@hawkeye10,
Yet the N. Koreans have claimed no such thing. N. Korea wanted an excuse to get the US to talk. Obama also wants to talk. N. Korea has nothing to offer the US as a gesture. The US can offer all sorts of things, but that puts an onus on the N. Koreans to reciprocate and they have nothing. It costs us nothing to make the gesture and allow them to "generously" return our citizens. Really, it costs us nothing. It doesn't diminish the US in any way. Europe considers this the way your are supposed to handle diplomacy so they aren't going to think poorly of us. In case you haven't noticed, other totalitarian governments already imprison our citizens on ridiculous charges, so this is hardly encouraging them. I know there are those in the US who would let US citizens rot rather than make a minimal effort if they somehow perceived an insult to US pride, but I'm glad the current administration is not included in that number.