyon nuclear complex, much less coming through with a list of everything in its nuclear inventory. Although the US has agreed to ship in another 50,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil, the North wants more, notably removal from the State Department's list of nations sponsoring terrorism.
It's not clear whether, when Mr Kim invited the Philharmonic to Pyongyang last summer, either the Americans or the North Koreans had anticipated that North Korea would no longer be on the way to abiding by the terms of the six-nation agreement of February 13 last year.
North Korean technicians had begun the intricate task of shutting down the facilities at Yongbyon, with American experts looking on. Then, while Roh Moo-hyun - in his final months as president of South Korea - was in Pyongyang for a summit with Mr Kim in early October, North Korea signed on to another six-nation timetable. In that, it agreed to provide details not only of all its nuclear programme, but also of its dealings with Iran, Syria and other clients for nuclear technology and missiles.
But, as has happened with almost predictable regularity ever since the Korean war ended in an armed truce in July 1953, disillusionment set in. It became clear that North Korea was stalling; first, on the timetable and, then, on the disablement of the Yongbyon facilities. The New York Philharmonic performance, far from being a celebration of fulfilment of the nuclear agreement, has provided a great chance for North Korea to publicise its demands - while inviting selected journalists to look at what it has done so far to stop the programme at Yongbyon.
The whole occasion would have been much more of a success for Mr Kim if only US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had gone to Pyongyang. With Dr Rice at his side, Mr Kim would, of course, have shown up in the concert hall - just as he did in October 2000 with Madeleine Albright, then secretary of state, beside him at a mass propaganda display before more than 100,000 people in the May First Stadium.