SEOUL — It's not exactly clear what Assistant U.S. Secretary of State Christopher Hill told (or promised) North Korean officials during his surprise visit to Pyongyang last week — or if the mere continuation of the long sought after one-on-one direct dialogue was sufficient — but the DPRK has finally agreed to begin the process of shutting down and sealing its nuclear facilities at Yongbyon, as promised in the six-party talks' denuclearization agreement of Feb. 13.
True, North Korea still had to be bribed to honor its promises, but this time they were bribed with $25 million of their own frozen assets released from Banco Delta Asia (BDA) in Macau.
Hill, ever the optimist, is hopeful that the first phase of the Feb. 13 agreement — the International Atomic Energy Agency-monitored shutdown of all North Korean nuclear facilities at Yongbyon in return for "emergency energy assistance" equivalent to 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil — can be accomplished "probably within three weeks," and that the second phase — which includes the declaration and dismantlement of all nuclear facilities in return for an additional 950,000 tons of fuel oil or equivalent in aid — will be realized by yearend.