The basic foundation for resolving the North Korean nuclear issue has been set, after the issue had pushed the Korean peninsula into a crisis situation. It is the fruit of long pain and negotiation at the six-party talks by North and South Korea, the United States, China, Japan, and Russia. We compliment the various delegations for demonstrating mutual respect and we seek to share the joy with the whole of the Korean people. We also call on the participating nations to keep the spirit of the agreement alive and continue to work towards the establishment of a firm peace regime on the peninsula.
The agreement saw dramatic realization when the participating nations expressed "respect" for North Korea's right to use nuclear technology for peaceful means, a contentious issue until the very end, and when they agreed to discuss, at an appropriate time, furnishing the North with a light water reactor. The basis for filling in the valley of distrust between the North and the US has now been arranged. As the difficult questions came to be resolved the North promised to give up all its nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs, to return to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), and to accept inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The US has said it has no intention of attacking or invading North Korea with nuclear arms or conventional weapons.
North Korea and the US have agreed to respecting each other's sovereignty, peaceful coexistence, and to take action on normalizing relations. North Korea and Japan decided to take action towards normalizing relations in accordance with the Pyongyang Declaration. In addition, the US and four other countries will give the North energy, and South Korea reaffirmed its "major proposal," in which it would give Pyongyang 2 million kilowatts of power.
The agreement incorporates the firm will of the participating nations, since it assumes the form of a joint statement that internationally is politically binding. As noted by the chief Chinese negotiator, it is the "most important achievement since the six-party talks started two years ago." The North Korean nuclear crisis has entered a stage of peaceful resolution, after a 35 month process of conflict that began in October 2002 when US special envoy James Kelly was visiting Pyongyang.
The different positions of North Korea and the US seemed like they would never be narrowed, but points of compromise were found because of a sense of crisis about the worst of what could happen if an agreement was not arrived at. Everyone was going to be a loser if the talks fell apart, and that sense of urgency brought about final concession that had looked so difficult. Reportedly the fact that Washington eased on its stubborn position regarding a light water reactor was because the North said it would allow joint management of the reactor. The work of the South Korean government and the Chinese in creative mediation and persuasion of the North and the US played a big role in achieving an agreement.
The agreement does not guarantee successful negotiations in the future. The negotiations will run into many problems as they tackle the concrete details. There are many more issues to be discussed regarding the North's use of nuclear technology for peaceful purposes and the light water reactor. In that sense this agreement can be called the successful buttoning of the first button in a long negotiation process. But the participating nations, and in particular the North and the US, did arrive at an agreement after many complications, and since they have agreed to take action based on the principle of "words for words, actions for actions," there is reason to hope for positive progress. We hope to see the participating nations work even harder so that they can produce a final and complete agreement based on the one agreed to on Monday.
That the agreement includes a separate forum for the directly related parties to discuss a permanent peace regime for the Korean peninsula is also reason for higher hopes. The related parties decided to focus on the fundamental problem of changing the armistice regime to a peace regime, going beyond simply resolving the North Korean nuclear issue to the unstable armistice on the Korean peninsula. We hope to see the destruction of the Cold War regime on the peninsula and in Northeast Asia and the swift establishment of the roots of peace.
The Hankyoreh, 20 September 2005.
[Translations by Seoul Selection (PMS)]
[Editorial] Joint Six-Party Statement Promotes Peace on Peninsula |
