Nuclear Threat Defused By Talks

BRITAIN yesterday welcomed North Korea’s agreement to take steps towards closing down its nuclear weapons programme.Under the terms of a deal reached at talks with the US and four regional powers in Beijing, China, yesterday, North Korea will receive 50,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil in return for shutting down and sealing its main nuclear reactor.Another 950,000 tonnes will be provided once the reactor is permanently disabled.Following the announcement of the deal, Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said: “I welcome the positive outcome of this latest round of the six-party talks.”This is a step in the right direction towards the peaceful de- nuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.”It shows the benefits of patient diplomacy, backed by concerted action by the international community.”The next step is implementation, and we look to North Korea to fulfil the commitments it has entered into.” If North Korea fulfills its promises, it will mark the first move the communist nation has made to scale back its nuclear programme after more than three years of negotiations marked by delays, deadlock and the North’s first nuclear test explosion in October last year. Prime Minister Tony Blair later said that a similar approach was needed in relation to Iran, which is suspected of seeking to develop its own nuclear weapons capability.

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