North Korea Gives Up Its Nukes

[domdabears Profile Website]

The United States announced a major diplomatic breakthrough with North Korea Wednesday.

Under an agreement reached in direct talks in Beijing last week, North Korea has agreed to allow the return of nuclear inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency, and has agreed to implement a moratorium on long-range missile tests, nuclear tests, and nuclear activities at Yongbyon, including uranium enrichment activities, the State Department said. In return, the United States will provide North Korea with a major food aid package.

"To improve the atmosphere for dialogue and demonstrate its commitment to denuclearization, the DPRK has agreed to implement a moratorium on long-range missile launches, nuclear tests and nuclear activities at Yongbyon, including uranium enrichment activities," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in a press statement Wednesday. "The DPRK has also agreed to the return of IAEA inspectors to verify and monitor the moratorium on uranium enrichment activities at Yongbyon and confirm the disablement of the 5-MW reactor and associated facilities."

Despite the stunning breakthrough, "the United States still has profound concerns regarding North Korean behavior across a wide range of areas," Nuland's statement cautioned, but added that "today's announcement reflects important, if limited, progress in addressing some of these."

In return, the United States will "move forward with our proposed package of 240,000 metric tons of nutritional assistance along with the intensive monitoring required for the delivery of such assistance," she said.

U.S. envoy on North Korean affairs Glynn Davies last week held the first face-to-face talks with his North Korean counterpart Kim Kye Gwan since the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il in December.

Davies' Feb. 23-24 discussions in Beijing asserted several points, Nuland's statement said. Among them, "the United States reaffirms that it does not have hostile intent toward the DPRK" and that U.S. sanctions are not targeted against the livelihood of the North Korean people.

Arms control experts welcomed the signs of progress from Washington's efforts to engage Pyongyang, despite years of tumultuous, on- and off-again negotiations that have seen many harrowing setbacks.

"Today's announcement is an important step toward a verifiable freeze of the most worrisome North Korean nuclear activities," Daryl Kimball, of the Arms Control Association, wrote in an analysis of the announced agreement. "President Barack Obama and Amb. Glynn Davies ... need to maintain the momentum in the weeks and months ahead."

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/envoy/u-ann ... 31635.html

[Spock Profile]

WOW! Finally some good news!

[Zegtelzegtel Profile]

edit*

WOW! Finally some good news!

what I thought..

[domdabears Profile Website]

Food for bombs

[Dagnamski Profile Website]

inspectors in is not the same as giving up

nukes are cheap, some countries are just giving them away due to overstock

[Constabul Profile]

Wonder if this is the beginnings of a new turn in the leadership to try and make their country a better place, and bring it into the modern era...

Hmmmm..

[domdabears Profile Website]

I guess that guy never got killed either

[Zegtelzegtel Profile]

Who's in charge?

[The57ironman Profile]

inspectors in is not the same as giving up

nukes are cheap, some countries are just giving them away due to overstock

hmm......my first thought was something along the lines of......
..the great big global elite media mindf*ck machine.....

'' look over here ''...while we've got something else going on over there

...i ain't buyin' it...

[Constabul Profile]

Who's in charge?

The gorious reader Kim Jong-un