As representatives to the Six-Party Talks reconvene to determine next steps toward their agreed goal of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula, they face a decidedly mixed picture. The Sept. 19, 2005 Joint Statement of principles, the first mutually agreed product to result from two years of meetings, has created real momentum. It is not yet a “breakthrough,” however, and a failure to build on that limited consensus may lead to renewed stalemate. In the meantime, North Korea may continue to produce material for more nuclear weapons and threaten stability in Northeast Asia.