U.S. to Quickly Press North Korean Denuclearization

The Bush administration said yesterday it hopes to send experts to North Korea next week to begin the process of disabling the regime’s nuclear complex, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, Oct. 3).

A statement produced at the last round of six-party talks that ended Sunday committed Pyongyang by the end of this year to declare and disable its nuclear program. 

The deal offers the opportunity “to realize a Korean Peninsula that is free of nuclear weapons” and “help secure the future peace and prosperity of the Northeast Asian region,” U.S. President George W. Bush said yesterday.

He said in a statement that Pyongyang pledged to submit “a complete and correct declaration of all its nuclear programs, nuclear weapons programs, materials and any proliferation activity.”  The Stalinist state “also committed not to transfer nuclear materials, technology or know-how beyond its borders,” Bush said.

North Korea has recently been linked to alleged Syrian nuclear or missile efforts (see GSN, Sept. 24; Agence France-Presse I/Spacewar.com, Oct. 4).

North Korean officials during weekend talks said they were not providing nuclear assistance to Syria, but were told that any atomic materials exports must be declared, two Bush administration officials told the New York Times (Helene Cooper, New York Times, Oct. 4).

Experts are to be dispatched to the Yongbyon nuclear site, which produced the weapon-grade plutonium for North Korea’s nuclear arsenal, AFP reported.

“We hope that we can get them in early next week and they can begin the actual task of disablement,” said Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, Washington’s lead envoy to the talks (AFP I).

The White House intends to approach Congress this week about removing North Korea from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism, the Korea Herald reported.  Talks are also expected to be held next week with North Korean officials.

Pyongyang has sought U.S. concession on the list as part of its denuclearization pledge made in February.

“All in all, I think this is doable,” Hill said, according to the Yonhap News Agency (Korea Herald, Oct. 4).

Conducting sideline talks with Pyongyang on the terrorism list and a separate list of nations barred from doing trade with the United States violates the intention of the diplomatic nuclear negotiations, said former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton.

“If they come off either or both lists, without any verification of their performance on the nuclear issue, I think the president will have embarrassed his administration in history,” said Bolton, who has become an outspoken critic of White House policy on Iran and North Korea.

Observers also noted the similarity between this deal and the Clinton’s administration 1994 Agreed Framework aimed at halting North Korea’s nuclear development, the Times reported.  That deal also offered Pyongyang energy supplies, and was derided by the Bush administration before crumbling in 2002 (Cooper, New York Times).

There is little clarity on a number of issues related to the deal, including the extent of disablement of the nuclear sites and verification of Pyongyang’s pledges, the Washington Post reported.  Hill also yesterday declined to say whether U.S. sanctions on North Korea might be cleared by the end of 2007.

“We have a very clear understanding with them,” Hill said.  When asked to elaborate, he said:  “A very clear understanding means a very clear understanding.”

There is a problematic “lack of a process to verify the declaration” of North Korea’s nuclear holdings, said former Clinton administration official Gary Samore, an analyst with the Council on Foreign Relations.  Verification should involve examinations of samples and operating records, along with interviews of scientists, he said (Glenn Kessler, Washington Post, Oct. 4).

Other analysts also expressed doubts, AFP reported.

“After receiving all promised shipments of heavy oil, North Korea is likely to start a new round of hardball,” said Yoichiro Sato of the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Hawaii.

“Every step we take … at least creates the potential for moving toward complete disarmament.  We just have to be realistic about how long and difficult the path might be and not create unrealistic expectations,” said Asia-Pacific specialist Daniel Sneider of Stanford University.

Issues that remain to be addressed are North Korea’s suspected uranium enrichment efforts and the exact status of its nuclear weapon materials.  “We need to know how much nuclear material they have produced, where it is, what has been weaponized, where the equipment that did it is located,” said Scott Bruce of the Nautilus Institute (Karl Malakunas, Agence France-Presse II, Oct. 4).

Meanwhile, the meeting between the leaders of North and South Korea today culminated in a pledge to seek the formal end to the Korean War, the Associated Press reported.  The conflict ended with a cease-fire in 1953.

Korean War combatants China and the United States would have to agree to a peace deal (Jae-Soon Chang, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, Oct. 4).

Back to top
About Newswire  |  Contact National Journal  |  Re-Use Guidelines © Copyright 2008 by National Journal Group, Inc. The material in this section is produced independently for NTI by National Journal Group, Inc. Any reproduction or retransmission, in whole or in part, is a violation of federal law and is strictly prohibited without the consent of the National Journal Group, Inc. All rights reserved.