[TheRealVille]

WASHINGTON—North Korea has agreed to freeze the development of its nuclear-weapons arsenal and long-range missile program, in a gesture aimed at improving bilateral relations with the U.S., the State Department said Wednesday.

In turn, the Obama administration has agreed to move forward with distributing 240,000 metric tons of food aid to the isolated communist state and publicly stated that Washington isn't seeking to overthrow the government of North Korea's new leader, Kim Jong Eun.

The State Department said the agreement followed two days of talks between the U.S. and North Korea last week in Beijing, which received little fanfare at the time. It marked the first direct encounter between Washington and Pyongyang since the death of Mr. Kim's father, long-serving North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il, in December.

The U.S. stressed the agreement with the North marked only a "limited" gain in improving relations between the historic cold war foes. But they also said it could amount to an important step tin countering the North Korean proliferation threat.

"The United States still has profound concerns regarding North Korean behavior across a wide range of areas, but today's announcement reflects important, if limited, progress in addressing some of these," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in a statement.

She added that North Korea had specifically agreed to a moratorium on nuclear-weapons and long-range missile tests and to freeze the nuclear activities at its Yongbyon facility north of Pyongyang, including the enrichment of uranium. She said that Pyongyang has also agreed to allow inspectors from the United Nation's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, to return to Yongbyon after a multiyear absence.

In a joint statement agreed to with Pyongyang, the Obama administration formally stated that the U.S. "reaffirms that it does not have hostile intent toward [North Korea] and is prepared to take steps to improve our bilateral relationship in the spirit of mutual respect for sovereignty and equality."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424...lenews_wsj

[Bob Seger]

Isn't it funny how the North Koreans never come to this type of agreement unless foreign aid comes their way?

[RunItUpTheGut]

^
My thoughts.
Let them do what they want and lets use that money to buy people like us gas.

[vundy33]

Lol...they won't work with us. They'll get their food and money from us, but then they'll start their dumbass routine and make excuses.