Major Breakthrough In North Korean Nuclear Talks, page 1

Six-way international talks to rid North Korea of nuclear weapons have had its first achievement today. North Korea has pledged to drop its nuclear weapons development program and to rejoin the Nuclear Nonproliferation treaty. In return, the United States has pledged to give North Korea fuel aid and a promise that the United States will not attack. The two pledges were unanimously approved by all six nations attending the talks.

news.yahoo.com
BEIJING - 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.

The North "committed to abandoning all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs and returning at an early date" to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards, according to the agreement.

In exchange, the North would receive energy assistance and a pledge from the United States that it won't attack.

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This is a complete shock to me, I never thought the current United States administration would conceed anything to the North Koreans. The requests for fuel aid and non-aggression pacts have been repeatedly turn down by the Bush administration, until now.

This is basically the guts of Clinton's Agreed Framework, sans the nuclear reactors and promises to normalize relations. But when the Agreed Framework was signed it ensured the Yongbyon reactor was sealed, hence preventing North Korea from obtaining any nuclear weapons. I lament that the spirit of the original Agreed Framework was not followed by both the United States and North Korea, if it were we wouldnt be in the position that we are now and North Korea would be nuclear weapon free.

This latest agreement is very good for the whole of Korea but you can now never be certain, when North Korea disarms, that they have given over all their nuclear weapons.

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[edit on 19/9/05 by subz]

[edit on 27-9-2005 by DJDOHBOY]