No Nukes in North Korea?

US hails breakthrough in NKorea nuclear talks
AFX News Limited (via Forbes.com)
09.19.2005, 05:10 AM

BEIJING (AFX) - The US has hailed an agreement reached at talks on North Korea's nuclear ambitions, calling it a win-win deal with the next stage a verification regime.

'We had a great day. We finally have an agreement. It wasn't easy, but I think important things often don't come easily,' US envoy Christopher Hill said, according to Agence France-Presse.

'Everybody is the winner. This is a win-win situation. We got agreement on denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.'

In the agreement reached today, North Korea pledged to give up its nuclear weapons in exchange for promises of aid and security. The deal also said the US would respect the North's sovereignty and not attack it.

In return, the other nations agreed to 'recognise' the North's demand for nuclear energy and said Pyongyang's request to have a light-water nuclear reactor for peaceful purposes would be revisited 'at an appropriate time.'

Hill said a verification regime was the next step when the talks reconvene for a fifth round in November.

'We are really going to be working very hard. The next stage is the implementation of this agreement. A key element will be a verification regime,' he said.

It's too early to celebrate, often it's the small things, like verification for instance, that throw things off track, but It does sound hopeful. I only hope that this is not another "Jimmy Carter" deal. I believe that President Bush wouldn't accept any agreement that didn't have teeth, but I will still adopt a wait and see atitude.

Original Post: N. Korea Deal

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