Breaking: U.S. reaches nuke deal with North Korea?
posted at 2:57 pm on February 12, 2007 by Allahpundit
Send to a Friend |
Share on Facebook | printer-friendly
Like Truthout on the Rove indictment, Chosun Ilbo was way out in front of the news cycle.
“A breakthrough is not in sight,” South Korea’s negotiator said yesterday with talks on the verge of collapse. And now:
The U.S. envoy to talks on North Korea’s nuclear program said Tuesday that a tentative agreement had been reached on initial moves for the communist nation’s disarmament. “I’m encouraged by this that we were able to take a step forward on the denuclearization issue,” Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said.
He declined to give details of the draft, but said it outlined specific commitments for Pyongyang and would set up working groups to implement those goals to begin meeting in about a month.
The Times claimed yesterday to have seen a version of the draft. Quote:
Meanwhile, a summary of the proposed agreement being circulated among senior policy makers in Washington makes it clear that even if the North agreed to take the listed first steps — sealing its main nuclear reactor and inviting international inspectors back into the country — it would not be required to turn over any nuclear weapons or weapons fuel that it has produced in recent years for an unspecified period of time, and then only after reaching another agreement.
In essence, the agreement Hill, an assistant secretary of state, is negotiating could prevent the North from producing more weapons, but defers discussions over the weapons and fuel it has stockpiled…
Kyodo, the Japanese news agency, has reported that North Korea wants an annual energy package of two million tons of fuel oil and two million kilowatts of electricity for taking the first steps in the agreement. It quoted unidentifed diplomatic sources who said the North also wanted a short-term infusion of hundreds of thousands of tons of fuel oil almost immediately. That presumably would be a reward for shutting down Yongbyon, even though Yongbyon does not provide electric energy to the country.
I think Bush just wants this off the table so he can focus (even more) exclusively on the Middle East. There’s nothing we can do militarily and there’s at least a small chance they might hold up their end of the bargain. Besides, a show of good faith towards the NorKs with the deadline approaching for Iran to stop enriching uranium will turn up the domestic pressure on Khamenei to make a deal.
This is the global equivalent of a hostage negotiation, with Kim implicitly threatening to kill Koreans on both sides of the border if we don’t give him what he wants. So … we’re giving him what he wants. No other options at this point, really.
Exit question: Is it time for Zucker to update the ad?
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Blowback
Note from Hot Air management: This section is for comments from Hot Air's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that Hot Air management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment just because we let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with our terms of use may lose their posting privilege.
Trackbacks/Pings
Trackback URL
Comments
U.S. reaches nuke deal with North Korea?
AGAIN???
And which part do we believe, and which part of this agreement do we pretend didn’t happen? Cause you know NOKO will be doing just that.
shooter on February 12, 2007 at 3:01 PM
I’m going to have to see the agreement for myself before calling for Zucker to update the ad (not that I’m accusing the Slimes of making anything up; they don’t have a history of that, do they? </sarcasm_dripping>).
As for the fact the agreement exists, I guess the ‘Rats would have taken the wrong approach again. Now, it’s a matter of details and verification, verification, verification (something that was sorely lacking in the previous agreement by the previous administration).
steveegg on February 12, 2007 at 3:01 PM
Send in Chuck Norris!
Neo on February 12, 2007 at 3:06 PM
nuance??? gettin’ a little nuance happy, are we?
anyway, we’ll see what happens. I’m excited about the news… if it plays out.
I guess the question is: will Bush get the credit or will the left blame him for taking too long.
I can hear them now: Bush forced N. Korea to develop weapons out of fear but his low poll numbers and just the thought of having awesome democrats like Pelosi in charge convinced Kim Jong-Il he was safe and to become a better person.
Opinionnation on February 12, 2007 at 3:09 PM
Anyone up for a game of “kick the can”?
thirteen28 on February 12, 2007 at 3:10 PM
Well, I suppose you could categorize it as the world looses to Kim but an equally accurate way to phrase it is Kim is giving up his nuclear development and opening up his facilities to international inspection in exchange for fuel oil aid. I’m not sure how Kim ends up a winner if all he gets for years of spending his country into starvation is something he could have had decades ago.
Nothing wrong in saying you won when you win.
JackStraw on February 12, 2007 at 3:16 PM
So I can expect that they will abide by this one in the same manner in which they stuck to the Clinton era “agreement”?
This should buy them enough time to perfect their program which has blossomed under the last agreement.
Alden Pyle on February 12, 2007 at 3:20 PM
I love the sheik in the Limo. He might said, “Get your a** working b*t*h.”
Ouabam on February 12, 2007 at 3:23 PM
Let me get my steel-toed boots.
steveegg on February 12, 2007 at 3:35 PM
I guess North Korea just admitted they broke the agreement with the Clinton administration. That is sort of cool.
We now have openings for stronger action. Maybe, we can create a colony for displaced North Koreans next to Israel.
tomas on February 12, 2007 at 3:35 PM
i’m inclined to believe there’s no reasonw why ‘Men-tali-Ill’ will work under this as opposed to under clinton.
tomas; i think the israelis would get along quite well with the displaced NKs; that means the palestinians can have their damned state in freakin northeastern china and deal with how the chinese and north koreans react to ’suicide bombers’ and rockets
Defector01 on February 12, 2007 at 3:55 PM
Using BreitBart to cull the various news sources, the details are starting to emerge:
- The AP had the sticking point prior to the breakthrough as North Korea’s demand for a lot of energy, up to 2 gigawatts of electricity or 2 million tons of heavy fuel oil (rejected by the likely sources of that energy, South Korea and Russia), with the breakthrough coming after the US told North Korea to (diplomatically, of course) dump or get off the pot and a 16-hour marathon session.
- AFP and Kyodo are saying that breakthrough came from the ChiComs, which has drafted and distributed a “final draft”. Nobody has yet printed that “final draft” to go through, and I’m not exactly hopeful that it represents a lasting breakthrough.
steveegg on February 12, 2007 at 4:01 PM
I, honestly, trust NK to uphold their end of the bargain, more than I would trust Iran.
amerpundit on February 12, 2007 at 4:03 PM
Here’s my plan
1. Send in inspectors to verify that the Nork’s bomb test was a fizzle and no threat remains.
2. Nuke em.
pedestrian on February 12, 2007 at 4:05 PM
Is that because you think you can actually toss Krazy Kim?
steveegg on February 12, 2007 at 4:07 PM
Sounds like Lucy offering to hold the football (yet again) for Charlie Brown.
I sure hope we’re not stupid enough to take the Norks at their word, for anything.
Spurius Ligustinus on February 12, 2007 at 4:14 PM
That’s like saying I’d rather have breast cancer then testicular cancer; not exactly a ringing endorsement
Defector01 on February 12, 2007 at 4:30 PM
I’m going to have to save this one for a Hiliary thread.
steveegg on February 12, 2007 at 4:34 PM
Ah, what the heck; I’ll burn a variant of that line now.
Pretty much the entire male “Republican” population of the Senate would disagree with you.
steveegg on February 12, 2007 at 4:35 PM
Who signs the basketball this time around? LeBron, D-Wade, or Kobe?
Kid from Brooklyn on February 12, 2007 at 5:18 PM
Yao Ming.
steveegg on February 12, 2007 at 5:44 PM
And the kickers start coming in. Fox News reported a few minutes ago that the State Department got Commerce to lift its $25 million set of sanctions on North Korea for counterfeiting American currency. AP is saying that Russia and Japan are less-than-enthused over the proposal.
steveegg on February 12, 2007 at 6:09 PM
Has anyone else noticed the lefty blackout on the NK news. I visited some of the swamps hoping to see something about the agreement but there was nada.
Opinionnation on February 12, 2007 at 6:12 PM
you do realize men can get breast cancer right?
Defector01 on February 12, 2007 at 6:20 PM
It’s a question of whether RINOs can get the other form.
steveegg on February 12, 2007 at 6:32 PM
Oh, I believe this. After all, with NK doing deals with Iran they really don’t need nukes. They can transfer them to Iran and get more Americans than they would in NK what with their slingshot missile system and all. They get to appear sane by allowing weapons inspectors in. Meanwhile using the lifted-sanctions to increase Kim’s Hummel collection. Everybody wins!
NTWR on February 12, 2007 at 6:39 PM
How about we offer not to bomb them off the map in exchange for humanitarian aid, democratic rehabilitation, and secession of the nuke program?
Why aren’t spy-ops broadcasting pro democratic propaganda into NorKo, anyway? I know the population is too hungry to start a revolution, but might grease the wheels for the inevitable regime change.
liquidflorian on February 12, 2007 at 7:47 PM