The United States announced Wednesday that North Korea has agreed to a moratorium on its nuclear activities and tests, marking a breakthrough in negotiations with the communist regime, according to the Associated Press.
North Korea, under the leadership
of Kim Jong Un since his father's death at the end of last year, has agreed to
stop all long-range missile launches, nuclear testing and uranium enrichment, according
to Reuters.
The State Department said
in a statement, "The DPRK has also agreed to the return of IAEA inspectors
to verify and monitor the moratorium on uranium enrichment activities at
Yongbyon and confirm the disablement of the 5-MW reactor and associated
facilities."
More on GlobalPost: US
official: North Korea food aid tied to nuclear progress
North Korea's news agency
confirmed the nuclear moratorium and said the decision was made "with a view to
maintaining positive atmosphere," for potential high-level North Korea-US
talks, according
to MSNBC. In 2006, North Korea expelled inspectors and tested a nuclear
bomb.
The US also agreed to provide
240,000 metric tons of food aid to the impoverished country, according
to The New York Times. The Obama administration previously stated that food
aid would be decided purely on humanitarian grounds, but as North Korea insisted
that aid should be part of the deal, the US relented.
Little progress was thought to be
made after talks were held in Beijing last week between the US and North Korea,
but this moratorium marks progress in negotiations with North Korea. However, The
Times noted that North Korea has agreed to and backed out of agreements
before, with the North Korean news agency stating that the country would adhere
to the agreement, “as long as talks proceed fruitfully.”
This article
originally appeared at GlobalPost.
没有评论:
发表评论