N Korea vows to axe reactor quickly "North Korea has pledged to shut down its main nuclear reactor promptly and carry out its obligations under the February 13 deal, Christopher Hill, US chief negotiator, said on Friday after a visit to Pyongyang." International integration or internal disintegration ahead? This can be viewed as an indication that, at long last, the pressure applied by the US is bearing fruit (international integration - the US imposing its rules upon others). In accordance with a slightly different interpretation, one could speculate whether the internal conditions in North Korea itself have reached some sort of nadir and that the country's leadership is struggling for its own survival. As a result, even the highly prestigious and costly nuclear weapons programme might be axed - despite the loss of face that this implies - so that foreign gasoline and other vital products will be delivered. If this is actually the case, then the fall of the communist regime could occur fairly soon (internal disintegration).