Russian nuclear initiative in North Korea copies similar US deal from quarter of century ago

Letter submitted to The Daily Telegraph newspaper

 

Nicola Smith’s report on the revelations in the Washington Post, (“Russia 'offered North Korea power plant in exchange for nuclear weapons',” January 30;

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/01/30/russia-offered-north-korea-power-plant-exchange-nuclear-weapons/) quotes Victor Cha,former White House aid on North Korea, as asserting: “The Russians are very opportunistic when it comes to North Korea, and this is not the first time they’ve pursued an energy stake in Korea.”
 
Yet this is exactly what a previous US Administration tried to do 25 years ago.

On Oct. 21, 1994, the United States and North Korea signed an agreement - titled the Agreed Framework- calling upon the Communist regime in Pyongyang to freeze operation and construction of nuclear reactors suspected of being part of a covert nuclear weapons programme, in exchange for the US provision of  two proliferation-resistant nuclear power reactors. 

The agreement also called upon the US to supply North Korea with fuel oil pending construction of the reactors.

 An international consortium called the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO) was formed to implement the agreement.

The US Arms Control Association point out that the Agreed Framework ended an 18-month crisis during which North Korea announced its intention to withdraw from the nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT), under which North Korea committed not to develop nuclear weapons. (https://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/agreedframework)

So, when current American policy experts dismiss  moves by President Putin to  help solve the ongoing North Korean  nuclear crisis, they should not forget Russia is copying an earlier US initiative