North Korea Agrees to End Nuclear Program

UPDATE#1 The Chosun Ilbo is now running an article on it and also has an editorial discussing how everything may not be to rosey between the US and Korea:

The United States, however, has through the agreement virtually broken with the principle it had been most bombastic about. The Bush administration had been saying it could not reward illegal actions, calling it the ?fundamental of fundamentals? of a resolution to the nuclear issue. Washington had also claimed that North Korea, which had already misused its peaceful nuclear program, could not be allowed another light-water reactor. Through this agreement, however, both principles have been shaken. Accordingly, some say its possible that U.S. neoconservatives, who take a hard-line against North Korea, will unleash an attack on the architects of the agreement, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill.

Some point out that should there be criticism within the U.S. unsatisfied with South Korea?s mediation role, tensions and fissures may arise between Seoul and Washington.

Of course Unification Minister Chung Dong-young is taking the credit for the success of the talks:

The adoption of the principle document in the six-party talks on how to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula is the “accomplishment of South Korean diplomacy,?? which opened the way to end the Cold War confrontation, Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said in Seoul on Monday.

His remarks are based on the idea that the joint principle statement laid the groundwork for the establishment of a permanent peace on the peninsula, even though the document apparently focused on the nuclear issue.

Here is another interesting quote from Song-Sin-moon the head South Korea negotiator:

“I got a feeling that we now open the way for making history by ourselves,?? Song Min-soon, South Korea?s top delegate to the six-party talks, told reporters after the official announcement of the principle document. “In the past, we were given a situation at others? will and we had to deal with it.??

Correct me if I’m wrong but was it not Koreans that started the Korean War? Yes outside countries initially divided the country but Koreans as well have had opportunities to chart their own history. When it is good history like today, South Korea is responsible, when it is bad history the foreigners are responsible. So when this deal falls apart which it probably will at some point it will not be the North Koreans fault but the United States.

So how can this deal fall apart? The US will agree to build this light water reactor only if the North Koreans verifiably dismantle their nuclear program. We all know the Norks won’t allow inspectors that type of access in their country, but in the mean time the Norks will use the free energy from South Korea until the next crisis arrives. Then there is the thousand pound gorrilla that no one wants to talk about either that has yet to be resolved and that is human rights in North Korea. This whole agreement appears to be all sides positioning themselves to place blame on each other when the agreement ultimately fails.
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Reports are coming out that North Korea has agreed in principle to end it’s nuclear program:

North Korea pledged to drop its nuclear weapons development and rejoin international arms treaties in a unanimous agreement Monday at six-party arms talks the first breakthrough in more than two years of negotiations.

“It’s a good agreement for all of us,” Hill said. But he added: “We have to see what comes in the days and weeks ahead. We have to seize the momentum of this.”

This may sound like good news but I have been following North Korea issues long enough to know that what North Korea says and what they actually do are two different things. The Norks are talking nice now probably because the Chinese want to save face and show the world that the talks they are hosting are productive.

I really think the Chinese want to win some international prestige by reaching some kind of agreement on this nuclear crisis. It is also in their interest to have a stable North Korea before their hosting of the 2008 Olympic games. They don’t want a nuclear or refugee crisis overshadowing their moment of glory.

The North Koreans also want a deal that keeps their regime stable, but they also want enough flexibility in whatever agreement is reached to keep the capacity to make nuclear weapons. This is why the Norks want to be allowed to have a civilian nuclear power program after whatever agreement is reached.

Don’t get your hopes up with this “breakthrough”, however this is at least progress. It will be interesting to see how long this lasts.