North Korea Agrees to Abandon Nuclear Program

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• GWEN IFILL:

  Diplomats in Beijing broke into applause at today's announcement of the latest accord with North Korea. In Washington, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice also praised the deal, calling it the first step toward shutting down North Korea's nuclear program for good.

  CONDOLEEZZA RICE, U.S. Secretary of State: This implementing agreement has the advantage, first and foremost, of being multilateral. It has, as a part of it, China, Japan, South Korea, Russia and the United States, all countries that have the right set of incentives and disincentives at hand, not just to make a deal with North Korea, but to make sure that one sticks.

• GWEN IFILL:

  Today's deal was forged after talks among those five nations and North Korea almost broke down Sunday night. Under the accord, North Korea agreed to shut down, seal and eventually abandon its Yongbyon nuclear facility and open it to international inspectors.

  The country in exchange would receive fuel oil and short-term humanitarian and energy aid and work toward the abandonment of its entire nuclear program.

  Previous agreements have come close and fallen apart before. Pyongyang's resistance to international pressure culminated in its first nuclear test last October. The United Nations Security Council condemned that test.

  At the State Department today, Secretary Rice was asked if this latest agreement could be applied to future non-proliferation discussions with Iran.

• CONDOLEEZZA RICE:

  Why shouldn't it be seen as a message to Iran that the international community is able to bring together its resources, particularly when regionally affected states work together, and that the strong diplomacy and the cohesiveness of the five parties in the six-party talks has finally achieved results? I think that would be the message.

• GWEN IFILL:

  The on-again, off-again negotiations with North Korea have continued for more than 12 years. In 1994, the Clinton administration negotiated directly with the North Koreans, coming to a similar quid pro quo agreement that eased sanctions for the first time since 1953.

  In 2000, President Clinton's top diplomat met in Pyongyang with President Kim Jong Il. But later that year, North Korea was once again threatening to restart its nuclear program and the deal collapsed.

  President Bush took a tougher line when he took office. He spoke at a news conference with the president of South Korea soon afterwards.

  GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States: Part of the problem with dealing with North Korea, there's not very much transparency. We're not certain as to whether or not they're keeping all terms of all agreements.

  And that's part of the issue that the president and I discussed, is when you make an agreement with a country that is secretive, how do you — how are you aware as to whether or not they're keeping the terms of the agreement?

• GWEN IFILL:

  By 2002, President Bush had declared North Korea, along with Iran and Iran, as members of an "axis of evil." In 2003, President Bush rejected direct negotiations in favor of six-party talks.

  Those talks continued off and on, often without North Korea at the table, until last October when they unexpectedly returned. The former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations blasted today's deal.

  JOHN BOLTON, Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations: I think the six-party talks have failed. I think the only solution is the enhanced isolation of North Korea, ultimately bringing the regime down, and peacefully reuniting the peninsula.

  That's the course I would advocate, not the illusion that the North Koreans are actually going to follow through on these commitments that they've supposedly made. They have no history of that. Their entire history is to the contrary.

• GWEN IFILL:

  Officials from the six nations are scheduled to meet in March to discuss what happens next.