North Korea Agrees To Suspend Nuclear Activities 221
Hugh Pickens writes writes "In a breakthrough in negotiations with the secretive communist nation the Guardian reports that North Korea has agreed to suspend nuclear activities and to a moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile tests. According to U.S. State department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland, North Korea has agreed to allow International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors to verify and monitor the moratorium on uranium enrichment and confirm disablement of its nuclear reactor at Yongbyon. In return for the moratorium on nuclear activities at this key site, the United States has agreed to finalize a package of 240,000 metric tons of nutritional assistance to North Korea. There will be intensive monitoring to assure the delivery of such assistance is made to those in need, and not diverted to the military or government elites."
Metric 'Tons'? (Score:2, Insightful)
Been there, done that (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm more than a little Tired of reading about all these triumphant negotiation sessions over the years where NK promises to be a good boy just long enough to get the trade concessions, only to violate the agreement shortly there after. This is like the third or forth president in a row that has been duped by these tactics. As each agreement falls apart, there are the usual dire warnings about "grave consequences". These are the code words by which the US State Department looks tough, but signals the other side that the only "grave" involved is the one in which the whole issue will be buried as soon as the grandstanding is over with.
Son of Whack-Job, and Grandson of Whack-a-Doodle has absolutely no incentive to honor this agreement any more than his predecessors did the prior ones. However, a certain government leader needs a feather in his re-election hat. So we get another useless agreement with a perpetual liar state.
Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Been there, done that (Score:5, Insightful)
Oh for some mod points...
Yea, Six Party talks, humanitarian assistance, blah, blah, blah. Instead of giving them the reward ahead of time, how about an agreement where they have to do something first and get the carrot afterward?
Re:Suspend not end (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Been there, done that (Score:5, Insightful)
A lot of oppressed, hungry people will get some food to eat. It will be like Christmas for them.
Isn't that a good enough reason to allow yourself to be "duped" once in a while...?
Not that they needed nukes to begin with... (Score:4, Insightful)
Unlike, say, Iran, NK doesn't actually need nukes to level its sworn enemy. It would probably be faster and more convenient to just level Seoul with conventional artillery. Is there any doubt that their nuclear program is just a bartering commodity for aid?
Re:Still in violation (Score:5, Insightful)
Alternatively, we sent desperately needed food to people who are starving to death by the tens of thousands and got a temporary concession out of the North Korean government in the process. And don't tell me it just supports the dictatorship either, do you really think the people of North Korea are about to rise up and overthrow the Kim family business? It's not going to happen until something major goes down, either a military coupe from within or a 2 week war with one of their neighbors, neither of which will be effected by us giving them food aide.
Kim Jong-un (Score:5, Insightful)
You get one chance to keep your word. This is it.
Re:Suspend not end (Score:4, Insightful)
The only way keeping food aide out of North Korea is going to take down the dictatorship is if so many North Korean civilians die of starvation that there aren't enough peasants left to support the military. The upper levels just don't care if their people die, and the common people are too overworked, hungry, brainwashed, and outnumbered to even consider rising up in rebellion.
It's either this or send in the Marines (Score:5, Insightful)
Talk is cheap, but at least it's cheaper than body bags. I do like that even the most official statements on this seem to be the equivalent of "Welp, here we go again."
“The United States still has profound concerns regarding North Korean behavior across a wide range of areas, but today’s announcement reflects important, if limited, progress in addressing some of these,” said State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland.
Those words were echoed by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who called the agreement a “modest first step in the right direction.”
I think that's Pol-speak for "We've played this game before, we know how it ends, but what's the alternative?"
Re:Suspend not end (Score:4, Insightful)
The lack of food giveaways may not bring down the NK dictatorship, but the presence of the aid helps it. Why pay to help a government that is so immutably hostile to us? It does nothing to further our interests. We get no real concessions, just lip service until they have extracted more tribute from us. This is not theoretical, we have been down this road many times before and NK has proven themselves reliably dishonest.
NK is China's client state, let China feed their populace.
Re:Been there, done that (Score:5, Insightful)
A lot of oppressing, poorly-fed soldiers will get more food to eat plus some for their relatives. It will be like Christmas for them as they get to use the extra food to reward their favorites.
Isn't that a good enough reason to allow yourself to be "duped" once in a while...?
FTFY
Re:Been there, done that (Score:4, Insightful)
This is like coming to a conclusion with an abusive husband that you'll supply his wife with band-aids.
Re:Metric 'Tons'? (Score:2, Insightful)
Actually, most people with a sound knowledge of English know that A) a ton and a tonne are not the same thing and B) the E in English should be capitalized.
Re:Suspend not end (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Suspend not end (Score:5, Insightful)
There is a new leader. A goodwill gesture toward getting him to be friends with the international community is not a lost cause.
I like your optimism. Mine is exhausted by decades of history on this issue, but I salute your willingness to try again.
So inexpensive (Score:2, Insightful)
What amazes me about this is that it is so inexpensive for the US. Wheat is less than 300 per metric ton so this is only about $72,000,000. A round off error in the US debt and less than the negotiations probably cost.
Re:Still in violation (Score:4, Insightful)