NK to Dismantle Nuclear Program

Just in:

U.S.: NKorea to Declare Nuclear Programs

GENEVA (AP) – North Korea agreed Sunday to account for and disable its atomic programs by the end of the year, offering its first timeline for a process long sought by nuclear negotiators, the chief U.S. envoy said. Kim Gye Gwan, head of the North Korean delegation, said separately his country’s willingness to cooperate was clear—in return for “political and economic compensation”—but he mentioned no dates.

Hill, a U.S. assistant secretary of state, said two days of talks between the United States and North Korea in Geneva had been “very good and very substantive” and would help improve chances of a successful meeting later this month with Japan, Russia, South Korea and China in six-nation talks aimed at ending the North’s nuclear weapons program and improving relations between North Korea and other countries.

“One thing that we agreed on is that the DPRK will provide a full declaration of all of their nuclear programs and will disable their nuclear programs by the end of this year, 2007,” Hill told reporters, using the initials for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

A stunning headline indeed, but is there more than meets the eye? What could the US have offered? Will NK honor the agreement? Is this Bush trying for one major foreign policy achievement before he leaves? Let’s see how this develops.