North Korea has agreed to participate in a six-party working group meeting on May 12 in Beijing to help lay the groundwork for the third session of the more senior-level sixparty talks (among North and South Korea, China, Japan, Russia, and the U.S.) which are anticipated before the end of June. The six had agreed “in principle” at the second plenary in Beijing in late February to establish a working group to help with preparations for future plenary meetings, although no terms of reference were established and it remains unclear just what the working group will actually work on.