Decision ‘08

A Massive Diplomatic Victory - And A Huge Win For All Mankind

North Korea is notorious for reneging on agreements, but if this sticks, it’s one of the biggest triumphs of the Bush Administration:

Pyongyang and Washington have agreed on a three-week timeframe for shutting down the North’s plutonium-producing reactor, a top U.S. nuclear envoy said Saturday after returning from a rare visit to the reclusive state.

Christopher Hill — the chief U.S. negotiator at international talks on North Korea’s nuclear programs — said they were looking at a three-week timeframe for shutting down the Yongbyon reactor, when asked by reporters on his arrival at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport.

“Yes, stay tuned,” he said, adding that the timeframe started Friday.

There is no more important issue - none - than the nuclear one…but there is still work to be done:

The IAEA announced Friday that a delegation led by Olli Heinonen, a deputy director general of the IAEA, would travel to Pyongyang on Tuesday to prepare for the first inspection.

Hill said he was happy the team was set to go, but cautioned that shutting the reactor was just a first step.

“Shutting down the reactor won’t solve all our problems, but in order to solve our problems we need to make this beginning,” he said. “We really think this is the time to pick up the pace.”

I would prefer that we had not released the funds in question - they were clearly ill-begotten gains that give crucial hard currency to the isolated North Korean regime. Still, if the shutdown really happens, I suppose it was worth the price…

2 Responses to “A Massive Diplomatic Victory - And A Huge Win For All Mankind”

1 too many steves Says:
June 23rd, 2007 at 3:43 pm
In selling there is a saying: “It ain’t a done deal until the commission is spent.”. We’ve been here before, I remain skeptical and will save my excitement for when it is proven that Yongbyon is shut down.
2 Decision ‘08 » Blog Archive » On The Other Hand… Says:
June 24th, 2007 at 10:49 am
[…] perhaps because I was in an exuberant mood with the onset of the weekend, I wrote with undisguised joy at the news that North Korea was about to shut down its plutonium-producing reactor. It’s […]