The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) said on Tuesday that it was ready to join the Six-Party Talks unconditionally and was not averse to discussing even the contentious subject of uranium enrichment. This is certainly a positive step toward resolving the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.

But that does not mean the Six-Party Talks will resume immediately, because the Republic of Korea (ROK) wants the DPRK to apologize for the exchange of fire on Yeonpyeong Island in November last year and promise not to take similar actions in the future. The United States, on the other hand, insists that it will join the talks only after the ROK and the DPRK hold bilateral dialogue.

To resolve the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, it is thus important to first figure out the crux of the matter. Pyongyang, for instance, has been arguing that the nuclear issue is an offshoot of Washington's hostile policy. This suggests the issue can be resolved only if the US abandons its hostile policy toward the DPRK. But then it seems the DPRK wants to use the nuclear issue to win the recognition of the US, which would pave the way for its integration into the international community.

The US believes that the Peninsula issue is part of the nuclear proliferation and regional security problem. The US fears that if it holds direct talks with the DPRK, it will lose the trust of ROK and Japan.

Besides, Washington believes that it alone should not bear the responsibility of resolving the issue. It wants to "play the host" and let the other countries foot the bill.

The Barack Obama administration's policy of strategic restraint toward the DPRK suggests that the US has no effective tactic to resolve the Peninsula nuclear issue. It does not want to risk the unpredictable consequences of holding direct talks with its long-time foe. And not surprisingly, it prefers blaming the DPRK for the impasse.

Thus, it can be said that the US and the DPRK are caught in the prisoner's dilemma, and both want to use the Six-Party Talks merely as a bargaining chip - as a means to securing their own initiatives at negotiations.

The US and the DPRK differ greatly when it comes to their priority to resolving the nuclear issue. Washington wants Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear weapons' programs and ensure that the process is verifiable and irreversible before discussing any peace agreement.

But the DPRK insists that a peace agreement on the Korean Peninsula should precede the abandoning of its nuclear weapons' program. It says that a peace agreement is the biggest prerequisite for true denuclearization of the Peninsula and the US has no reason to disregard its suggestion.

Pyongyang's claim has substance and Washington has no reason to challenge it, because the US has repeatedly said that it has no intention of attacking the DPRK and is willing to establish a peace mechanism on the Peninsula.

Given the prevailing global trend of peace and harmony and the Korean people's desire, the resolution of Peninsula issue cannot be delayed any further. Once a peace agreement is in place, the hostile relations between the US and the DPRK will end and the denuclearization process start in earnest.

Pyongyang may wrongly believe that as long as it has nuclear weapons its security and political stability is ensured, but Washington too is committing the mistake of looking at the Peninsula issue through Cold War-tainted glasses. It will be very difficult to break the current deadlock if the DPRK insists on prioritizing its security above all else and the US refuses to abandon its Cold War mentality.

Perhaps the best way to solve the issue would be to help the DPRK integrate into the international community. Being at the receiving end of economic sanctions and political ridicule for long, the DPRK has become a "non-rational" country in the eyes of most other countries. The corollary is: Pyongyang thinks most of the other countries are either imperialist bullies or their lackeys.

The international community has a big role to play. It has to encourage Pyongyang to change its perception of security and Washington to abandon its Cold War mentality, and make them agree to a peace deal. The US, too, knows that once the DPRK gets to enjoy the rights and dignity that a sovereign country deserves, it will abandon its nuclear weapons' program.

The US has to cooperate with China and the other countries (the ROK, Japan and Russia) involved in the Six-Party Talks to restore peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. If the US is sincere in its commitment to peace, it should get off its high horse and abandon its hostile policy toward the DPRK and make genuine efforts to improve mutual relations.

Once this is done, the good intentions of the US and the DPRK and the platform of the Six-Party Talks can be used to make a real breakthrough in the denuclearization process. Subsequently, an action plan can be worked out to punish violators of agreements and rules.

Northeast Asian countries should no longer be overcautious and indecisive, for the longer they are reluctant to start the Six-Party Talks the more complicated the situation will become. This is not to suggest that resolving the Peninsula nuclear issue will be smooth sailing.

The road ahead is indeed fraught with uncertainties and is full of sudden twists and turns. The problem is that these uncertainties cannot be overcome and the twists and turns cannot be successfully negotiated if the main parties do not start walking on the road to denuclearization.

The author is an assistant research scholar with the Center for Northeast Asian Studies, a research institution in Jilin Province.