Aid offered if North Korea cedes nukes

By Michael A. Lev
Chicago Tribune

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The offer, presented by chief U.S. negotiator James Kelly at the opening of the third round of what has been a slow series of talks, signals a new determination by the Bush administration to find a diplomatic solution to a potential military crisis.

Since October 2002, when the U.S. announced that North Korea had acknowledged secretly enriching uranium, the world has faced the chilling possibility of a reclusive and belligerent regime declaring itself capable of launching nuclear weapons, or even selling nuclear arms to other rogue nations or terrorist organizations.

The proposed deal to end this threat, according to senior U.S. officials, calls for a step-by-step process in which North Korea has a three-month preparatory period to prove its commitment to disarming. In exchange for beginning the process, it would receive a security guarantee from the United States and oil from South Korea.

Over time, as the North dismantled its nuclear programs, it would be eligible for large aid infusions, expected mainly from South Korea and Japan. They are joining the U.S. in negotiations, along with China and Russia.

White House press secretary Scott McClellan described the proposal as a "practical series of steps to achieve the complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantlement of North Korea's nuclear program."

"One way to look at this is to look at the Libya model," McClellan said. "Good-faith action on North Korea's part will be met with good-faith response by the other parties."

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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