President Park Geun-hye, now on a four-day trip to the U.S., will soon hold a summit with President Barack Obama in Washington, which will be the fourth of its kind since she took office in early 2013.

As is usual with a summit between the countries, the meeting will have bearings not only on their bilateral relations, but also on the geopolitical situation in Northeast Asia, especially regarding China and North Korea.

The latest Park-Obama meeting comes after the South Korean leader attended China’s massive military parade marking the 70th anniversary of its World War II victory over Japan in early September and the U.S.-China summit later in the month.

Park was the only leader from among the allies of the U.S. to participate in the parade, and some in South Korea and the U.S. have worried that it may cause misgivings about the security alliance between the two countries.

In this regard, Park did well to decide to visit the Pentagon and include the defense minister, Han Min-koo, in her official entourage. The scene of Park visiting the center of the U.S. military might will offer a good contrast to that of her standing with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the parade in Tiananmen Square in Beijing.

Park’s visit to the Pentagon will also send a clear message to North Korea, the perennial troublemaker in the region, that nothing can disturb the military and security alliance between Seoul and Washington and they are as firmly ready as ever to respond to any provocation from the North.

This is meaningful because North Korea, celebrating the 70th anniversary of the founding of its ruling Workers’ Party, displayed what it wanted to show as intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads in its largest-ever military parade last week.

Seoul and Washington officials said the North’s continuous buildup of its weapons of mass destruction capabilities, especially nuclear bombs and long-range missiles, will be among major topics between Park and Obama.

What we hope is that the two leaders will bring about some tangible measures to end the threats posed by the North’s WMDs. The first step should be for the two leaders to reach a consensus on how to bring the North back to the six-party talks on its nuclear programs.

The recalcitrant regime in Pyongyang has not given even the slightest indication of returning to the talks, which have been suspended since late 2008, but the atmosphere for the resumption of the talks seemed to have turned positive lately.

During his visit to Beijing, Park agreed with Xi to work together to reopen the six-party talks, which also involve Japan and Russia. Last week, Xi’s envoy, Liu Yunshan, called on Kim Jong-un to return to the six-party talks when he visited Pyongyang for the Workers’ Party anniversary.

Offering a preview of the Park-Obama talks, U.S. ambassador to Seoul Mark Lippert said the two leaders would focus on a “three-pronged strategy,” consisting of diplomatic efforts, economic sanctions and measures as well as robust defense and deterrence.

We agree that Park and Obama should devise a combination of carrots and sticks to pressure or lure the North back to the negotiating table.

There are some bilateral issues Park and Obama need to address in good faith. The first one is the U.S. government’s decision to block Lockheed Martin from offering key technologies Korea needs to develop the next generation of jet fighters.

We believe that Minister Han’s inclusion in Park’s entourage is related to the issue. South Korea, as one of the major buyers of U.S. weaponry and one of the closest allies, is entitled to ask the U.S. to reconsider the decision.

Park will also do well to obtain Obama’s understanding and hopefully support on South Korea’s plan to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership, for which negotiations finished recently. That Park is accompanied by a 166-strong business delegation, the largest of its kind, should convince Obama of Seoul’s commitment to enhancing its economic partnership with the U.S.