"We can't repeat the past negotiating pattern" of rewarding North Korea for partial denuclearization steps, ministry spokesman Moon said. "We plan to continue consultations with related countries about a comprehensive solution."
North Korea agreed in February 2007 to disable its nuclear reactor as a step toward its ultimate dismantlement in exchange for energy aid and political concessions.
I personally only want to drag on talks until the Pyongyang regime collapses. I personally never held out any hope that we could buy North Korea's disarmamant.
And even as North Korea has deteriorated, the North Koreans have pressed forward in developing nuclear weapons:
However, a year ago, Pyongyang halted the process and later abandoned the pact over a dispute on how to verify its nuclear activities — after it had received most of the promised energy aid and concessions, such as removal from the U.S. blacklist of states sponsoring terrorism.
The standoff led to Pyongyang conducting its second nuclear test in May and banned missile tests early this month.
Call me nuts, but I think that the kooks in Pyongyang want atomic weapons. Even if there was any hope of convincing North Korea to halt their nuclear weapons programs before setting off a nuclear device (and I think that there was nearly no hope for that), now that North Korea has experienced the joy of detonating a nuke they like the feeling. Oh, they might sign an agreement with us, but they'll never actually give up their nukes.
There are two ways North Korea will denuclearize: regime collapse in the north or a US-South Korean aerial offensive. Comprehensive talks won't cut it.
Face up to the fact that the North Koreans have learned to love the bomb.
