The Six-Party Talks have been suspended for more than four years since North Korea withdrew in May 2009.

After new leader Kim Jung-un took office, North Korean foreign policy has become even more aggressive. Its belligerence, including the missile launch and nuclear tests early this year, has raised a lot of concern in the international community.

Recently there have been signs that North Korea may have restarted its nuclear reactor. Tensions over the Korean Peninsula are accelerating again. 

The Six-Party Talks used to play a very important role in restricting and engaging North Korea. The Six-Party Talks framework provided a platform for multilateral conversation on nonproliferation and other security issues in the Korean Peninsula.

Sanctions have very limited effects and would mostly cause more brinkmanship. Now it is urgent to bring back North Korea to the negotiation table.

The international community, in particular the US, relies much on China for solutions to the North Korea issue. China does have special leverage on North Korea, but also has its limitations. Multilateral efforts are needed to persuade North Korea to abandon its nuclear plan.

The US identifies North Korea as a "rogue state," and regards it as an evil regime. However, the antagonistic attitude doesn't help with the situation. Instead of isolating and sanctioning North Korea, it is more effective and practical to engage with it.

South Korea, Japan and Russia all have their geopolitical interests and security concerns over North Korea. If these countries can stand with China and actively interact with North Korea, there will be more positive leverage pushing North Korea toward the direction that everybody wants. 

In the context of rising geopolitical competition in Northeast Asia, North Korea is becoming a flash point around which different interests converge.  

As the host of the Six-Party Talks, China has been trying very hard to bring together different sides to sit at the negotiation table again. However, the gaps between different sides are widening due to their own calculations of interest.

All parties should recognize their common interests on the North Korean issue. It would be too short-sighted to just focus on their own interests. Countries should see the big picture and actively engage with North Korea for multilateral solutions.

The Six-Party Talks not only provide a platform for multilateral discussions on North Korean issue, but also has the potential of developing toward a regional security dialogue regime, which could benefit the whole region.

The lack of security institutions has long been a problem for Asia. It is necessary to integrate the fragmental organizations and alliances into an inclusive and multilateral regional security regime. The Six-Party Talks provide a preliminary model for such a regime.

The Six-Party Talks should be resumed to tackle the worsening North Korea nuclear issue. A denuclearized Korean Peninsula is in every party's interests. To get there, more multilateral cooperation is indispensable. 

The author is an assistant professor at Maebashi Kyoai Gakuen College in Japan. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn