re: #315 Gus

‘splody heads, part II:

North Korea agrees to moratorium nuclear weapons and missile programs in exchange for food aid.

The United States said Wednesday North Korea has agreed to suspend nuclear activities and accept a moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile tests, in a breakthrough in negotiations with the secretive communist nation.

The announcement comes little more than two months after the death of longtime ruler Kim Jong Il, and suggests North Korea has met the key U.S. preconditions for restarting multi-nation disarmament-for-aid talks that the North withdrew from in 2009.

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the North has agreed to allow International Atomic Energy inspectors to verify and monitor the moratorium on uranium enrichment and confirm disablement of its nuclear reactor at Yongbyon.

Her statement says the US will meet with North Korea to finalize details for a proposed package of 240,000 metric tons of food aid.

North Korea issued a similar, although differently worded statement released simultaneously in Pyongyang.

Trust but verify still plays a role here, but that the regime is willing to go this route suggests that the agricultural situation (famine) is far worse than the regime is letting on. May mean that the regime is beginning to shift away from the more militaristic tone taken by Jong-il (could be wishful thinking on my part).