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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."
In 1992 North Korea agreed to keep the peninsula free of nuclear weapons.
But let's be optimistic, maybe this time around the inspectors will be allowed to do inspections.
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.
Yes. Once again, the West plays grocery store to NK, propping up the dictatorship so they can continue development of nuclear weapons, sell military tech to our enemies, shell South Korea and oppress their own people to the point of starvation. The phrase rinse and repeat comes to mind.
Hoping for the best, expecting the worst. Could the change in leadership really amount to actual change this quickly?
Unlike, say, Iran, NK doesn't actually need nukes to level its sworn enemy. It would probably be faster and more convenient to just level Seoul with conventional artillery. Is there any doubt that their nuclear program is just a bartering commodity for aid?
You get one chance to keep your word. This is it.
Have gnu, will travel.
The only way keeping food aide out of North Korea is going to take down the dictatorship is if so many North Korean civilians die of starvation that there aren't enough peasants left to support the military. The upper levels just don't care if their people die, and the common people are too overworked, hungry, brainwashed, and outnumbered to even consider rising up in rebellion.
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.
North Korea still the best Korea!
No way - North Korea has no Seoul.
He's getting rather old, but he's a good mouse.
It seems like the USA is always picking up the tab on stuff like this. Why not NATO?
The lack of food giveaways may not bring down the NK dictatorship, but the presence of the aid helps it. Why pay to help a government that is so immutably hostile to us? It does nothing to further our interests. We get no real concessions, just lip service until they have extracted more tribute from us. This is not theoretical, we have been down this road many times before and NK has proven themselves reliably dishonest.
NK is China's client state, let China feed their populace.
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...
You misspelled "megagram."
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.
NK provides the crazy uncle that China needs to cover some of the things it does in regard to Tibet, Taiwan, and Iran. China is not going to get on board with any program of regime change in NK.
I know this isn't of much value since I can't quote my references, but I remember hearing/reading about this particular matter and it actually seems China is getting slightly frustrated with its "crazy uncle". It makes sense, actually: NK requires a lot of material aid yet provides very little of concrete value in return. The only thing China really wants from NK is to act as a strong buffer against the capitalistic influence of SK, and by now, I suppose they've realized that this particular concern is rather insignificant. If NK becomes even more dependant on Chinese aid, it's possible that even China will have a change of mind.
It's also hard to believe that China is particularly happy about a "new" nuclear power rising very close to it's borders, especially since the ruling despot family has proven to be very eager to test its arsenal every once in a while.
"I'm just here for the achievements"
Start dumping cheap/free food on their markets, put all the local farmers out of business.
Those don't exist in DPRK, at least not legally. The "Market" was extinguished in the 60's. Almost everything you get comes from the government, and money is almost symbolic. Until the later part of the 80's peasants were not even permitted a private garden for producing their own food.
Also, only about 1/5 of North Korea is arable. This is a country which falls far short of being able to produce enough food to feed its people even under ideal circumstances. Since most farms of any significant size are government owned or controlled, and those working them are not guaranteed any share of what they produce. Aid to the people is a good thing, and trying to spin it otherwise is disingenuous.
Slay a dragon... over lunch!