Baffled and in search of an answer, I typed the above into Google.

• From May 2009: permanent provisions and security assurances from the US, the rewriting of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty as it was done for India to allow them to have nukes.
• From last week: more food aid from South Korea that they are embarrassed to ask about, engagement from China

From the way they talk it sounds like both sides are threatening all out war, so whatever political goals they seek might come at a scarily high cost.