Relations between North and South Korea have taken a turn for the worse this year, following the election of South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, who has taken a more hard-line approach toward the North. And then there is Japan, a member of the six-party talks and a steadfast US ally, which was angered by the recent delisting of North Korea, because the North has yet to satisfy fully Japanese inquiries into the abduction of its citizens by North Korean agents decades ago.