“Surrender means death!” This pretty much sums up North Korea’s opening position in the Aug. 27-29 six-party talks in Beijing. The U.S. insistence that North Korea dismantle its nuclear program “fully, verifiably, and irreversibly” in advance of dialogue (or rewards) “is little short of demanding that the DPRK surrender to it,” proclaims Pyongyang, demanding “confirmation that the U.S. has dropped its hostile policy” as a precondition to progress.