 Nuclear ... Condoleezza Rice says tough negotiations remain for the complex multi-phase agreement with North Korea / File |
NORTH Korea has agreed to shut down key nuclear facilities in exchange for badly needed fuel, but the US urged caution on the breakthrough today - and Pyongyang already appeared to be backtracking.
Official media in North Korea said the deal, announced last night, only required the "temporary suspension" of its nuclear sites.
And US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said tough negotiations remained for the complex multi-phase agreement, which in the first stage only requires Pyongyang to freeze a major nuclear facilty and let in UN inspectors.
In Australia, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer has hailed the deal as a significant opportunity and said Australia could play a role in providing some of the energy aid promised under the deal.
"I have stated on previous occasions Australia`s willingness to support substantive progress in the six-party talks process, including through provision of energy assistance, bilateral development assistance and safeguards expertise.
"We are now considering possible options to provide support, in concert with like-minded friends, such as the United States and Japan."
But Australian Greens Leader Bob Brown has said the Federal Government should quickly step in and offer North Korea solar and other renewable technologies.
The deal came after nearly a week of gruelling six-nation talks in Beijing aimed at convincing the secretive Stalinist state, which tested an atomic bomb for the first time in October, to abandon its nuclear weapons.
Giving first details of the accord last night, China`s envoy Wu Dawei said the North would receive the equivalent of one million tonnes of oil if it permanently closed its nuclear facilities.
In a first tranche, it would begin receiving 50,000 tonnes of fuel oil for shutting down its main Yongbyon reactor and allowing United Nations nuclear inspectors back into the country within 60 days.
In return, the US would hold direct talks on diplomatic relations with North Korea - a member of President George W. Bush`s "axis of evil" - and begin looking at removing it from the US list of terrorist nations.
But reacting to the agreement this morning, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) referred only to the "temporary suspension of the operation of its nuclear facilities". The text of the deal makes no reference to a temporary suspension.
Chief US envoy Christopher Hill said he was pleased with the outcome but warned there was still a long way to go before the end goal of a denuclearised North Korea was achieved.
"This is only the end of the beginning of the process. We have a lot of work to do," he said.
Dr Rice said: "This is an important initial step toward the goal of a denuclearised Korean peninsula and a stable and secure Northeast Asia.
"This breakthrough step was the result of patient, clear and tough diplomacy."
President George W. Bush said: "I am pleased with the agreement reached today at the six-party talks in Beijing.
"These talks represent the best opportunity to use diplomacy to address North Korea`s nuclear program. They reflect the common commitment of the participants to a Korean peninsula that is free of nuclear weapons."
But Conservative critics, led by former UN ambassador John Bolton, slammed the agreement as a climbdown for Mr Bush that offered North Korea rewards in exchange for "very minimal commitments".
Dr Rice rejected the criticism and suggestions the agreement was virtually identical to the 1994 deal reached under president Bill Clinton and which she and Mr Bush have both strongly criticised.
She said that while the text of the agreement did not mention North Korea handing over its nuclear weapons - believed to number up to 10 bombs - the meaning was clear.
"The joint statement covers the fact that North Korea must declare and abandon all of its nuclear programs, and everybody understands what `all` means," she said.
