Posted on 04/10/2007 7:00:08 PM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
North Korea miss deadline in nuclear deal: NBC
14 minutes ago
North Korea, told it will soon receive its assets frozen at a Macau bank, said it could start shutting down its main nuclear reactor within 30 days but likely miss a Saturday deadline to do so, NBC news reported on Wednesday.
North Korea's chief nuclear negotiator Kim Kye-gwan made the pledge during a dinner meeting with a U.S. delegation visiting Pyongyang led by New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, NBC reported members of his team as saying.
Kim also said the reclusive state would also allow nuclear inspectors back into the country within a month, U.S. team members said.
The reclusive state has said it will only close the reactor and source of its weapons-grade plutonium once the funds linked to North Korean interests and frozen since 2005 in Macau's Banco Delta Asia were freed.
The United States said on Tuesday Macau had unblocked about $25 million in frozen North Korean funds and urged Pyongyang to take steps to shut down its Yongbyon nuclear plant by a weekend deadline.
I expect massive military parade either on Apr. 15 or Apr. 25 where Kim Jong-il gloat over "his triumph."
Ping!
Time to freeze the funds. Don’t play around with this clown.
First, if the DPRK needs $25 million this badly... they must be really hurting financially.
Second, I’ll believe that DPRK is complying with the terms of the treaty when... uh, yeah, well, not sure that I’ll ever believe it.
Let’s not kid ourselves here, the only ones here who have any pull with the DPRK are the ChiComs. The Chicoms created the DPRK, the saved it from defeat at the hands of the UN / USA in the 1950’s, and it was Mao’s pet project in the 1960’s. It was China who told DPRK to stop the nuke blasts, the missile launches, etc. China now finds DPRK to be an embarrassing relic of Maoist China, and quite frankly, bad for business.
Bush said he wasn’t going to accept a nuclear NK. Now that they’re likely selling, what won’t he accept now?
First, if the DPRK needs $25 million this badly... they must be really hurting financially.
It may be bad, but not crippling. This is a way of securing a complete upper hand in the negotiation.
It is not entirely clear that whatever beef China has with N. Korea outweigh its value as a leverage against U.S.. This only shows unwillingness to deal with China and N. Korea seriously. Chicom money must be really good, judging from Paulson's behaviors.
They cannot even stay the course. They cannot even confront N. Korean ship for fear that it will offend China.
pay ‘em in 100 dollar bills *Wink* *Wink*
Well, of course there will be a parade on the 15th...
Governor Richardson is in town, AND it’s Kim Il-Sung’s birthday (which is what - the most important holiday in all North Korea).
Talk about a two for one special!
Exactly right. By mostly ignoring Kim's childish antics and refusing bilateral negotiations, Bush made NoKo China's problem. NoKo is now not only a financial and political liability to China, but also a potential physical threat if Kim continues with his nuclear "program", as he already proved with his embarrassing tests that "accidents happen". It is "bad for business", as you said, if they can't keep their entirely dependent client in line.
Bush and Condi turned the tables on China. NoKo is no longer the leverage against US that China had hoped it would be - on the contrary, it's a drain and an embarrassment that keeps her neighbors weary and seeking more military capabilities and assistance from US, and also counterproductive from trading point of view.
The leaders of both North Korea ans Iran are behaving the exact same way towards the outside world. They are using Western Civilizations “political correctness” to their advantage for as long as they possibly can get away with it while also practicing stall tactics on what most of the world demands from them.
I mean, they promised, didn't they /s>
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