Combined with South Korea's strong resistance to taking military action against the North, the U.S. could well be cornered into conceding to North Korean demands, namely, a nonaggression treaty and a military withdrawal from South Korea.

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In the future, deploying SDI would no longer require U.S. withdrawal from one treaty a difficult enough task.

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In exchange for the handover of the villages, Mr Barak wants the Palestinians to postpone negotiations on a further Israeli troop withdrawal from the West Bank until negotiators have reached agreement on the outlines of a final peace treaty.

BBC: News Online

Any signatory to the treaty can send a letter of withdrawal and 12 months later will have been recognized to have withdrawn from the treaty.

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He has pledged a framework agreement with the Palestinians by February, an Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon preferably as part of a peace treaty with Syria by July, and a final agreement with the Palestinians by the end of 2000.

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