On October 6, North Korea and China marked the 70th anniversary of their diplomatic ties -- ties which, according to their leaders, are "invincible," "immortal" and have "stood the test of time."
This grandiose portrayal stands in contrast to the DPRK's description of another immortal issue: the tug-of-war with the U.S. over its nuclear weapons program. Just one day before the anniversary, U.S.-North Korea working-level talks collapsed in Sweden. North Korea's top nuclear negotiator said afterward that the country had no desire to engage in more "nauseating" negotiations.
