North Korea agreed to take steps towards nuclear disarmament under a deal struck today that will bring the impoverished state more than $300 million worth of aid.
Under the agreement, which was reached by six countries in Beijing after nearly a week of talks, Pyongyang will freeze the reactor at the heart of its nuclear programme and allow international inspections of the site.
According to GlobalSecurity.org this image shows a steam plume rising from a nuclear reactor at Yongbyon, North Korea.
"This progress marks another firm and important step towards the denuclearisation of the peninsula," China's chief delegate, Wu Dawei, told the closing session of the talks.
"It is favourable for the peace process in northeast Asia and for the improvement of ties between relevant countries," he said.
The proposed plan hammered out by the two Koreas, the United States, Japan, Russia, and China will only be the first step in locating and dismantling North Korea's nuclear arms activities, leaving many crucial questions to future negotiations.
"This is only one phase of denuclearisation. We're not done," chief US negotiator Christopher Hill said.
The White House said the six-party deal was an important first step toward Pyongyang's denuclearisation.
"We think it's a very important first step toward the denuclearisation of North Korea and the Korean peninsula," White House spokesman Tony Snow said.
Mr Snow said that if North Korea reneged on the deal, "there's still the possibility of sanctions through the international community."
Citing a UN Security Council resolution that imposed penalties on Pyongyang, Mr Snow said: "There are real sticks here."
As details of the draft leaked out earlier, Japan was already voicing doubt that any agreement could be made to stick, and a prominent US conservative decried it as a "very bad deal".
US negotiator Christopher Hill
John Bolton, former US ambassador to the United Nations, said the communist state should not be rewarded with "massive shipments of heavy fuel oil" for only partially dismantling its nuclear programme.
"It sends exactly the wrong signal to would-be proliferators around the world," he said.
Under the agreement, North Korea must take the steps within 60 days, and in return it will receive 50,000 tonnes of fuel oil or economic aid of equal value.
It will receive another 950,000 tonnes of fuel oil or equivalent when it takes further steps to disable its nuclear capabilities, including providing a complete inventory of its plutonium - the fuel used in Pyongyang's first nuclear test blast in October.
The 100,000 tones of fuel would be worth around $330 million at current prices for Asian benchmark high-sulphur heavy fuel oil, which is used in power stations, shipping and elsewhere.
The steps for now do not involve the provision of 2,000 megawatts of electricity that South Korea pledged in a September 2005 deal reached by the six countries. That is reserved for after the completion of denuclearisation of North Korea.
The electricity, at an estimated cost of $8.55 billion over 10 years, would be about equal to North Korea's current output.
The Beijing talks had focused on how to begin implementing a September 2005 accord that offered Pyongyang aid and security assurances in return for dismantling its weapons capabilities.