Read the whole thing here.GENEVA — North Korea agreed Sunday to declare and disable all its nuclear facilities by the end of the year, the chief U.S. negotiator said — the first time the communist country has offered a timeline to end its secretive atomic program.
The North Korean envoy, in separate comments, told reporters his country was willing "to declare and dismantle" its nuclear program, but mentioned no dates.
Before announcing the timetable, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said improving relations between the two countries, long estranged, was dependent on a North Korea free of nuclear weapons.
It "is a relationship that we will continue to try to build step by step with the understanding that we're not going to have a normalized relationship until we have a denuclearized North Korea."
Hours later, he said he and his North Korean counterpart had agreed that North Korea "will provide a full declaration of all of their nuclear programs and will disable their nuclear programs by the end of this year, 2007."
Darn that Bush -- another major diplomatic breakthrough that makes the world a better, safer place. But will he get any credit for it? Don't hold your breath.
