North Korea appears almost certain to miss a deadline in a nuclear deal, a development that is unlikely to scuttle the disarmament-for-aid pact it reached with regional powers but could hamper its implementation.
Pyongyang has met one part of the deal by starting to take apart its Soviet-era nuclear facility that produces arms-grade plutonium, but is unlikely to meet its obligation to fully account for its nuclear activities by the end of the year.
If the DPRK makes the deadline, you are free to sell me some oceanfront property in Kansas. It is the 30th already, and looks like nothing is going to be done because North Korea is balking at the details of the February deal. Kim Jong Il wants more aid in return for an almost likely incomplete detailing of its past and current programs including HEU. However, they have almost been certainly been caught otherwise, but apologists will say it could come from somewhere else. With anything dealing with North Korea, nothing is ever certain, and neither will this even if they do declare. How is the outside world to know 100%. They cannot, unless I am missing something.
If it lives up to the deal it reached with China, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United States, the destitute state would receive 1 million tonnes of heavy fuel oil or equivalent aid and the U.S. would take it off its terrorism black list.
Now that North Korea will not make the deadline, how are the details of the carrot going to be? Time will tell on that one, but I am going to guess it is going to be the status quo.
The paranoid state also probably loathes the prospect of being forthcoming about one of its biggest secrets, its nuclear weapons program, analysts said.
No kidding, yet will still want what they demand. Will the parties involved deliver despite the bad behavior?
North Korea may delay the process, but analysts said it must come up with some sort of declaration.
I have to agree with this too, because Kim Jong Il is the type to do stuff when he is damn good and ready. His hallmark is to ruffle his feathers, balk and play games. It’s been that way for decades. This is just more of the same stuff, and if something different comes along, color me very surprised.
One Free Korea and ROK Drop has more.
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Beijing will soon allow more than 40 North Korean refugees sheltering at foreign missions in China to leave for South Korea and the United States, a report said Sunday.
China usually forcibly repatriates North Korean refugees, whom it regards as economic migrants, even though they often face harsh punishment on their return home.
South Korea’s Yonhap news agency, quoting unnamed sources in Beijing, said the Chinese government had decided to allow them to leave to prevent the issue overshadowing the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Ah, what a opportunistic time to all of a sudden care for North Koreans looking for freedom. As the article said, China regularly deports North Koreans and right back into the lion’s den. This is a good step forward, and will most likely save 40 lives. This is good news. The bad news is, will this last? Most likely not. I have to see this as a ploy of “See! We care for North Koreans. Do not boycott the Olympics now!” However, I have to also say even if China were to send the 40 North Koreans back, it would have not made much of a difference anyway, because most people will not even know or care about the defectors. There are games to watch.
China has been in talks over the fate of 20 North Korean defectors sheltering in the South Korean embassy compound and 23 others under the protection of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Beijing, according to Yonhap.
[...]
Despite its rare permission for the North Koreans to seek asylum, Beijing plans to beef up its crackdown on illegal North Koreans ahead of the Olympics, Yonhap said.
Hah, so it is business as usual. Nothing to see here folks, move along.
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