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As reports emerge that North Korea has miniaturized a nuclear weapon for delivery on a long-range ICBM, it’s worth looking back at President Bill Clinton’s promise to stop Pyongyang from developing the weapons and his failure to do so.
In 1994, Clinton crafted a deal with North Korean leadership, which he formally announced at a press conference in June. At the time he bragged that diplomatic talks would continue while the North Koreans froze their nuclear program:
North Korea has assured us that while we go forward with these talks, it will not reload its 5-megawatt reactor with new fuel or reprocess spent fuel. We have also been assured that the IAEA will be allowed to keep its inspectors and monitoring equipment in place at the Yongbyon nuclear facility thus allowing verification of North Korea’s agreement.
He touted the official inauguration of the deal in the October 1994 statement above, calling it “a good deal for America.”
“The entire world will be safer as we slow the spread of nuclear weapons,” Clinton promised, following the deal.
Inside the deal, South Korea paid for and provided electricity to North Korea, while in reality, the Kim regime continued its nuclear program.