North Korea Shuts Down Nuclear Reactor

It looks as if there is a ray of light with one of the axis of evil countries and an actual diplomatic success by the Bush admnistration and the United Nations, as a North Korean diplomat confirmed that his country had shut down its sole operating nuclear reactor after receiving an initial shipment of oil aid and said United Nations inspectors would start verifying the closure on Sunday. If confirmed by the United Nations inspection team, the shutdown would be the North's first step in nearly five years toward de-nuclearization, one that comes after lengthy international talks.

Saturday's delivery of 6,200 tons of heavy fuel oil from South Korea was the first of 50,000 tons promised to the North in exchange for shutting down its reactor in a deal with the United States, China, Japan, South Korea and Russia. Pyongyang will eventually get 1 million tons of oil and other financial and political concessions. After tortuous negotiations and delays, during which the North argued its nuclear program was needed for self-defense, the reclusive regime said earlier this month that once it received the oil shipment, it would consider halting its reactor.

In Washington, the State Department said Saturday that North Korea had told the United States the reactor had been shut down, hours after the oil arrived in port. Footage showed dozens of cardboard boxes being loaded onto the back of two trucks. It was not immediately clear what they contained but Tolba earlier said he and his colleagues were bringing 2,200 pounds of equipment for use during the trip.

After the IAEA team installs monitoring equipment, some experts will remain at Yongbyon to ensure the reactor stays shuttered, said a diplomat familiar with North Korea's file at the IAEA. United States envoy Christopher Hill has said the disabling of the North's nuclear facilities could be completed by the end of the year. He said he also expected a complete declaration of its atomic programs within months.

The United States was informed of the shutdown at about 10:30 p.m. Saturday Pyongyang time (9:30 a.m. EDT), Hill told Japanese broadcaster NHK. He added that he expected a report from the IAEA inspectors at Yongbyon by the end of Sunday. The six-party agreement eased a standoff that began in October 2002, when the U.S. said North Korean officials had admitted having a secret uranium enrichment program. Washington said that violated a 1994 agreement for the North's disarmament, and a month later halted oil shipments under that deal. The North reacted by expelling IAEA monitors, withdrawing from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and restarting the reactor.

North Korea has since occasionally shut down the reactor to remove fuel rods and extract plutonium. It is believed to have harvested enough for at least a dozen bombs. The government set off an underground nuclear test explosion in October, leading to intensified international efforts to negotiate an end to its arms program.

The North was likely to term the shutdown simply a suspension of operations, which could be easily reversed, but for now this is something to celebrate and perhaps a starting point for negotiations with Iran to end their nuclear program.
Perhaps diplomacy, and not war can end Iran's program!