By Kim Young-jin
South Korea welcomed North Korea’s recent agreement with the United States to suspend its uranium enrichment program (UEP) in exchange for food aid, Thursday, but said concrete steps were needed before the resumption of stalled multilateral party negotiations.
The remarks from a senior Seoul official came after Washington and Pyongyang announced the breakthrough deal Wednesday under which the North also agreed to allow UN inspectors back into the country to monitor the shutdown of the UEP, and a moratorium on nuclear testing.
Speaking on the customary condition of anonymity, the official said the North’s moves were like “opening the first door” towards resumption of the talks and a sign that Pyongyang had accepted “pre-steps” demanded by Seoul and Washington.
The official, however, stressed that implementation of the deal, not merely a “promise on paper,” would bring about a fresh round of the talks that also involve Japan, Russia and China. Pyongyang walked away from the table in 2009, angry over sanctions for its missile and nuclear tests.
The deal came amid growing concern over the North’s nuclear weapons program, especially as Pyongyang undergoes a leadership transition to new leader Kim Jong-un after the death of his father Kim Jong-il in December.
The announcement followed high-level U.S.-North Korea talks in Beijing last week.
During those talks, the sides agreed upon Washington’s provision of 240,000 tons of "nutritional assistance" to Pyongyang, though details still need to be hashed out, U.S. officials said.
Regional players have been seeking ways to resume the talks for months, but high inter-Korean tensions and Kim’s death significantly muddied the diplomatic waters. The UEP, which Pyongyang unveiled in 2010, has been a central source of concern.
“This is a good sign that the discussions went in a satisfactory way relatively quickly, as we wanted," Yonhap News Agency quoted the official as saying.
Despite positive reactions from Seoul and other regional players, observers said important steps remained ahead of negotiations, including likely consultations between the North and the International Atomic Energy Agency. Under the agreement the nuclear watchdog would monitor the moratorium on uranium enrichment activities at the North’s main Yongbyon plant and confirm the disablement of a 5-megawatt reactor there.
Experts said the North will also likely have to work to warm ties with the South, a key demand held by the allies, including a commitment by the North to refrain from further provocation after its two deadly attacks against the South in 2010.
Other areas of concern include the much-speculated possibility that the North may be pursuing uranium enrichment at other facilities.
Still given that Seoul and Washington will hold elections this year, and both Beijing and Pyongyang move forward with leadership transition, analysts said the deal was a step towards short-term stability.
“The primary benefit of the agreement is that it reduces risk that tensions may spin out of control during a period of domestic political uncertainty in both countries,” Scott Snyder, a senior fellow with the Council on Foreign Relations said.
For North Korea, the deal projects a sense of leadership stability as Kim Jong-un consolidates power, analysts said.
Officials in Washington also pointed to steps Pyongyang must take.
White House press secretary Jay Carney said, "Commitments to do something are one thing; actually doing them are another."