US Sees Nuclear Freeze as Beginning of North Korea Denuclearization

Freeze would be a positive start to the process

US officials are hoping to clarify, in the lead-up to a new round of North Korea talks, that the nuclear freeze officials now admit to seeking is the beginning, not the end, of the denuclearization goal.

The idea would be that North Korea would freeze their nuclear program first, to keep anything from getting bigger, and then would eliminate the program that they have at some date beyond that.

The big question is what the US is going to give North Korea for the freeze. Officials have previously insisted North Korea doesn’t get anything until they finish total denuclearization, but it’s clear a nuclear freeze itself is going to have to come with some concessions, either diplomatic or economic.

This is a key point, because US officials have long resisted the idea of North Korea getting anything in return. If they don’t offer something, however, this plan just boils down to the same US call to get everything and give nothing which has failed so far.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.