Slashdot Mirror
North Korea Agrees To Suspend Nuclear Activities
Hugh Pickens writes writes "In a breakthrough in negotiations with the secretive communist nation the Guardian reports that North Korea has agreed to suspend nuclear activities and to a moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile tests. According to U.S. State department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland, North Korea has agreed to allow International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors to verify and monitor the moratorium on uranium enrichment and confirm disablement of its nuclear reactor at Yongbyon. In return for the moratorium on nuclear activities at this key site, the United States has agreed to finalize a package of 240,000 metric tons of nutritional assistance to North Korea. There will be intensive monitoring to assure the delivery of such assistance is made to those in need, and not diverted to the military or government elites."
I'm more than a little Tired of reading about all these triumphant negotiation sessions over the years where NK promises to be a good boy just long enough to get the trade concessions, only to violate the agreement shortly there after. This is like the third or forth president in a row that has been duped by these tactics. As each agreement falls apart, there are the usual dire warnings about "grave consequences". These are the code words by which the US State Department looks tough, but signals the other side that the only "grave" involved is the one in which the whole issue will be buried as soon as the grandstanding is over with.
Son of Whack-Job, and Grandson of Whack-a-Doodle has absolutely no incentive to honor this agreement any more than his predecessors did the prior ones. However, a certain government leader needs a feather in his re-election hat. So we get another useless agreement with a perpetual liar state.
Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
Next time they want something, the inspectors are kicked out and more nuke and missile tests.
Essentially, we bribed them with food to keep quiet through an election year. Nice.
HBI's Law: Frequency of calling others Nazis is directly correlated with the likelihood of the accuser being Communist.
Alternatively, we sent desperately needed food to people who are starving to death by the tens of thousands and got a temporary concession out of the North Korean government in the process. And don't tell me it just supports the dictatorship either, do you really think the people of North Korea are about to rise up and overthrow the Kim family business? It's not going to happen until something major goes down, either a military coupe from within or a 2 week war with one of their neighbors, neither of which will be effected by us giving them food aide.
You get one chance to keep your word. This is it.
Have gnu, will travel.
Talk is cheap, but at least it's cheaper than body bags. I do like that even the most official statements on this seem to be the equivalent of "Welp, here we go again."
“The United States still has profound concerns regarding North Korean behavior across a wide range of areas, but today’s announcement reflects important, if limited, progress in addressing some of these,” said State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland.
Those words were echoed by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who called the agreement a “modest first step in the right direction.”
I think that's Pol-speak for "We've played this game before, we know how it ends, but what's the alternative?"
There are some people that if they don't know, you can't tell 'em.
There is a new leader. A goodwill gesture toward getting him to be friends with the international community is not a lost cause. He is not his father and may decide that he would rather move in the direction that China has moved. This is a good move for the US to make.
Peter predicted that you would "deliberately forget" creation 2000 years ago...
There is a new leader. A goodwill gesture toward getting him to be friends with the international community is not a lost cause.
I like your optimism. Mine is exhausted by decades of history on this issue, but I salute your willingness to try again.