The Northeast Asia Cooperation Dialogue (NEACD) was launched in 1993 by the Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation of the University of California, San Diego, and JCIE served as Japan secretariat in 2005 and 2006. The NEACD meetings serve as a unique, multilateral, Track 2 forum, involving foreign ministry officials, defense ministry officials, military officers, and academics from China, Japan, North Korea, Russia, South Korea, and the United States. The NEACD keeps vital lines of communication open in Northeast Asia by providing regularly schedules meetings in an informal setting, allowing participants to candidly discuss issues of regional security and cooperation.

On April 10–11, 2006, the 17th NEACD meeting was held in Tokyo. The event began with a special workshop held on April 9, before the full plenary meeting, to focus on Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) economic and energy development in the framework of the North Korean nuclear issue. The plenary meeting began the following day and examined national perspectives on regional security, issues related to nuclear verification, and prospects for Track 1 and Track 2 diplomacy. The meeting drew intense media attention as having the potential to restart the stalled Six-Party Talks, as the North Korean delegation to the NEACD was led by its chief nuclear negotiator, Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan, and the US delegation was led by Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill.