Yet another report regarding Kim Jong Il giving a declaration has presented itself, and anything regarding that has me skeptical. According to Bloomberg:
April 16 (Bloomberg) — North Korea will submit a list of its nuclear programs and materials by the end of this month, the Hankook Ilbo newspaper reported, citing an unidentified South Korean government official.
Hm, really? I will believe it when I see it. So far, all the promises for a declaration have all been for naught for a really long time, and if the DPRK does finally give some declaration, I would be very, very surprised. On the other hand, for a more detailed version of how the talks progressed to maybe, just maybe to get to this point can be found on OFK. After reading that, it seemed pretty clear to me Kim will still get what he wants in the end. Kim knows damn well nothing happened for nothing delivered in December, so why should he worry about delivering a declaration by the end of this month? What changed in the agreement to change his mind and be a good boy? In my opinion, nothing at all. The entire process has been a disaster just like the times before.
The U.S. will start talks on removing North Korea from its list of state sponsors of terrorism once the communist nation provides the declaration, the Seoul-based newspaper cited the official as saying. The steps are part of an agreement reached by the two countries in talks in Singapore last week, it said.
Emphasis mine. Now North Korea giving a declaration at the end of this month is one thing, but as Joshua has pointed out, Why should North Korea get deleted from the list of terror when Kim practices terror? As the post suggested:
[...]
So have you heard that Kim Jong Il will celebrate his removal from the list of state sponsors of terrorism … by firing off more missiles?
U.S. military authorities have been closely watching the North Korean arm since spotting signs of lively activity at a missile launch site in North Korea, CNN reported Friday. Quoting two U.S. military officers, the channel reported satellite photos recently spotted personnel, vehicles and materials moving toward the Rodong missile base in Shinori, north of Pyongyang. Rodong-1 missiles with a range of 1,300 km capable of striking most of the Japanese islands are reportedly deployed at the Shinori site. [Chosun Ilbo]
I’m at a loss for words. North Korea throws an extortionate fit, even threatens to turn Seoul to “ashes” – all of which is clearly calculated to intimidate South Korean voters just before an election – and we reward them by declaring them not to be sponsors of terror. (To be precise, the North Koreans aren’t sponsoring terrorism, they’re practicing terrorism. There should be a separate list for nations that engage in this kind of direct, retail terrorism. Naturally, our State Department overlooked that).
[...]
While I doubt North Korea is stupid enough to launch missiles and restart the Korean War, the rhetoric has been stepped up. While we never know what Kim is thinking and what he will do next, his temper tantrums seem to get what he wants in the end by ruffling his feathers. So we eventually give in. What is next in this saga of diplomacy? It is hard to say, but to remove North Korea from the list of terrorists is insane. Many will disagree with me on this, but that is how I feel. Kim Jong Il has played the international community once again.
Now for the big IF:
The six nations may meet for talks in the middle of next month if the declaration is provided and negotiations on North Korea’s removal from the U.S. list begin, Hankook Ilbo reported.
The question is, what if Kim decides not to declare his nukes? Is he willing to give them up to shore his crumbling regime, major food shortage and looming disassociation by his own people so they can survive? They are turning to marketization despite his efforts to curtail it. Maybe he needs to think about all that, but it is very doubtful he will. Time will tell what he does next, and I will be interested to see where this goes next.
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