Talk about your awkward moments. Secretary of State Colin Powell is in Brunei for a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to discuss new measures regarding anti-terrorism cooperation. Also present is Paek Nam Sun, representing North “Axisof Evil” Korea. At separate and almost simultaneous press conferences, each is asked if he would meet with the other. Each, unaware that the question is not rhetorical, sayshe would, gladly.

The diplomatic blind date was brief – just 15 minutes over coffee – and informal, with no specific agenda, not enough substance to qualify as an official bilateral talk. Still, it was the Bush administration’s first high-level, face-to-face contact with an “axis of evil” country since the president made that heedless remark last winter in his State of the Union address. It was, in fact, the first high-level, face-to-face contact since Mr. Powell’s predecessor, Madeleine Albright, visited North Korea more than two years ago.

More importantly, it was the first attempt at genuine, constructive dialogue in eight years. In 1994, the United States, Japan and South Korea agreed to construct two nuclear power reactors in North Korea and to improve relations with the isolated country in return for Pyongyang’s agreement to end its nuclear weapons program. An agreement intended to usher in a new and constructive relationship instead got bogged down in disputes over which side should go first.

Recent attempts to thaw this frozen relationship frozen have failed. The historic North-South summit of June 2000 has gone from dialogue to shouting match. A year ago, after an extensive policy review, President Bush said he was ready to revive talks on implementing the 1994 agreement, expanded to include discussions on North Korea’s plans to develop and export long-range missiles and the troop buildup in the demilitarized zone. That offer quickly devolved into angry words from both countries; a new offer this spring fell apart after a deadly naval clash between the two Koreas.

No 15-minute chat, no matter how polite, can undo a half-century of animus, but it is preferable to ignoring – or worse, insulting – a nation that, though poor, backward and isolated, has a powerful military and keen grasp of military technology. Besides, a wary rapprochement with North Korea still leaves the United States with a two-piece axis of evil, Iran and Iraq, which is more than enough.