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North Korea Plans to Build Light-Water Reactors
North Korea announced today that it plans to begin a light-water reactor construction project, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, Dec. 19). Pyongyang said it would “start developing and building LWRs (light-water reactors) of Korean style in reliance upon its indigenous technology and potential when an appropriate time comes to put further spurs to its peaceful nuclear activities.” However, South Korean experts have expressed skepticism about North Korea’s ability, both technically and financially, to develop light-water reactors, said Chon Hyun-joon of the Korea Institute for National Unification. The official Korean Central News Agency also reported that Pyongyang plans to restart work on two graphite-moderated reactors that were frozen following approval of the 1994 Agreed Framework under which North Korea was to receive a light-water reactor. The graphite-moderated reactors could produce 200 kilograms of plutonium annually through spent fuel, enough material for 30 nuclear weapons (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, Dec. 20). Meanwhile, U.S. policy toward North Korea appears to have hardened once more, with the focus shifting from diplomacy to containing Pyongyang by thwarting its illicit financial dealings, the Financial Times reported today. “It’s hard to find people who are optimistic now,” said Bruce Klingner, Korea analyst at the Eurasia Group. “I think the window of optimism closed in September.” Analysts have said that the tougher approach, driven by Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Robert Joseph and Vice President Dick Cheney, is based on the belief that regime change is the only way to end the threat from North Korea, according to the Times. Charles Pritchard, an analyst at the Brookings Institution and a former U.S. envoy to talks with North Korea, said earlier this month that Washington was pursuing two policy tracks simultaneously, with the hard-liners in one camp and moderates led by Undersecretary of State Christopher Hill in the other. “The most chilling aspect of this re-emerged bifurcation of U.S. policy towards North Korea is the potential that Ambassador Hill has lost a skirmish or two within the administration, and in an effort to maintain his goal of best-effort negotiating, he has had to adopt some of the philosophy and language of the second-track advocates [led by Joseph],” Pritchard said (Dinmore/Fifield, Financial Times, Dec. 20). In Washington, South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young met with U.S. officials and suggested informal talks among several nations as a way toward resuming formal multilateral disarmament negotiations with North Korea. “We feel that there needs to be a stepping stone in order to move forward” with six-nation talks, Chung said (Associated Press, Dec. 20).
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