코리아타임즈 North Korea's Unreliability

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North Korea's Unreliability Six-Point Agreement Ought to Be Honored

What was feared has turned into a reality much faster than expected. North Korea has dishonored the six-point agreement - the outcome of the fourth round of the six-party nuclear negotiations - only one day after it was reached on Monday. The North declared on Tuesday that it would return to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) only after it receives light water reactors from the United States. It belittled the belief of not only the five other participants in the dialogue but also the rest of the international community that the communist regime will dismantle all of its nuclear warheads and programs, rejoin the NPT and allow U.N. nuclear inspections before the issue of providing light water reactors to the North is discussed. The North's incredible defiance demonstrates the ambiguous terms in the agreement concerning the matter. The agreement said that the North would return to the NPT and comply with the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) nuclear safeguards at "an early date" on condition that the five other participants resolve to discuss the provision of nuclear reactors to it at "an appropriate time." Regardless of the unclear and controversial wording, the agreement ought to be interpreted as compelling the North to scrap all nuclear activities, rejoin the NPT and permit U.N. nuclear inspections before the five other parties agree to provide it with light water reactors. The North's refusal to abide by the agreement has once again revealed its unpredictability and unreliability to the global community. The five other participants immediately expressed their disappointment with the North's declaration. China, a staunch ally of the Kim Jong-il regime, vented its anger against the North for dishonoring the agreement, which is regarded as its own achievement. Russia said that it would not supply energy to the North unless Pyongyang dismantles all of its nuclear facilities and weapons programs. Needless to say, the Bush administration made it clear that the North would not be provided with light water reactors if the three conditions were not met. In the meantime, South Korea is perplexed by the North's defiance as it came after the Roh Moo-hyun administration presented the agreement as its own diplomatic success. It tried to tone down the meaning of the North's declaration by saying that it is the North's bargaining strategy with the U.S. to wrest a clear assurance that Washington will provide light water reactors to it before or in the fifth round of the six-party talks, which is scheduled to take place in November. The government said that it would actively mediate the dispute between the North and the U.S. No matter how the issue is resolved, the North ought to respect and honor the agreement. That is the first step to peacefully settle the threeyear nuclear confrontation, which was triggered by the North's violation of the 1994 Geneva agreement.