N.Korea abandons Nuclear programs

[KipWellsFan]

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/stor...?hub=TopStories

 

n a stunning development at the six-party international talks, North Korea has agreed to give up all its nuclear programs and rejoin the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty as soon as possible.

 

In return, the secretive communist country will get energy aid and security guarantees.

 

"This is the most important result since the six-party talks started more than two years ago,'' said Wu Dawei, China's vice foreign minister, in Beijing on Monday.

 

The talks' participants include China, Russia, Japan, the United States and North and South Korea.

 

The North "promised to drop all nuclear weapons and current nuclear programs ... as soon as possible and to accept inspections" by the International Atomic Energy Agency, according to the unanimous agreement reached by the countries at the talks being held in Beijing.

 

...

 

A door was left open to North Korea resuming a civilian nuclear program at some future point if it regains international trust.

 

...

 

North Korea doesn't want to totally disarm without getting concessions. Washington has said it wants the weapons programs completely gone before rewarding North Korea.

 

The statement includes a clause saying the agreement will be implemented "in a phased manner in line with the principle of `commitment for commitment, action for action'."

 

Good job to all involved if this is really true.

[southsider2k5]

Is this a victory for Bush and the 6 way negotiations???

[NUKE_CLEVELAND]

Is this a victory for Bush and the 6 way negotiations???

 

 

Not that the enemies of Bush would ever admit it.

[The Critic]

I find myself skeptical.

This seems like a pretty quick 180 by North Korea.

And this part - "North Korea doesn't want to totally disarm without getting concessions. Washington has said it wants the weapons programs completely gone before rewarding North Korea" makes it sound like the deal could still fall apart.

This kinda smells like more posturing by North Korea to me. I hope they're sincere, though.

[southsider2k5]

I find myself skeptical.

This seems like a pretty quick 180 by North Korea.

And this part - "North Korea doesn't want to totally disarm without getting concessions. Washington has said it wants the weapons programs completely gone before rewarding North Korea" makes it sound like the deal could still fall apart.

This kinda smells like more posturing by North Korea to me. I hope they're sincere, though.

 

To be honest, I have zero expectations that NK will abandon their nuke program. I am sure that one of the involved countries bribed Il to say that they were going to comply, since that has pretty much been their MO for negotiations all along. They scream and yell about needing to have this program for energy and defense, and then when someone offers them oil and/or food, they take the offer.

[Balta1701]

Not that the enemies of Bush would ever admit it.

From all press reports, I think I feel it is safe to say that this is the single biggest "correct" decision in diplomacy that the Bush Administration has made in their entire 5 years in office. By a long shot.

 

North Korea's main demand was basically a simple one; tell us you won't attack us and we'll drop the nuclear program, as long as it's a guaranteed agreement. For the last several years, the Bush Administration was publically unwilling to even agree to this demand, despite the fact that a.) it's a simple demand, b.) we'd never attack them anyway because they have Seoul held hostage to their artillery, and c.) we don't have a viable offensive army any more.

 

When I read that we finally flip-flopped on that negotiating position, I could not have been happier. That 1 single policy shift may potentially save a million American lives. I couldn't believe we were holding out on that point from the start of the negotiations, and I was hoping against hope that the Bushes would make the right choice and offer them a non-agression pact. There's no rational reason not to do so.

 

Beyond that main point, it was simply a matter of figuring out ways to organize power agreements between the 2 Koreas.

[Balta1701]

To be honest, I have zero expectations that NK will abandon their nuke program.  I am sure that one of the involved countries bribed Il to say that they were going to comply, since that has pretty much been their MO for negotiations all along.  They scream and yell about needing to have this program for energy and defense, and then when someone offers them oil and/or food, they take the offer.

I have some possible hope that NK will actually abandon their nuke program this time...if the U.S. and its allies actually hold up their end of the bargain.

 

Don't forget this 1 minor detail about the Carter arranged agreement in 94...as part of that deal, the U.S. was to provide the North with 2 light water nuclear reactors for power generation (light water reactors being much more difficult to use in nuclear weapons construction). In exchange, the North was to shut down their older, Soviet-Style reactors, that generate byproducts easily usable in nuclear weapons.

 

But, the moment that the funding for those reactors got to the Republican Congress...the Republicans killed the funding for it.

 

In other words, we agreed to provide them 2 reactors in exchange for them giving up their nuclear program...and then we decided not to give them the reactors.

 

Might the North Koreans have resumed their weapons work anyway if we had given them the reactors? They may very well have done so. But they were not the first side to breech the terms of that agreement.

[Balta1701]

By the way...the policy shift that has brought us this clear diplomatic success was basically word for word the policy on North Korea that John Kerry was advocating, and which the Bush Administration described as "appeasement."