N. Korea to shut down nuclear reactor

On Feb. 13, North Korea promised to shut down its nuclear reactor and readmit international inspectors, as first steps towards eventual disarmament, in return for millions of dollars worth of oil. The arms-for-energy deal clinched in Beijing represents a breakthrough after more than three fruitless years of talks involving six nations. The deal was only achieved after significant US concessions. US negotiators agreed to bilateral talks that Washington had previously rejected and promised to "resolve" restrictions on North Korean-related accounts in Macau within the next month. Furthermore, the deal–hammered out by both Koreas, the US, Japan, Russia and China–does not require the North to dismantle its existing warheads, of which there are thought to be between eight and 10. Over the next 60 days, North Korea must seal its 5 megawatt reactor at Yongbyon, allow inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency and make an inventory of all its nuclear programs. In return, the regime will receive 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil, which it badly needs to keep functioning, or economic aid of equal value. The US will also begin the process of normalizing diplomatic relations and removing North Korea from its list of state-sponsors of terrorism. Conservative critics in Washington said it resembled the nuclear freeze negotiated by the Clinton administration in 1994, which was much derided by the Bush White House as naive, and which broke down in 2002 over US allegations of covert uranium enrichment. No deadline is set for North Korea to fully dismantle its nuclear stockpile, but if it takes irreversible concrete steps towards that goal it will be entitled to another 950,000 tons of fuel oil or an equivalent $290 million in aid. Once it dismantles all its nuclear weapons programs, South Korea has promised to supply 2,000 megawatts of electricity–worth $8.5 billion–under an earlier agreement.