N. Korea agrees to nuclear disarmament

[maddezmom]

BEIJING - North Korea agreed Tuesday to shut down its main nuclear reactor within 60 days at talks with the U.S. and four regional powers and eventually dismantle its atomic weapons program.

Under the deal, the North will receive an initial 50,000 tons worth of aid in heavy fuel oil for shutting down and sealing its main nuclear reactor, to be confirmed by international inspectors, Chinese envoy Wu Dawei said. The North eventually will receive another 950,000 tons in aid for irreversibly disabling the reactor.

North Korea and United States also will embark on talks aimed at resolving disputes and restarting diplomatic relations, Wu said. The Korean peninsula has remained in a state of war for more than a half-century since the Korean War ended in a 1953 cease-fire.

The United States will begin the process of removing North Korea from its designation as a terror-sponsoring state and also on ending U.S. trade sanctions, but no deadlines was set, according to the agreement. Japan and North Korea also will seek to normalize relations, Wu said.

more; http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070213/ap_on_re_as/koreas_nuclear

CNNI had Bolton on this am....he was PO'd. :evilgrin: Sorry John no bombings for you.

John Bolton, the former U.S. ambassador to the U.N., harshly criticized the deal and urged President George W. Bush to reject it, saying it made the U.S. look weak.

"I am very disturbed by this deal," he told CNN. "It sends exactly the wrong signal to would-be proliferators around the world: 'If we hold out long enough, wear down the State Department negotiators, eventually you get rewarded,' in this case with massive shipments of heavy fuel oil for doing only partially what needs to be done to dismantle the nuclear program."

http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2007/02/14/200702140002.asp

[krispos42]

1. Um, didn't WE wear down the NORTH KOREANS?

Just wondering...

[crikkett]

6. Nope.

They're quite a fascinating people. Can't be worn down.

[Buzz Clik]

10. Nope -- Shrub took us out of the loop.

Major credit to the Chinese with minors to the South Koreans and Japanese.

We were the ones on the sidelines wearing the foam finger and chanting, "USA! USA! USA!"

[truthisfreedom]

2. So yeah, Bolton, spending several TRILLION dollars blowing up someone else's nation is a better

approach than paying them off to be nice? I don't think so. I think your idea of "strength" is completely misguided... MY idea of strength, Mr. Bolton, is to develop alternative energy sources that completely OBVIATE the middle east, making them USELESS.

You're a killer and a hater, Mr. Bolton.

[muriel_volestrangler]

3. Amazing how negotiations go so much better once Bolton is out of the way

It worked with Libya (one of the few times where British suggestions have been listened to by US diplomats):

JACK STRAW became embroiled yesterday in the controversy surrounding John Bolton, President Bush’s choice to become the next US Ambassador to the UN, after it emerged that the Foreign Secretary had complained to Washington about his behaviour.
...
Mr Straw made the complaint after he became convinced that Mr Bolton was the source of an article on the front page of The Times last July quoting an unnamed senior US official who dismissed the initiative as “spring training” and advocated “regime change” in Tehran. The Times has never revealed its source.

A Foreign Office spokesman said last night that Mr Straw had “no recollection” of clashing with Mr Bolton. Privately, however, a senior British official recalled that Mr Straw had been very angry with Mr Bolton, whom he described as “extremely disobliging”.

In a separate allegation, Newsweek reported yesterday that British officials “at the highest levels” had persuaded the White House to keep Mr Bolton off the team negotiating with Libya to give up its nuclear programme in 2003. The magazine said that Mr Bolton was unwilling to support a compromise that the US drop its demand for regime change in Libya if the country abandoned its weapons programme. The White House denied the claim.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article385351.ece

[crikkett]

7. "disobliging" is now my word of the day

Mr Straw had been very angry with Mr Bolton, whom he described as “extremely disobliging”.

disoblige
(disobliging)

Part of Speech transitive verb

Inflected Forms disobliged, disobliging, disobliges
Definition 1. to neglect to tend to, or to go against the wishes of.
Definition 2. to cause offense or inconvenience to.

Related Words affront

Derived Forms disobligingly, adv. ; disobligingness, n.

http://www.wordsmyth.net/live/home.php

[killbotfactory]

39. Wow, who knew Mr. "THE UN DOESNT EXIST!!!" Bolton would be a horrible diplomat?

And that "our way or the highway" type diplomacy would be a horrible failure?

[BushOut06]

4. I'm still waiting for Condi Rice to fuck this up

I just can't bring myself to believe that this corrupt * administration is able or willing to actually negotiate a deal with North Korea. I'm waiting for Condiliar Rice to accuse the North Koreans of reneging on some minute, obscure detail. Of course, the North Koreans would then react in their typical manner, and "scrap" the agreement. But whose fault would that be? Theirs, or ours for pushing them into a highly predictable response?

[LynnTheDem]

5. Just a word to the wise, NK; get the aid FIRST.

Ask Nicaragua about doing deals with America.

[underpants]

8. Just beat me-WOW what a great idea this was nukes for fuel

It takes wunderkinds like Bolton and the Bushies to come up with such a great idea huh?

:sarcasm:

[Show_Me _The_Truth]

9. Bullshit!

NK said the same thing to Clinton and look where we are now. If this fucks up, it will not be this administrations fault, but THAT (i.e. NK) administration's/cult of personality/group of extortionsists that did it b/c the aid was about to run out or they just felt like it.

[Buzz Clik]

12. Yep. There is no solution, only postponements.

[Buzz Clik]

11. Going around for another lap on the North Korean merry-go-round.

We've been here many times before.

Sometime in the next 24 hours to 24 months, the deal will be scrapped, and it starts over again.

[Show_Me _The_Truth]

13. Enough time to stock up.

He needs to stock up on wine, Rolexs, X-Boxes, DVD's, iPods etc. Once he gets a few month's supply we will be back to square one.

[BayCityProgressive]

14. yeah

no need to have weapons when you have 30k foreign troops on your border and the country they are form are still in a declared war with you. They also just destroyed two other nations...and blockade youres. Nope, no need for the Koreans to be careful.

[Buzz Clik]

16. Well, that's a first.

I've never seen anyone defend "Batshit Crazy" Kim before.

[Show_Me _The_Truth]

18. Good nick name for the guy

Even the Chinese are afraid of what this guy will do.

[killbotfactory]

38. How crazy is he, really?

Is he "threatening to destroy Alaska because the King of Siam gave him dandruff" level crazy?

Or is he just "so crazy that the US feels obligated to threaten his nation and feel no obligation to uphold our end of the deal" level crazy?

[Show_Me _The_Truth]

40. He is "let my people eat grass soup while I get iPODs and good wine" crazy

Uh oh, do I sense that Kim is making it to the bigtime on DU?

Could he be ready to join the Castro and Chavez "oppressed benefactors of their people" club?

[killbotfactory]

41. Sounds like feudalism

But I'm pretty sure that is just the policies supported by the political North Korean elite, who have Lil Kim as their figurehead.

It's fun to call him names and stuff, because he's an asshole, but that doesn't mean he insane necessarily.

[Show_Me _The_Truth]

17. Of course we are forgetting...

...who started the original state of war on the Korean Penninsula. Oh wait, I am sure this will be the United States' fault somehow too. Please enlighten how Dear Leader Kim is really just trying to defend himself from evil outside forces. Tell us how he is really a benevolent leader trying to feed his people but blocked at every turn by the US.

[Buzz Clik]

15. No doubt, not to mention his high-maintenance hair and fashion accessories.

[BayCityProgressive]

19. from my knowledge

North Korea has never invaded another country> How many has the US attacked? Also, the North has never used a WMD on a civilian population...oh wait the US has. Nevermind that though..it is Kim Jong Il that is ythe only evil..rah rah rah America. Yes, He is insane too...stop using Rove tactics to smear me because I don't take a one sided approach.

[Buzz Clik]

20. No one smeared you.

But I certainly disagree with your comment that his desire to continue his nuclear program is justifiable simply because the US is evil.

[BayCityProgressive]

21. well I am against

anyone having nukes INCLUDING the US. I am just saying I can see their line of thinking. Perhaps this won't work, true..however, what other options are there? Attack them? Ignore them and lift all sanctions? Strengthen sanctions (which I think would just compel them to go further?) This is one of the few times that if Bush actually follows through on this (which I highly doubt) it would be one of the few things I agree with. A peace treaty should be ratified and all countries should begin disarming nuclear weapons.

[Buzz Clik]

22. It seems we share common thoughts on this with only small differences.

Yes, the US has been a big problem. At times we try to solve the mess, other times it seems we are pouring gasoline on the flames.

Just as we (the US) are fairly consistent in our insistence about injecting ourselves into other countries, North Korea has been consistent in their quest to use their nuclear threat to get attention and extort the world.

It's a tired game. I wish we'd be better world neighbors and that the North Koreans would stop the cycle.

[BayCityProgressive]

23. I would say

sign peace treaty and lift all sanctions. This would take away any reasoning that Korea has that we are going to attack them. Also say that if nukes are reinstated sanctions will come back. Start withdrawing from S Korea..we have done a lot of damage there and those people dont want us there. This would take all reasoning for wmd away from korea and they would have equal footing on the economic stage. getting food and fuel would then be in their hands and they would have no one else to blame.

[INDIA]

25. "North Korea has never invaded another country"

:wow:

[BayCityProgressive]

26. UM IT HASN'T

we got in the middle of THEIR civil war. Please tell me what nations it invaded? Please?

[Show_Me _The_Truth]

28. A little more complicated than that

Take a people and region that had been governed by a now defeated nation (i.e. Japan) and creat a sovereign State. The Korean war was a UN issue, not a US issue. The UN did not have the balls to tell the Soviets to get the hell out, their services were no longer needed. So they needed a large counter balance in the region, how do you do that, give the US control of the South and the Soviets the control of the North and let them compromise on a government to unify the country. The only problem was, the Soviets backed a psychotic cult leader named Kim Il-sung.

The South had the only legitimate govt. on the Penninsula. Why? They decided to hold elections supervised by the UN which were supposed to lead to the departure of foreign troops. But the Soviets boycotted the UN vote and did not allow the voting in the region they controlled, the North, and boycotted the elections process in the South. The UN claimed that the Syngman Rhee was the legitimate leader of Korea. Guess what, the Soviets refused to recognize the elections as binding and backed Kim. Then came the split with competing provisional governments with LEGITIMATELY recognized borders at the 38th parallel. The North Koreans then crossed the LEGITIMATE border into the South and officially started the Korean War. Of course, nice little pleasantries had been going on well before 1950 between the two forces.

So tell me, out of all that, where do you get that the US stuck its nose in their civil war?

[INDIA]

34. You beat me to it. Cheers! n/t

[Show_Me _The_Truth]

35. Just wanted him to know that MASH is not the historical document on the Korean War.

[LSK]

24. how is this not on greatest??? this is good news

And how the hell did the Bush admin approve this?

[rcdean]

27. This is THE CLINTON POLICY warmed over

This is the same basic policy Bill Clinton had in place for 6 years before the Bushies recklessly dismantled it in their rush to change everything Clinton ever did.

At that point we had UN nuke inspectors INSIDE Korea and we had live cameras set up at all of their nuke facilities for monitoring.

Bush will take credit for this. So I hope our side is prepared to let the public know that if Bush and the neocons hadn't screwed things up to begin with, NK would not have nukes today.

[Monty215]

29. They never stopped

Building the nukes. We helped them with their reactors, and then they used them to develop weapons. This should have been clear as day back then. Not sure why it wasn't. It was a steady progression, not suddenly turned on in the last 5 years.

[rcdean]

31. Wrong. I trust the UN inspectors.

You cite no supporting facts. But the UN inspectors were there, and they said otherwise. They said the problem was under control. They were in the country. They had monitoring gear. There were cameras on 24/7 in all nuclear facilities being monitored by UN personnel.

The Clinton plan was working. Bush dismantled it out of pure spite and obstinacy. This was clear and widely reported as potentially very risky at the time. It was followed by the equally stupid pronunciation that NK was part of an "Axis of Evil."

[killbotfactory]

37. UN inspectors are clueless, just ask Bush

He had the real scoop on all the Iraqi WMDs they couldn't find. Thank god Bush neutralized that threat to the world!

Also, didn't the republicans in Congress basically sabotage Clinton's North Korea policy, by refusing to fund the light-water reactors we agreed to build?

[killbotfactory]

30. So we are right back where we were...

Before Bush arrived.

Only now they built a nuclear weapon.

Awesome.

Great Success!

[Vidar]

32. Sounds good, but who knows?

[rcdean]

33. Great Toles cartoon on the subject

<>

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

36. Who the HELL let a real diplomat into the room???

:shrug: