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North Korea on Monday agreed to give up all its nuclear weapons and programs and rejoin the Non Proliferation Treaty in return for normal diplomatic ties with Washington and energy and other assistance from participants. Moreover, the participants in the six-party talks agreed to respect North Korea¡¯s right to use nuclear energy peacefully and to discuss the provision of light-water reactors at an appropriate time.
The joint statement of principles announced by the delegations from both Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia on Monday brings record-length fourth round of the talks to a successful conclusion many had doubted was possible. A fifth round of talks slated for early November will work out the schedule and logistics of the general agreement reached in Beijing. South Korean chief negotiator Song Min-soon expressed satisfaction. ¡°This agreement prepares the six nation¡¯s joint principles for resolving the North Korean nuclear dispute,¡± he said.
North Korea agreed that in the process of scrapping its nuclear programs it will return to the NPT and embrace IAEA safeguard regimes.
The U.S. in turn offered reassurances that it had ¡°no intention to attack or invade the DPRK with nuclear or conventional weapons.¡± Japan also pledged to continue work towards normalizing its chilly relationship with North Korea, reaffirming a 2002 agreement between Tokyo and Pyongyang to normalize ties once a number of thorny bilateral issues have been resolved.
The ¡°win-win¡± statement, in the words of U.S. chief negotiator Christopher Hill, also puts in writing South Korea¡¯s pledge to provide the North with 2 million kilowatts of free electricity a year, with other parties also pledging energy aid to the North.
The parties agreed to set up a separate forum to discuss a permanent peace framework for the Korean Peninsula. The Korean War ended with only an armistice which theoretically remains in force until today.
Experts said the statement was an important step toward a resolution of the conflict but warned of a tug of war later over concrete measures, chief among them the order and timing of North Korea¡¯s dismantling of its nuclear facilities and programs. A member of the South Korean delegation was unable to conceal a note of admiration. ¡°North Korea also made a big decision, but they got everything they wanted from the United States,¡± he said.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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