Tuesday, September 20, 2005

North Korea lies again...

... but this time reveal their lie much, much quicker.

SEOUL/BEIJING (Reuters) - North Korea jeopardized a six-country deal on giving up its nuclear arms just one day after it was struck by vowing on Tuesday to keep the weapons until Washington provides civilian atomic reactors, but some participants said this did not mean the pact was dead.

The United States said the North's views, set out in a long statement, did not match the agreement signed in Beijing on Monday in which Pyongyang agreed to scrap its nuclear programs in return for aid and recognition of its right to a civilian nuclear program.

The six countries -- China, the United States, North Korea, Russia, South Korea, Japan -- agreed to discuss providing a light-water reactor "at an appropriate time."

But the North took a different stance on Tuesday.

"The U.S. should not even dream of the issue of the DPRK's dismantlement of its nuclear deterrent before providing LWRs," it said in a statement published by the KCNA news agency. "This is our just and consistent stand as solid as a deeply rooted rock."


Hugh was talking with Claudia Rosette yesterday who said don't celebrate quite yet, North Korea and their leader PingPong have done this to us before. Man what a difference a day makes.

The article continues and makes the point that it could be a bluff, a negotiating ploy to get what they want. Either way I don't see how we can trust them at their word unless we get our officials (or Team America) to sit there and verify every little thing they do with their nuclear reactors.