Taiwan in the face of this long relationship, its representatives implied, Taiwan would retaliate by opening official relations and expanding its trade with North Korea. But if, on the other hand, Seoul managed to continue its diplomatic relations with Taiwan, South Korean firms would receive top priority in construction contracts and special trade benefits for five years. No such deal was in the cards, however. Taiwan had little bargaining power, since for strategic as well as economic reasons, fully normalized relations with China were far more important to South Korea than its ties with Taiwan.

For China, the delicate question was how to manage the establishment of diplomatic relations with the South in a way that did not alienate the North, as the Soviet Union had done with Gorbachev'sthe day Kim died. Oblivious to the momentous but still secret event at home, the Pyongyang delegation reconfirmed the arrangements reached during the Carter mission to freeze its existing nuclear program in return for light-water reactors. From the American standpoint, surprisingly good progress was made. Following the meeting and private talks at a reception that night, US Navy captain Thomas Flanigan, the Joint Chiefs of Staff representative on the US delegation, wrote an e-mail to his superior in the Pentagon, "They're here to deal. We need to understand that. Now it's an issue of what are we willing to negotiate."

At 5:00 local time on the morning of July 9, which was to be the second day of the talks, the news of Kim's death reached Geneva. Later in