"Japan and South Korea's political wisdom is being tested. To reach agreement, leaders of the two countries should consider the overall situation," Shi said, pointing out that they need to compromise on the aid issue.

The next battle is over sampling. North Korea only agreed to accept spot checks and inquiries from nuclear technicians, not sampling, on which the United States insists. Even if the six parties agree on sampling, or the timeline for verification, there are still key disputes on where verification will take place and who will participate.

Japan's failure to provide the promised aid might disqualify it from participating in the verification process. Shi also pointed out that, since the goal is denuclearization of the whole Korean Peninsular, technically South Korea should also accept verification for equity reasons.

Although the six countries have discussed establishing a peace and security mechanism in Northeast Asia, for now it's on hold. "Such a mechanism should be a complete settlement after the verification," Shi explained. "Now is not the time."

By then it might not be enough to rely on the six-party talks, due to the U.S. military coalitions with South Korea and Japan. "Only once the United States changes its idea of being 'world dominator' to 'world leader,' can a real peace and security mechanism be set up in Northeast Asia," Shi said.