North Korea will never abandon nuclear power whatever they say publicly, it's their only asset to negotiate treaties and their best asset against the US military. They will just use this fake "denuclearization" to negociate for the removal of the US military in South Korea.

Indeed, for a small country, nuclear weapons (and the ability to deliver them abroad) appear to presently be the only way to ensure your country doesn't get mowed over by one of the larger powers.

This is the downside to Mutually Assured Destruction: Everyone not currently a part of it wants nukes so they can be a part of it.

There's nothing fundamentally new about the west's approach to NK. They are coming to the table because finally China started properly turning the screws on them last year with sanctions on steel, coal, seafood and even clothing. NK had enjoyed a bit of an economic summer for the last 5 years, but the Chinese clamp down is biting hard, hence Kim's recent trip to Beijing.