After a few weeks of false tensions manufactured by North Korea (see news links below), some sort of addition to existing agreements may be in the works:

The U.S. and North Korea on Tuesday reached tentative agreement on the declaration of the North’s nuclear programs. . . Chief U.S. nuclear negotiator Christopher Hill. . . said, “The process went beyond Geneva. . . Depending on what we hear back from capitals by tomorrow, I think there will be some further announcements very soon.” Kim [Kye-gwan] said, “The meeting proceeded smoothly. We narrowed differences in views to a considerable extent.”

What could the deal entail? Here’s the rumor, which is a bombshell:

The United States and North Korea have been discussing a possible face-saving compromise in a standoff over Pyongyang’s accounting of its nuclear programmes. . . Under the compromise proposal, North Korea would acknowledge U.S. assertions that the secretive communist state had a clandestine programme to enrich uranium for weapons and proliferated nuclear technology and material to Syria, diplomatic sources in Tokyo told Reuters. (emphasis added)

This of course follows the entirely plausible but yet to be proved theory that North Korea was proliferating nuclear technology and perhaps material to Syria, which would North Korea in violation of more agreements, including Six-Party Talks agreements, than I care to take the time to count. Yet the Bush administration wants to deal with them.

If you can stand the diplospeak, read the text of Chris Hill’s press briefing following the meeting with Kim.