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A tentative consensus was reached over the broad framework of an agreement at the six-party nuclear talks in Beijing. In return for North Korea¡¯s shutting down its nuclear facilities, the other members of the six-party talks would provide 500,000 tons of heavy oil annually. Ahead of this meeting, North Korea and the United States had reached an agreement where Washington lifts its freeze on North Korea¡¯s accounts with a Macau bank within 30 days of the communist country agreeing to a nuclear shut down. A final agreement is being delayed by North Korea¡¯s insistence on more heavy oil. But North Korea has already secured a guarantee of 500,000 tons of heavy oil plus the lifting of a freeze on its overseas account.
The United States is seeking a shut down of North Korea¡¯s nuclear facilities, while the communist country merely wants to halt operations. But once North Korea makes up its mind, there is no way of stopping Pyongyang from restarting its nuclear facilities. Ultimately, should a final agreement be reached at the next round of six-party talks, it would be the same as the 1994 Geneva Agreement where North Korea freezes its nuclear program in exchange for alternative energy supplies from the international community.
The only difference this time is the fact that Korea should bear a much higher portion of the burden. The Geneva Agreement required Korea to supply 70 percent of the heavy oil and Japan 30 percent. But already during this round of talks, Tokyo has drawn a clear line, saying there will be no energy aid unless North Korea resolves the issue of abducted Japanese citizens. In contrast, the Korean government until now has on several occasions presented a blueprint for North Korean aid even when the entire international community was seeking sanctions. During six-party talks in September of 2005, South Korea had promised to supply 2 million kilowatts of electricity to the North. That¡¯s why South Korea stands to bear almost the entire $150 million burden to supply North Korea with 500,000 tons of heavy oil each year, while other members of the dialogue simply sign the agreement and take a step back.
Closing down North Korea¡¯s nuclear facilities fulfills Washington¡¯s top priority of halting the spread of nuclear weapons. From South Korea¡¯s perspective, in order to satisfy its top priority of keeping the Korean peninsula nuclear free, additional steps are needed to completely and irreversibly scrap both plutonium and uranium facilities and eliminate already produced nuclear weapons and all nuclear materials that could be used to make weapons. Ultimately, several more rounds of talks are needed and there is no way of telling how much more of a burden South Korea may have to shoulder.
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