North Korea, the world’s newest nuclear power, agreed yesterday to freeze its main reactor and eventually to dismantle its atomic weapons programme. In return, the isolated country received promises of oil shipments, an end to US financial sanctions and the start of direct talks on normalising relations with Washington.

The landmark deal comes only four months after the impoverished communist state shocked the world by testing a nuclear bomb. It is the first step towards possible disarmament since 2003, when it expelled international inspectors, pulled out of the Nuclear NonProliferation Treaty and restarted its sole operating nuclear reactor.

A combination of American willingness to make concessions, pressure from international sanctions, the drying up of aid and the US sanctions may have led to the breakthrough after nearly a week of hard talks in Beijing.

Christopher Hill, the US Assistant Secretary of State, said: “Obviously, we have a long way to go but we’re very pleased with this agreement. It’s a solid step forward.”

The deal was hammered out in Beijing among negotiators from China, South and North Korea, Japan, Russia and the US. China exerted pressure on the protagonists to reach agreement.

The deal comes only days before the 65th birthday of Kim Jong Il, the North Korean leader, on Friday. His country is to receive initial aid equal to 50,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil for shutting down and sealing its main nuclear reactor and related facilities at Yongbyon, north of Pyongyang, the capital, within 60 days. This is to be confirmed by inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency. In return for irreversibly disabling the reactor and declaring a halt to all nuclear programmes, the North will eventually receive another 950,000 tonnes in aid.

Five working groups are to meet within 30 days: denuclearisation; normalisation of US-North Korea relations; normalisation of North Korea-Japan relations; economy and energy cooperation; and peace and security in NorthEast Asia. The nuclear envoys will meet on March 19 to check on the groups’ progress. After 60 days foreign ministers from all six countries will meet.

However, Shinzo Abe, the Japanese Prime Minister, said that his Government will provide no aid because of a continuing dispute over Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s to serve as language teachers and spies for Pyongyang.

The US will also begin the process of removing North Korea from its list of countries designated as state sponsors of terror and on ending trade sanctions. The agreement made no mention of the blacklisting by the Bush Administration of Banco Delta Asia, Macau, in September 2005 that had led North Korea to boycott the talks for more than a year, during which it tested its first nuclear bomb. But Mr Hill disclosed that the US had agreed to resolve the issue.

North Korea insisted that a specific amount of aid was spelt out during the talks and not left to a later working group, as the US had wanted. A way forward was found when negotiators moved to discuss the next step — the disabling of North Korean programmes so that they could not be restarted. That has always been the American goal during three years of talks. Mr Hill said: “We took what was essentially a sticking point and used it as a way to make further progress on the road to denuclearisation.” However, making sure that Pyongyang keeps its promises will be the real challenge.

Zhang Liangui, an expert on North Korea at the Chinese Communist Party Central School, said: “We still need to discount the possibility that North Korea will really abandon nuclear weapons.”

North Korea has sidestepped previous agreements, running a uranium-based weapons programme even as it froze a plutonium-based one, sparking the crisis in 2002.

Mr Hill declined to comment on whether the deal could act as a model for resolving the Iranian nuclear crisis but said: “If this [deal] can inspire another country I would be very, very pleased indeed.”

The six-nation talks have agreed to implement within 60 days:

The Yongbyon nuclear facility will be sealed and International Atomic Energy Authority full monitoring allowed

North Korea will discuss all nuclear programmes with other parties

The United States and North Korea will open bilateral talks aimed at restoring diplomatic relations and removing North Korea from the US list of states sponsoring terrorism

Japan and North Korea will begin bilateral talks intended to settle outstanding concerns and resume normal diplomatic relations During and beyond this initial phase North Korea will receive energy, economic and humanitarian assistance

After this has been settled, foreign ministers will discuss further points, including disabling all North Korean nuclear facilities and furthering regional security cooperation

A North Korean poster celebrates military might

“It’s one step forward, but we have got to have progress in the abduction issue. All the countries except North Korea understand that Japan cannot provide support without progress on the abduction issue.”
Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan

“We think it’s a very important first step toward the denuclearisation of North Korea and the Korean peninsula.”
Tony Snow, White House spokesman

“I consider the agreement as a new milestone in denuclearising the Korean peninsula.”
Chun Yung Woo, South Korean Assistant Foreign Minister

“This round of six-party talks marks an important and substantial step forward. The six-party talks not only will benefit the peace, stability and development of the peninsula, but also serve to improve the relations of related sides and also benefit the building of a harmonious NorthEast Asia.”
Wu Dawei, Chinese envoy

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