HONOLULU — The joint declaration from the recently concluded round of six-party talks in Beijing points to a significant step forward, provided Pyongyang follows through as promised with a significant series of denuclearization steps between now and the end of the year. As has often been the trend in the talks, however, the most critical issues seem to have been kicked down the road and remain subject to further deliberation.

The Sept. 27-30 round of talks ended with a sense of anxiety as the participants reported that they needed to bring the proposed agreement on "Second Phase Actions for the Implementation of the Joint Statement" back home for final review and approval, raising the specter of renewed stonewalling by North Korea. But North Korea's Leader Kim Jong Il apparently signed off on the Chinese-produced draft (as did his U.S., South Korean, Russian and Japanese counterparts) and the "breakthrough" was subsequently announced on Oct. 3.

The implementation plan commits Pyongyang to "disable all existing nuclear facilities," with the already shuttered facilities at Yongbyon — the 5-megawatt reactor, reprocessing plant, and fuel-rod-fabrication facility — scheduled for disablement by the end of 2007.