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North Korea: China, Russia Call for Ending Nuclear Programs China and Russia issued a joint statement today urging North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program and abide by the 1994 Agreed Framework (see GSN, Nov. 22). The statement from Pyongyang’s two powerful neighbors came after talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Jiang Zemin in Beijing. “The sides consider it important for the destiny of the world and security in Northeast Asia to preserve the non-nuclear status of the Korean peninsula and the regime of nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction,” the joint statement says. The statement also emphasizes “the extreme importance of normalizing relations between the United States and the D.P.R.K. on the basis of continued observation of earlier reached agreements” (Richard Balmforth, Reuters/MSNBC News, Dec. 2). IAEA The International Atomic Energy Agency’s 35-member board called on North Korea Friday to drop any nuclear weapons programs and accept international inspections. Meeting for the first time since the United States in October accused North Korea of secretly working to enrich uranium, the board said North Korea’s claim that its sovereignty entitles it to pursue nuclear weapons is a violation of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. According to the New York Times, the move appears to mark the first time that the U.N. agency has explicitly demanded North Korea abandon its entire nuclear weapons program. In the past, the agency has called on North Korea to accept inspections. Presented in October with U.S. intelligence indicating the existence of the uranium enrichment program, North Korea asserted its right to have such a program. Since then, the country has refused requests by the IAEA and others for more information. The agency has the power only to report violations to the U.N. Security Council, and no deadline was stipulated in Friday’s resolution (Serge Schmemann, New York Times, Nov. 30).
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