U.S. says N. Korea nuclear talks to end without setting deadline (as usual)

BEIJING, China (AP) -- Arms negotiators failed to agree on a deadline for North Korea to disable its nuclear facilities, the United States said Thursday, casting doubt on when Pyongyang will proceed with its promised disarmament after shuttering its sole operating reactor.

Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill entered the six-nation talks this week saying he hoped to get a commitment from the North to declare its nuclear programs and disable them by year's end -- rendering the communist nation unable to easily make more bombs.

But on the eve of the talks' end Friday, he said the sides had agreed to have working groups of experts pore over technical details for those next steps before the top envoys from all sides endorse a timeframe. The working groups will likely meet by the end of August, he said.

"Had we made our deadlines in the spring, I think there would have been much more appetite for announcing deadlines now," he told reporters.

The North missed an April deadline for shutting down its reactor by three months due to a separate banking dispute that Washington had pledged to resolve.

From http://seattleweekly.com/2007-07-18/music/andy-fitz-s-kim-jong-il-bbq-salad-tacos-with-hexa-fresh-guacamole.php

Andy Fitz’s Kim Jong-Il BBQ Salad

Please, no Texas BBQ recipes named after our current commander in chief.

By Brian J Barr

Matt apttinsonAccording to Wikipedia, kimchi is a traditional Korean fermented dish made of seasoned vegetables. Before Andy Fitz sent us this recipe, I was aware of it only peripherally. Apparently, it’s the most common banchan dish in Korea, which means “side dish served with rice.” Given its origin, Fitz named the dish after the North Korean leader whose pro-nuke stance has made him a thorn in George W. Bush’s side. Naming summer salads after dictators is not something we advocate. Please do not name any sauerkraut recipes after Hitler, or plantain recipes after Castro. And most of all, don’t name any Texas barbecue recipes after our current commander in chief.

Ingredients :

1 green apple

6 oz. spicy kimchi (pickled cabbage)

2 packages marinated barbecue tofu

Huli huli sauce (see step 4)

Huli huli Hawaiian saucepreparation :

1. Cut up a crunchy yummy green apple into small squares and toss them into a big bowl.

2. Grab the best spicy kimchi you can find. You can buy this stuff at Asian grocers, but I found mine at QFC in the “ethnic” aisle. There are some that come in a bag resembling tofu containers, which might be just fine. But the one I used came in a can similar to a tuna fish can. Remove from can and throw it into the bowl with the apple.

3. Cut marinated tofu into cubes. Some folks get a kick out of marinating things themselves. I’m not one of them. I just go to PCC and buy the pre-marinated barbecue tofu from Island Spring, Vashon Island’s own tofu company. Just cut open the wrapper, remove tofu, and cut into cubes similar to the green apple. Toss ‘er into the bowl with everything else!

4. Dress the whole thing with huli huli Hawaiian sauce. This is a teriyaki-type sauce that is mostly used to marinate meats. I found a recipe online that was relatively simple. Simply combine 1/3 cup each of ketchup, soy sauce, and brown sugar in a small bowl. Then add 3 tablespoons of sherry, 1 piece of ginger root, crushed, and 1 clove of garlic, crushed. Mix together and dribble over the bowl full of kimchi, apple, and tofu. And that’s it, really. The result is spicy-sweet summer salad that goes great with any cold beer.

I should add that I’m not much of a meat eater, but the huli huli sauce is supposedly great for grilling. Fitz recommended that, if there is any huli huli sauce left over and you do happen to eat meat, then you should marinate thin slices of beef and throw them on the grill. Once those are good and grilled, chopped them up and throw ‘em in with the salad.

This move was only a "we will shut it down". It NEVER was a "we will dismantle". To get to that next stage, Uncle Sap/Bush/Condi have to jump through all kinds of more hoops, some on fire, and deliver all kinds of additional bribes to Kim Jong il.

Since it should seem very clear now to all of us that they are clearly in the "legacy building" mode so common with final phases of Lame Duck Administrations, rather than "DPRK regime change" and "axis of evil" which dominated the first 6.5 years of their power, it can be expected there will be even MORE stomach wretching, appeasing concessions made by Washington to Pyongyang, as facilitated by State Department, NSC and through Ambassador Chris Hill.

A number of Japanese, a few of them really in position of "in the know" tell me this exact thing. Watch it come true, sadly.

They are really playing rope a dope with our negotiators now. Why even go to Beijing, one wonders??

Remember, GWB and Condi, are still on track for the USA-DPRK Peace Treaty and full diplo to be signed some time next year.

So to get to that point, it will take immense additional concessions from the US side to Pyongyang...Probably we will get nothing in return....watch for the Japanese to start to rumble in a more independent direction on this one.....they will never get their kidnappees (whether alive or in crushed bone form) back, nor will they get the Scud/Nodong threat aimed at their throats eased in any significant way, IMHO.

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