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North Korea: IAEA Recognizes North Korean NPT Withdrawal Today In the eyes of the International Atomic Energy Agency, North Korea’s withdrawal from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty becomes official today, USA Today reported (see GSN, April 9). North Korea 90 days ago said it was withdrawing immediately from the treaty, but the IAEA considers the withdrawal effective three months after its announcement (see GSN, Jan. 10). By withdrawing, North Korea becomes the first country to quit the 33-year-old pact (Barbara Slavin, USA Today, April 10). Pyongyang yesterday restated its view that the conflict in Iraq proved the need for a strong military deterrence against the United States (see GSN, April 7). “The Iraqi war launched by the U.S. pre-emptive attack clearly proves that a war can be prevented and the security of the country and the nation can be ensured only when one has physical deterrent force,” according to the Korea Central News Agency, the state-run media outlet. North Korea also repeated its assertion that U.N. debate on the nuclear crisis is a hostile act. “The U.N. Security Council discussion of the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula itself is a prelude to war,” said North Korea’s Pyongyang Radio (Christopher Torchia, Associated Press/Wilmington (N.C.) Star, April 10). U.S. Army HQ Will Leave Seoul After negotiations with South Korean officials, the United States agreed yesterday to move its Army headquarters out of Seoul, the New York Times reported (see GSN, April 8). The headquarters will be relocated to the south of the country, potentially to another U.S. military base. Officials suggested that a 16,000-soldier U.S. division could also be shifted south, possibly after a second round of talks next month. “There is going to be a realignment,” Richard Lawless, deputy assistant defense secretary for Asian-Pacific affairs, said yesterday. Military realignment is also on the agenda for talks between U.S. President George W. Bush and South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun, when Roh visits Washington in May (James Brooke, New York Times, April 10).
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