As U.S. lawmakers criticized the Clinton administration's Agreed Framework as ineffective, President Clinton assigned former U.S. Secretary of Defense William Perry to lead a comprehensive review of U.S. policy toward North Korea.

After analysis by an eight-member U.S. review team, a 1999 trip to Pyongyang to discuss the North's concerns and consultation with the governments of South Korea, China and Japan, the team recommended a give-and-take strategy, which Perry called the "carrot and stick approach."

As a result of the Perry report, the United States partially lifted sanctions on North Korea in 1999 in exchange for the North's promise to freeze its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs. However, the U.S. warned that if the North refused to go down the "positive path," further actions would be taken to "contain the threat."

In October 2000, U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright traveled to North Korea to discuss concerns about the country's missile program. Albright's visit included meetings with Kim Jong Il, making her the first American official to meet directly with the reclusive communist leader as well as the highest-ranking administration official to visit the country.

"You know, we were at war with North Korea 50 years ago. Since then we have considered it among the most dangerous places in the world," Albright said after her visit in a NewsHour interview.

"We have 37,000 troops on the Korean Peninsula. It's a remnant of the Cold War, and if we have an opportunity to break this last barrier, I think it will be a very important step forward..." Albright added.

After Albright's visit, there was speculation that President Clinton himself might visit North Korea to pursue negotiations on a bilateral treaty to end North Korea's ballistic missile weapons program. But in December 2000, the White House announced that the president would not be able to make the trip before leaving office in January 2001.

"There is not enough time while I am president to prepare the way for an agreement with North Korea that advances our national interest and provides the basis for a trip by me to Pyongyang," Clinton said of the decision.

-- Compiled by Maureen Hoch for the Online NewsHour