With the policy statement of the second Bush administration and the classification of North Korea as an outpost of tyranny, and the confession by the North Korean government that it possesses operational nuclear weapons which followed, the North Korean nuclear crisis has reached a new peak. The peaceful settlement of the North Korean nuclear crisis is today among the most difficult tasks in world politics. Totalitarian and introverted, ideologically isolated, and economically on its knees North Korea is an alien element in a globalized, market-economic environment. The North Korean regime appears to be surviving, however, not least because the country’s leadership continues to be able to wring concessions from the international community by means of threats. North Korea’s nuclear poker holds the danger that through a technical error or suddenly escalating tensions a catastrophe will descend upon the people of the region. A direct understanding between North Korea and the USA would be decisive for a solution of the problem. As long as the USA and North Korea regard one another as a threat, however, this option is excluded. Therefore the multi-lateral dialogue begun in 2003 within the framework of the six-party talks in Beijing at the moment appears to be the only possible attempt to achieve peace and stability in North East Asia.