[Mb-civic] Reasons for hope in Korea nuke talks - Arnold Kanter and Daniel Poneman - Boston Globe

[William Swiggard]

Reasons for hope in Korea nuke talks

By Arnold Kanter and Daniel Poneman  |  September 8, 2005

IT WAS NO surprise that last month's six-party talks in Beijing failed 
to record tangible progress toward resolving the North Korean nuclear 
issue. The surprise was that after 13 days of intense negotiation failed 
to produce an agreed ''statement of principles," the parties decided to 
reconvene after a short recess. When talks resume next week, a 
half-forgotten agreement may help close the gap.

In January 1992, North Korea and South Korea signed the Joint 
Declaration on the Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. That 
agreement included an unqualified renunciation of nuclear weapons by 
Pyongyang and Seoul and an explicit prohibition on uranium enrichment 
and plutonium reprocessing while limiting the scope of 
''denuclearization" to the Korean Peninsula. The declaration also 
provided for verification by means of on-site inspections.

These provisions address several of the most critical nuclear issues in 
North Korea today. Significantly, North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Il, not 
only told Seoul recently that this 1992 accord remains ''valid" but also 
recalled that the pact had been approved by his father, Kim Il-Sung, 
sending an implicit but unmistakable signal that he is obligated to 
honor his late father's position.

The 1992 North-South Declaration is no panacea. Most important, it would 
permit North Korea to operate nuclear reactors for ''peaceful purposes." 
That issue was a major stumbling block during the last negotiating 
session in Beijing. The North reportedly insisted on this right, while 
the US side argued that Pyongyang had no plausible requirement for 
nuclear energy.

No doubt the world would feel more confident that North Korea had really 
had abandoned its nuclear weapons ambitions if it were to agree to forgo 
any nuclear activities whatsoever. This issue, however, need not block 
agreement on a statement of principles that would chart a path to a 
successful outcome.

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2005/09/08/reasons_for_hope_in_korea_nuke_talks/
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