Word: yongbyon
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...July 15, the world found out that Kim Jong Il had done something surprising: he had kept his word. International nuclear inspectors confirmed that North Korea's flagship reactor in Yongbyon had been shut down, as Kim's regime had pledged to do in February. It was the first vow actually honored by Kim since 1994, when he cut his original nuclear deal with Bill Clinton. But the central question for the U.S. remains: Is this time really different...
There is too much mistrust for anyone to answer that question unequivocally. But the cautious optimists on the U.S. side believe the step-by-step approach outlined in the Feb. 13 agreement may bear fruit beyond Yongbyon. Kim got desperately needed fuel oil in return for shutting the plutonium reactor, and there are more economic and diplomatic goodies in store if he completes the next steps of the deal he signed: outlining in detail what nuclear material his regime has--including a disputed uranium-enrichment program--and disposing...
...Says a senior East Asian diplomat: "The Chinese have been telling him over and over that he can afford to liberalize the economy a bit and still maintain control but that he had to dismantle the nuclear program to reap any benefits whatsoever." Step 1--shutting down Yongbyon--is complete, but diplomats involved in dealing with the North know better than to think anything will go easily with the dictator in Pyongyang...
...North Korea dictator Kim Jong Il might actually be living up to its terms. Days after Hill's visit, North Korea allowed into the country a group of U.N. inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), who are there to verify the shutdown of the plutonium reactor at Yongbyon. Pyongyang has also agreed to account for and eliminate its stockpiles of nuclear weapons and weapons-making material the North may have accumulated in the years since Kim kicked out IAEA inspectors in 2002. Compliance brings immediate benefits to Kim's government. In return for shutting down Yongbyon, which diplomats...
...North Korea dictator Kim Jong Il might actually be living up to its terms. Days after Hill's visit, North Korea allowed into the country a group of U.N. inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), who are there to verify the shutdown of the plutonium reactor at Yongbyon. Pyongyang has also agreed to account for and eliminate its stockpiles of nuclear weapons and weapons-making material the North may have accumulated in the years since Kim kicked out IAEA inspectors in 2002. Compliance brings immediate benefits to Kim's government. In return for shutting down Yongbyon, which diplomats...