Associated Press (AP) reported today that the U.S. will announce a food aid program towards North Korea on the 19th and North Korea will soon announce the suspension of its Uranium Enrichment Program (UEP).
The AP, citing a source familiar with U.S. negotiations with North Korea, said that North Korea will suspend ballistic missile tests, permit the return of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspection teams, and agree to resume North-South dialogue.
This was the outcome of diplomatic negotiations behind the scenes between North Korea and the U.S. in New York, Geneva and Beijing beginning this past summer. It has been three years since U.S. last sent food aid to North Korea.
The U.S., whilst announcing the resumption of food aid, will also present bilateral agreements pertaining to improvements in monitoring methods. North Korea withdrew its demand for rice-based aid and accepted the monitoring requirements of the U.S. As a result, the U.S. will provide a total of 240,000 tons of high protein biscuits and 20,000 tons of vitamins every month.
The U.S. and North Korea will conduct a 3rd round of talks in Beijing on the 22nd and the Associated Press predicts that this could lead to the resumption of the Six-Party Talks.
