Han Park, director of UGA’s Center for the Study of Global Issues and an expert on North Korea, gave a lecture on the most recent talks that resulted in North Korea’s pledge to end its nuclear weapons program. An excerpt:

“The recent agreement is a symbolic success, allowing each of the participating parties to declare a diplomatic victory. However, in reality it represents no more than an assurance for future negotiations. The document, while acknowledging the existence of disagreements, was made deliberately vague in order to allow different interpretations. This agreement is the product of a desperate desire to produce some form of agreement on the part of the participants, especially the United States. For the U.S., further delays in negotiations would have deprived the Bush administration of progress toward a peaceful resolution of the North Korean crisis—diplomatic progress that is much needed, given the nearly insurmountable challenges in Iraq and the war on terror.

“Up to this point, the Bush administration has not had a defined policy toward North Korea except to place it in the ‘Axis of Evil’ along with Iran and Iraq. Inaction is not an option. North Korea already possesses six to 12 nuclear bombs. If we do nothing, they have the capability of producing several more per year. But the Bush administration appears to have no policy or strategy to cope with the challenge for a peaceful settlement to the crisis.

“The Beijing Agreement specifies that the consensus will be implemented ‘through a phased manner on the principle of commitment for commitment, action for action.’ It is clear that North Korea will not dismantle the bombs and nuclear programs without reciprocal measures by the United States. Yet Washington is not interested in ‘rewarding’ bad behavior at any phase.

“The ramifications of North Korea’s continuous armament or military confrontation in the Korean peninsula are so serious that countries like China, who have historically taken the position that this is a Korean issue to be handled between the two Koreas, have decided to get involved in diplomatic talks.

“The agreement signed by all six parties acknowledges the fact that persuading North Korea to give up its bombs and programs will require many things—chief among them, security assurances.”