Agreement of 13 February 2007
Initial Actions for the Implementation of the Joint Statement

• Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Korea Times, Seoul
• Washington Post

• December
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• Nothing less than full declaration will do
  [Editorial]     U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill went to North Korea yesterday, his second visit, having gone there once in June. On the same day, Blue House Secretary for Security Affairs Baek Jong-cheon left for Washington. A round of six-party talks is scheduled to open right after Hill leaves Pyongyang. The head of North Korea’s United Front Department of Workers’ Party Kim Yang-gon returned to Pyongyang after a three-day, two-night visit to the South. The effort to make advances on the North Korean issue and move to the next stage is reaching a climax.   Of central importance to all of this activity will be North Korea’s "complete declaration" of its nuclear programs. It was the reason Hill went to Pyongyang.
• U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Arrives
  Pyongyang, December 3 (KCNA) -- Christopher Hill, assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of State, and his party arrived here today.  
• Iran has no nuke program, U.S. intel says
  The consensus view of 16 agencies is that the nation halted its weapons project in 2003 because it feared international sanctions. By Greg Miller, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer 10:01 AM PST, December 3, 2007 WASHINGTON -- U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003 and that the threat of international sanctions has worked in compelling the Islamic republic to back away from its pursuit of the bomb. These judgments were among the key findings of a long-awaited intelligence report in which U.S. spy agencies retreated from earlier assessments that were more hard-line in their view of Iran's nuclear ambitions and intentions. The document, and the nuanced tone it strikes toward Iran, is likely to generate fierce new debate within the U.S. government, challenging the positions of officials, including Vice President Dick Cheney, who have urged taking a hard line against Tehran. The report also concludes that Iran "does not currently have a nuclear weapon," and that the country is unlikely to be capable of producing enough highly enriched uranium to make a bomb before 2009 at the earliest. The findings were included in a National Intelligence Estimate titled "Iran: Nuclear Intentions and Capabilities" that represents a consensus view of all 16 U.S. intelligence agencies. "We judge with high confidence that in fall 2003, Tehran halted its nuclear weapons program," the report says. "We also assess with moderate-to-high confidence that Tehran at a minimum is keeping open the option to develop nuclear weapons." But the intelligence community also acknowledged that emerging evidence has forced analysts to alter their views on Iran's intentions and capabilities. The changes portray Iran as more responsive to international pressure than previously thought. "Tehran's decisions are guided by a cost-benefit approach rather than a rush to a weapon irrespective of the political, economic and military cost," the report concludes. Overall, the report notes that Iran "is less determined to develop nuclear weapons than we have been judging since 2005." greg.miller@latimes.com [Intelligence] [Disinformation] [Dissension]
• U.S. to set 3 more tasks for N. Korea / New hurdles for delisting as terror sponsor
  Takashi Sakamoto / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent WASHINGTON--The U.S. government has decided to impose three new conditions for removing North Korea from Washington's list of state sponsors of terrorism, sources close to the six-party talks said Friday. Pyongyang must reveal the amount of plutonium it has extracted; the reality of its uranium enrichment program; and the alleged transfer of nuclear technology and materials to other countries such as Syria, the sources said. These points should be made clear when North Korea completes its declaration of its nuclear programs by the end of this year, the sources added. The new conditions will be in addition to the current U.S. requirement that North Korea complete the disablement of its nuclear facilities. It is now likely that North Korea will not be removed from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism anytime soon, since it is unlikely that the country will accept all four conditions, the sources said. [Agreement070213] [Terrorism list] [HEU]
• U.S. 'Has Evidence' of N.Korea's Uranium Program
  The U.S. chief nuclear negotiator Christopher Hill on Saturday said his government "has evidence North Korea purchased equipment to enrich uranium." Hill made the remark in a lecture at the Graduate School of International Studies at Ewha Womans University prior to his departure for North Korea on Monday.
• Hill wants a talk with North’s military brass
  December 01, 2007 The top U.S. envoy in the denuclearization talks wants to meet with top military brass in North Korea during his upcoming visit. Christopher Hill is scheduled to go to Pyongyang on Monday. "We had suggested that if he [Kim Gye-gwan] felt it was useful, we might want to meet someone from the military, but it’s up to him," Hill told reporters on Thursday night. Although the U.S. envoy has been involved for years in the nuclear talks, he has never met anyone outside of the North’s Foreign Ministry.
• KCNA Report on Visit to Area of Nyongbyon by Those Concerned and Nuclear Experts
  Pyongyang, November 30 (KCNA) -- Those concerned of the United States, China, Russia, south Korea and Japan participating in the six-party talks and nuclear experts on Nov. 28 went round the process of disabling nuclear facilities in Nyongbyon which has been underway since Nov. 5, according to the agreement between the DPRK and the U.S. They saw for themselves on the spot the processes of disabling the 5Mw test reactor, the reprocessing plant and fuel rod plant including the cooling tower and confirmed that the disabling operation is making proper progress process by process in accordance with the timetable worked out by nuclear experts of the DPRK and the U.S. They said in unison that the commitments to make political and economic compensation for disabling the nuclear facilities within the year should be fulfilled as early as possible on the principle of "action for action". The DPRK is honestly fulfilling its commitment to disable those facilities within the year according to the agreement reached at the six-party talks. It will follow the moves of the U.S. and all other parties
• U.S. Says Has Proof Of N.Korea Uranium Program
  By REUTERS Published: December 1, 2007 Filed at 3:23 a.m. ET Skip to next paragraph SEOUL (Reuters) - The United States has evidence North Korea purchased equipment to enrich uranium, a key step in producing nuclear weapons, a U.S. envoy was quoted as saying on Saturday. The United States in 2002 first accused the North of running a covert nuclear program by enriching uranium, a charge that triggered the demise of a 1994 deal to disarm the North's nuclear arms program. Despite North Korea's denial of the existence of a uranium enrichment program, there is "credible evidence" of its purchase of equipment and materials that could be used for just that, U.S. nuclear envoy Christopher Hill was quoted as saying by Yonhap news agency. A U.S. embassy official in Seoul could not immediately confirm Hill's comments, which he said were made at a privately arranged function at a university. Hill said he was confident the North would fully clear up the suspicion by the end of the year, including questions about how the centrifuges and aluminum tubes it had bought were used.  
• 5 Myths About the Bomb and Us
  By Jeffrey Lewis Sunday, December 2, 2007; Page B03 The Bush administration likes to boast that it has dramatically cut the size of the nation's nuclear stockpile. Meanwhile, it's busily trying to shore up congressional support for multibillion-dollar proposals to "modernize" the bristling U.S. arsenal. A world that's skeptical about the last superpower's intentions only gets more so when U.S. officials push unconvincing lines about the world's deadliest weapons. So here are a few myths about the U.S. nuclear posture of which the administration seems particularly fond. 1. The U.S. nuclear stockpile is the smallest since the Eisenhower administration. A recent statement from Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman touts Bush administration "reductions in the nuclear stockpile" that "will result in the lowest level since the Eisenhower Administration." Well yes, but one might infer that the number of U.S. nuclear weapons is rather small, perhaps around a thousand or so. Not quite.
• Obstacles Loom in NKorea Nuclear Talks
  By FOSTER KLUG The Associated Press Saturday, December 1, 2007; 10:45 AM WASHINGTON -- Even as the Bush administration marks unprecedented progress in North Korean nuclear disarmament talks, two looming impediments could undermine years of delicate negotiations. One is a suspicion, especially among U.S. conservatives, that North Korea has helped Syria pursue a nuclear weapons program. Such cooperation would raise the specter of a country that boasts nuclear weapons providing atomic assistance to a nation Washington considers hostile and a sponsor of terrorism. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington in this June 13, 2007 file photo, before the House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on the U.S. South Korea free trade agreement. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File) (Susan Walsh - AP) The other issue is the U.S. claim the North pursued a secret uranium enrichment program, as well as its known plutonium production. A 1994 nuclear deal collapsed after the United States confronted the North with the uranium claim in 2002; years of acrimony and stalemate followed, culminating in a North Korean nuclear test last year. [HEU]  
• N.Korea on Track to Complete Nuclear Disablement
  Sung Kim, U.S. State Department's top expert on Korea, speaks with the media as he arrives to Beijing's airport after a visit to North Korea on Thursday./AP U.S. Wants N.Korea to Own Up to Uranium Program North Korea is on track to complete the disablement of its nuclear facilities, said Sung Kim, the director of the Korean affairs desk at the U.S. State Department and the chief U.S. inspector of the process. Kim made these remarks on arrival in Beijing on Thursday after a three-day visit to North Korea as U.S. leader of an inspection team that includes officials and experts from the six nations in denuclearization talks. "We saw a lot of disablement activity going on. I think that all of the steps that can be completed this year will be completed by Dec. 31," he said. [HEU]
• Hill tells Seoul to match inter-Korean ties to denuclearization progress
     By Byun Duk-kun SEOUL, Nov. 30 (Yonhap) -- The top U.S. nuclear envoy Friday said he hoped that South Korea would keep pace with North Korea's denuclearization in pursuing inter-Korean economic cooperation projects being discussed after the second summit of the two Koreas held in October.    Washington has long opposed Seoul's extended economic cooperation with Pyongyang unless the North substantially denuclearizes under the ongoing multilateral nuclear talks involving the two Koreas, China, the U.S., Russia and Japan. [Sanctions] [Dilemma]
• U.S. Wants N.Korea to Own Up to Uranium Program
  The U.S. expects North Korea to own up to its alleged uranium enrichment program. The U.S. top negotiator in six-nation talks on the North Korean nuclear problem, Christopher Hill, said during a visit to Seoul the North must clarify that the program is a bygone or on its way out. Hill met with his South Korean counterpart Chun Yung-woo and will visit the North from Dec. 3 to 5. Hill stressed several times on Thursday that North Korea’s nuclear disclosure will top the agenda during his North Korean visit and in six-party talks in Beijing next week. "With respect to uranium enrichment, we do need acknowledgement of what has gone on. We need an explanation of how it went on and we need a disposition of any equipment involved in uranium enrichment," Hill said in a lecture hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea. The North Koreans "have begun to put together their list, I think it's pretty close to being ready." Hill promised to discuss the uranium issue with the North during his visit, reiterating that any nuclear disclosure must include all nuclear-related programs, facilities and materials. "While we do not yet have a solution as I stand here today, I'm confident that based on the direction of these conversations, we can have a verifiable solution by the end of the year," he added. But observers feel it is unlikely that the matter can be resolved this year since Pyongyang denies having such a program. U.S. hardliners are expected to protest unless the North at least offers a reasonable explanation to the issue. Some analysts say Hill aims to negotiate directly with the North during his visit in a bid to pre-empt criticism from hardliners. [HEU] [Dissension]
• N. Korea about to declare nuclear programs next week
  Verifiable solution to nuclear issue likely by year’s end, UN nuclear envoy says
          U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, Washington’s chief negotiator in the six-party talks on North Korea’s nuclear program, said that North Korea would soon disclose a list of all its nuclear activities next week.     Hill, on a visit to South Korea before heading to North Korea next week, also said that China is well prepared to host the next round of six-party negotiations, scheduled to begin on December 8.

• Merry Christmas, Hawaii – and Bombs Away!
  By Cathy Garger Nov 27, 2007, 17:47
  It’s the end of the world as we know it. The US Military has officially run out of foreign lands to bomb. Apparently out of desperation to find a place to publicly ejaculate their huge, heavy loads, the US Air Force has chosen the Big Island of Hawaii as its bulls-eye target.
  According to a recent Associated Press article, “B-2 Stealth Bombers Hit US Targets”, the United States government is using both Hawaii and Alaska to expand its war games and better train pilots to unload mega-size Uranium bombs on – shhhh – unsuspecting North Koreans. Meanwhile, Uncle Sam, convincingly playing the part of one mighty sick, twisted Santa, is apparently reneging on his promise to make nice and remove North Korea from his Naughty [State Sponsors of Terrorism] List.
• (Video)Interviews with Greg Mello
  Greg Mello of the Los Alamos Study Group not only explains why the US is building new nuclear weapons, but also talks about the US Nuclear Policy in connection to International Law and Treaties. So questions are answered, like: Is it legal to build new nuclear weapons? What are those nuclear weapons meant for? Are there alternative solutions for (new) nuclear weapons and nuclear weapons policy? etc. etc.
  (Video) Interview with Greg Mello [NPT]
• Hill 'to Visit Pyongyang This Weekend'
  The chief U.S. negotiator in six-country nuclear talks, Christopher Hill, could visit North Korea this weekend after stopping off in Japan and South Korea this week, observers speculated Tuesday. U.S. State Department and diplomatic sources in Seoul said Hill leaves Washington on Tuesday U.S. time to visit Tokyo on Wednesday and Seoul on Thursday. He will then fly to Beijing for the next round of the six-party talks in early December.
• U.S. nuclear envoy to visit North Korea to discuss denuclearization
  The top U.S. nuclear negotiator will visit North Korea early next week to assess progress in the disablement of atomic facilities, a U.S. State Department official said Tuesday.   Christopher Hill, assistant secretary of state, last traveled to Pyongyang in June, just after the communist state shut down Yongbyon, the site housing key nuclear facilities believed to have been churning out weapons-grade material.
• N.Korea, Syria 'Discussed Chemical Missile Warheads'
  North Korean missile engineers during a secret visit to Syria in mid-November discussed loading chemical warheads on ballistic missiles, the Sankei Shimbun reports from Washington. Quoting an unnamed source familiar with the political situation in the Middle East, the Japanese daily said cooperation in chemical weapons was "evidence of close collaboration in the development of weapons of mass destruction" between the two countries. [Disinformation] [cbw]
• Multinational delegation to visit N.K. to check nuclear disablement: sources
  A U.S. State Department official is expected to head to Asia early next week as leader of a multinational delegation that will monitor the ongoing disablement of North Korea's nuclear facilities, sources here said Friday.   Sung Kim, director of the Korean Affairs Office, will go to the region, a department official said, although the exact itinerary has yet to be announced.   Kim is expected to go to Pyongyang with representatives from South Korea, China and Russia, countries that will participate for the first time in the inspection of the ongoing disablement process in North Korea. These nations, plus the United States and Japan, are members of the six-party talks negotiating an eventual denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
• 6-Party Talks to Be Held on Dec. 6-8
  By Yoon Won-sup Staff Reporter A new round of six-party talks, aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear ambition, will likely be held in Beijing on Dec. 6-8, according to Russia's chief negotiator, Thursday. Alexander Losyukov, deputy foreign minister of Russia, said that Russia has agreed to the dates, suggested by the host country China, Interfax reported. He said that the coming gathering will assess the extent to which the parties have been abiding by their pledges under the agreement reached in February. Some diplomatic sources in Seoul said that parties including Seoul and Moscow agreed to the dates while others have not agreed yet.
• Israeli: Syrian Site Hit Not a Reactor
  By STEVE WEIZMAN The Associated Press Thursday, November 22, 2007; 1:01 PM JERUSALEM -- A Syrian site bombed by Israel in September was probably a plant for assembling a nuclear bomb, an Israeli nuclear expert said Thursday, challenging other analysts' conclusions that it housed a North Korean-style nuclear reactor. Tel Aviv University chemistry professor Uzi Even, who worked in the past at Israel's Dimona nuclear reactor, said satellite pictures of the site taken before the Israeli strike on Sept. 6 showed no sign of the cooling towers and chimneys characteristic of reactors.
  Even said the absence of telltale features of a reactor convinced him the building must have housed something else. And a rush by the Syrians after the attack to bury the site under tons of soil suggests the facility was a plutonium processing plant and they were trying to smother lethal doses of radiation leaking out.
• U.S. mulls adoption of Nunn-Lugar program for N. Korea
  If applied, program could provide funds for dismantlement and security
    Officials from the United States, China, North Korea and Russia will have a closed conference in China on November 27-28 to discuss ways to adopt the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction program, or CTR, for North Korea’s nuclear dismantlement, according to a report by Radio Free Asia on November 21.   A close aide to Delaware Senator Joe Biden is going to visit China this weekend to discuss how to expand the application of the Nunn-Lugar program to North Korea, RFA reported. According to the RFA report, the United States will request that China and Russia also take part in the discussion. Regarding this, Senator Biden’s aide reportedly talked with Kim Myeong-gil, deputy ambassador of North Korea’s mission to the United Nations in New York, on November 16.   If the Nunn-Lugar program is applied to dismantlement of the regime’s key nuclear facilities at Yongbyon, North Korea will be eligible for U.S. assistance to complete this process
• US lacks smart nuclear policy
  By Kaveh L Afrasiabi A smart, soft power approach to US nuclear policy is missing. In the current emerging discussions on a "US "smart power" approach to global affairs, conspicuously absent is any reference to the need to substantially revise the present US nuclear posture. [1] This is a seriously neglected issue in the marathon US presidential debates as well. The candidates for the Republican Party, such as Mitt Romney, Rudi Guiliani and John McCain, are sufficiently hawkish to be averse to any major rethinking of the US nuclear posture and doctrine as articulated by the George W Bush administration. The Democratic candidates on the other hand have almost without exception focused on other issues, eg, narrow attention to proliferation threats, without due consideration of how those threats are partially generated in response to the nuclear policies of the US and other nuclear weapons states. But, if there is any witches' brew, to borrow the title of a recent article by David Albright and Jacqueline Shire on Iran [2], it certainly heats up on multiple dimensions, including disarmament or, better said, the lack of it, as well as proliferation-provocative postures that rely on "smart" tactical warheads fitted for conventional warfare. Interestingly, US officials in charge of arms control continue to behave as if they are in an unreflexive cocoon of unilateralism in which the superpower's actions serve the collective good. Case in point, last week, Robert Joseph, a former top US arms control negotiator, told an audience at Harvard University that the "primary threat" to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is posed by Iran and North Korea. This is a self-serving response that conveniently ignores the myriad reasons for a growing perception of a US nuclear threat on the part of many nations. These reasons include: [NPT]
• North Korea and the Birth Pangs of a New Northeast Asian Order
  Gavan McCormack
  In February 2007, agreement was reached at the Six Party talks in Beijing on the parameters for resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue. The frame was one of comprehensive settlement of one of the long unresolved legacies of the 20th century and the prospect it opened was for a new, diplomatic, military, political, and economic order. This paper asks why the settlement has taken so long to reach, considers the major obstacles to its implementation, and assesses its prospects. It argues that to understand the “North Korea Problem” close attention has to be paid to the “America Problem” and the “Japan Problem.” It suggests that, while North Korean strategic objectives have been consistent through the decade and a half of crisis, the US and Japan have vacillated, torn between conservative, neo-conservative, and reactionary forces on the one hand and “realists” on the other. The US strategic shift of February heralds the dawn of a 21st century Northeast Asian order; whether that dawn is to prove a true or false one should be clear by year’s end.
• The Nuclear Disarmament Fantasy
  BY HAROLD BROWN AND JOHN DEUTCH Word Count: 1,290 The end of the Cold War changed "the balance of nuclear terror," and with it the centrality of nuclear forces in U.S. security strategy. In consequence, some politicians and analysts, including several former senior foreign policy officials who wrote on this page, want to make the complete elimination of nuclear weapons a principal U.S. foreign policy goal -- as a practical means of mobilizing more resolute international action to combat the proliferation of nuclear weapons and to discourage their possession and use.
  A nation that wishes to acquire nuclear weapons believes these weapons will improve its security. The declaration by the U.S. that it will move to eliminate nuclear weapons in a distant future will have no direct effect on changing this calculus. Indeed, nothing that the U.S. does to its nuclear posture will directly influence such a nation's (let alone a terrorist group's) calculus. Whatever their other merits (and they are significant), it is difficult to argue that a comprehensive test ban treaty, a "no first use" declaration by the U.S., a dramatic reduction in the number of deployed or total nuclear weapons in our stockpile, an end to the production of fissionable material will convince North Korea, Iran, India, Pakistan or Israel to give up their nuclear weapons programs. True enough, the U.S. ratified the 1968 Nonproliferation Treaty, whose Article Six states: "Each of the parties to the treaty undertakes to pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament, and on a treaty on general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control." No one suggests abandoning the hope embodied in such a well-intentioned statement. However, hope is not a policy, and, at present, there is no realistic path to a world free of nuclear weapons. [NPT] [Nuclear weapons] [Double standards]
• In secret, U.S. aiding Pakistan in guarding nuclear arms
  By David E. Sanger and William J. Broad Published: November 18, 2007
  WASHINGTON: Over the past six years, the Bush administration has spent almost $100 million so far on a highly classified program to help General Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's president, secure his country's nuclear weapons, according to current and former senior administration officials. But with the future of that country's leadership in doubt, debate is intensifying about whether Washington has done enough to help protect the warheads and laboratories, and whether Pakistan's reluctance to reveal critical details about its arsenal has undercut the effectiveness of the continuing security effort.
• US diplomat warns of pitfalls in N Korea
  The Associated Press Last Updated: November 19, 2007 03:09:02 Seoul, South Korea, November 19: The US diplomat who signed an earlier deal halting North Korea's nuclear weapons development warned Monday that pitfalls remain in the latest accord with Pyongyang despite recent hopeful signs. Details of how to implement recent agreements from international arms talks have not been clearly laid out - leaving potential room for North Korea to find loopholes that could leave it still holding material to make nuclear bombs, Robert Gallucci said.
• Nuclear Weapons in U.S. National Security Policy: Past, Present, and Prospects
  October 29, 2007 Amy F. Woolf Specialist in National Defense Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division Congressional Research Service
• Hill denies completion of N. Korea removal from terror list by year-end
  WASHINGTON, Nov. 15 KYODO      President George W. Bush will not notify Congress by Friday of his intention to remove North Korea from a U.S. list of terrorist-sponsoring nations, top U.S. nuclear negotiator Christopher Hill said Wednesday.      Hill made the remark to reporters at an airport outside Washington upon returning from an overseas trip, indicating the United States will not finish removing the reclusive state from the blacklist by the end of the year. [Terrorism list]
• NK Making Progress on Uranium Accusation
  North Korea is "making progress" in dealing with allegations that it has a secret program to use highly-enriched uranium for nuclear weapons, said top U.S. nuclear envoy Christopher Hill on Thursday. Following a meeting with the International Atomic Energy Agency's Mohamed El Baradei in Vienna, Hill nonetheless told reporters that the issue has yet to be resolved and that efforts were ongoing. U.S. intelligence first accused North Korea of having an enriched uranium program for nuclear weapons in July 2002. Pyongyang has denied the accusations and if the regime can prove them false observers say it will most likely undermine the credibility of U.S. intelligence [HEU]
• Declaration and removal of N. Korea from terror list to be synchronized
  Washington, Pyongyang seem unconcerned as end of year deadline passes     As North Korea has agreed to disable its nuclear facilities and report on how it is implementing the disablement steps within the year, the timing of when the United States will begin the process of removing North Korea from its list of states supporting terrorism has become a crucial point in determining relations between the two countries.   The Bush administration is expected to submit a report on removing the North from the list to the U.S. Congress within the year, if North Korea faithfully implements the second step of the February 13 agreement to disable its nuclear facilities and report its nuclear weapon programs, according to sources in Washington. North Korea is not likely object to this.     However, the report must be submitted to Congress 45 days before lifting the communist country off the black list and in order to do this by the end of the year, the reporting should be done before November 16. Both the White House and the U.S. State Department were silent about this matter on November 15, a day before that deadline.
• Delhi says no more nuke deals before full & clear NSG waiver
  15 Nov 2007, 0226 hrs IST,Indrani Bagchi,TNN NEW DELHI: During his whirlwind tour of Moscow this week, PM Manmohan Singh spent almost two hours with Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a "restricted" session, with only national security advisor M K Narayanan and foreign secretary Shiv Shankar Menon for company. Their conversation is largely off the radar but the two leaders had one very important discussion about the nuclear deal and the aborted intergovernmental agreement on four additional reactors for Kudankulam. The PM explained that India wanted a "full and clear" exemption from Nuclear Suppliers Group and was not willing to sign individual nuclear deals with different countries, which, it felt, could have higher costs in the long run [NPT]
• Industry leaders embrace nuclear business option
  * Reuters * Wednesday November 14 2007 By Barbara Lewis ROME, Nov 14 (Reuters) - When around 4,000 representatives of the world's energy industry gathered in Rome this week, two Greenpeace protesters suspended themselves from the ceiling and dropped a banner urging "quit nuclear madness". They were a lone voice in the halls of a sprawling conference village, where CEO after CEO has lined up to hail nuclear energy as an essential part of the energy mix to keep the lights on and prevent global warming. Even Italy -- host for the 20th World Energy Congress -- which outlawed nuclear energy after a referendum after the world's worst nuclear accident at Chenobyl in 1986, has sounded less hostile than usual. One of the most enthusiastic has been Pierre Gadonneix, chief executive officer of EDF, which runs France's 58 nuclear power plants that provide around 80 percent of the country's electricity. "Clearly, nuclear energy is going to start up again," he told reporters as he sipped a flute of champagne. [Nuclear energy]
• Progress Made on Solving N.Korea Uranium Issue: U.S.
  By REUTERS Published: November 14, 2007 Filed at 7:31 a.m. ET VIENNA (Reuters) - Progress has been made towards answering suspicions North Korea tried to enrich uranium for atom bombs but the issue is "by no means" solved, the chief U.S. negotiator on Pyongyang's nuclear disarmament said on Wednesday. Christopher Hill was speaking after talks with Mohamed ElBaradei, director of the watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) which has monitors in North Korea verifying the process to disable Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program. ElBaradei said the six-party deal to dismantle the program by the end of 2007 was "moving in the right direction." The Washington Post reported on Saturday that North Korea was offering Washington evidence that it had never intended to refine uranium for atomic bomb fuel parallel to its known production of plutonium for warheads. Quoting unnamed South Korean and U.S. officials, the paper said Pyongyang was granting U.S. experts access to equipment and documents in confidential talks to beef up its case that there was no clandestine enrichment effort. "I can say we have made some progress but by no means have we solved the issue up to now," Hill, the assistant secretary of state for East Asia and Pacific affairs, told reporters. "We are continuing to work with them to resolve the matter. I don't think it's very helpful to get into details at this point. We are very much in the middle of a process," he said. "But I think (North Korea) understands very well that this matter must be resolved to mutual satisfaction." [HEU]
• The Re-emergence of an Australian Nuclear Weapons Option? Implications for Indonesia and the Asia Pacific
  Richard Tanter
  The question of whether or not Australia should acquire or develop nuclear weapons has been off the policy agenda for many years. From the 1950s onward the Democratic Labor Party argued the case publicly, though to no great policy effect. Yet, as a number of detailed studies by historians and comparative analysts of nuclear proliferation pathways have clearly established, successive Liberal-Country party coalition governments in the 1950s to the early 1970s were committed to either acquire or develop a nuclear weapon.[1] Public advocacy was always restrained, but in the crucial period from the late 1950s and early 1960s a strong coalition of bureaucratic and military interests, including the civilian nuclear establishment, pressed the issue behind closed doors. While this bureaucratic coalition was largely opposed by other parts of the bureaucracy, in particular the Treasury and the Department of External Affairs, for more than a decade, it was successful in determining Australian policy in secret. The most recent studies of this largely intra-bureaucratic policy struggle have emphasized the extent to which this movement down the proliferation pathway was in fact motivated less by rational threat assessment and more by a combination of institutional self-interest and a surprisingly potent nationalist sense of identity and fantasy within those institutional complexes.[2] [Proliferation] [NPT]
• No nuclear deal with Russia
  12 Nov 2007, 0058 hrs IST,Indrani Bagchi,TNN MOSCOW: Russia cannot use the 1989 agreement on Kudankulam nuclear power plants to "grandfather" an agreement for four additional plants for India, officials accompanying PM Manmohan Singh on his visit to Russia said. India was hoping to get the Russians to work out an intergovernmental agreement under cover of the original agreement but it will have to wait until it gets a clear exemption from the NSG before Russia moves on it. The bottomline is that until India completes the formalities with the IAEA and NSG, there is almost no nuclear agreement that it can sign. But even as India loses out yet again in its attempt to move forward in the nuclear field largely due to its own shortcomings, China has been galloping ahead. Last week, China and Russia signed an agreement where the latter agreed to supply uranium, enrichment capacity and two new power reactors to China.
• U.S. to Strike N.Korea Off Terror List Under 'Secret Deal'
    The U.S. in a closed-doors deal on Oct. 3 agreed to strike North Korea from its list of state sponsors of terrorism and suspend the Trading with the Enemy Act by year's end provided North Korea disables its nuclear facilities by then, a senior South Korean official says. The official told Korean reporters in Washington last week the Oct. 3 deal "includes a list of facilities North Korea agreed to disable. It also includes what the other five nations agreed to do, including the issues of striking North Korea from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism and suspending the application of the Trading with the Enemy Act." These measures "are supposed to be completed by the end of this year." ?International acceptance? That would create a favorable atmosphere for North Korea’s acceptance into the international community, to say nothing of Pyongyang-Washington relations. North Korea was designated as a state sponsor of terrorism in 1988, in the aftermath of the bombing of a Korean Air passenger plane in 1987. In 2002, U.S. President George W. Bush famously singled out the North as part of an "axis of evil." Once struck from that list, North Korea can be also be taken off the various blacklists of international financial organizations including the IMF. Embargoes on exports of dual-use technology to North Korea will also likely be removed, which could include state-of-the-art computers or chemicals. And once the Trading with the Enemy Act, which has included North Korea since 1950, no longer applies, North Korea will be able to get its U.S. assets unfrozen and do business with U.S. banks. When the Korean War broke out, the U.S. Treasury imposed a total ban on trading and financial transactions with North Korea. North Korea’s assets in the U.S. are estimated at about US$14 million. [Sanctions]
• Those Nuclear Flashpoints Are Made in Pakistan
  By Douglas Frantz and Catherine Collins Sunday, November 11, 2007; Page B01 George W. Bush is hardly the first U.S. president to forgive sins against democracy by a Pakistani leader. Like his predecessors from Jimmy Carter onward, Bush has tolerated bad behavior in hopes that Pakistan might do Washington's bidding on some urgent U.S. priority -- in this case, a crackdown on al-Qaeda. But the scariest legacy of Bush's failed bargain with Gen. Pervez Musharraf isn't the rise of another U.S.-backed dictatorship in a strategic Muslim nation, or even the establishment of a new al-Qaeda haven along Pakistan's lawless border. It's the leniency we've shown toward the most dangerous nuclear-trafficking operation in history -- an operation masterminded by one man, Abdul Qadeer Khan. For nearly four years, under the banner of the "war on terror," Bush has refused to demand access to Khan, the ultranationalist Pakistani scientist who created a vast network that has spread nuclear know-how to North Korea, Iran and Libya. Indeed, Bush has never seriously squeezed Musharraf over Khan, who remains a national hero for bringing Pakistan the Promethean fire it can use to compete with its nuclear-armed nemesis, India. Khan has remained under house arrest in Islamabad since 2004, outside the reach of the CIA and investigators from the International Atomic Energy Agency, who are desperate to unlock the secrets he carries. Bush should be equally adamant about getting to the bottom of Khan's activities.
  Bush's sluggishness over Pakistan-based proliferation, even as he has funneled about $10 billion in military and financial aid to Musharraf since Sept. 11, 2001, is even harder to explain when one considers the damage Khan has done to the world's fragile nuclear stability. Khan used stolen technology and black-market sales to help Pakistan obtain its nuclear arsenal, setting the stage for a possible atomic showdown with India. He played a pivotal role in helping Iran start what we increasingly fear is a clandestine nuclear-arms program, allowing Tehran to make significant progress in the shadows before its efforts were uncovered in 2002. He gave key uranium-enrichment technology to North Korea. [HEU]
• N.Korean Nuclear Disablement Proceeding Smoothly
  The chief U.S. nuclear negotiator Christopher Hill is apparently pleased that North Korea is disabling its nuclear facilities according to schedule, completing the first of 11 agreed steps by this weekend. ? Pyongyang ‘cooperative’ The disablement of three North Korean nuclear facilities -- the 5 MW atomic reactor, a reprocessing facility and a nuclear fuel rod manufacturing plant at Yongbyon -- began on Monday. The 11 steps include the extraction of spent fuel rods. A senior South Korean government official on Thursday said, "The process is going smoothly because North Korea is very cooperative."
• U.S. to drop N. Korea from terror list before year’s end
  Situation could mean four-party summit is replaced by statement from each country
  WASHINGTON - North Korea will finalize the disablement of its nuclear facilities by the end of the year and the United States will remove the communist nation from its list of states supporting terrorism, according to a U.S. government official on November 8.
  At a news conference with South Korean reporters in Washington, the high-ranking official said, "The six parties have agreed to complete the first step of disablement this year, following the October 3 agreement. The other five countries will take the appropriate action when the North reports on how the disablement proceed. The removal of North Korea from the U.S. list of nations supporting terrorism is included in this," added the official.   Timed with North Korea’s implementation of its promise to complete nuclear disablement by the end of the year, the United States is also going to take due measures, such as removing North Korea from its black list and lifting restrictions under the Trading with the Enemy Act within the same time frame. [Terrorism list]
• Milestone in denuclearization
  [Editorial]     Top diplomats from Seoul and Washington recently shared their views on North Korea’s disablement process of its nuclear facilities, the establishment of a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula and a summit of related nations. The results of the second inter-Korean summit, and steps toward the North’s nuclear disablement that began a few days ago, certainly had a favorable impact on this. All of the efforts related to the North’s nuclear dismantlement and discussions on the peace regime are expected to make smooth progress.
• What will come after the disablement?
  [Column] Kang Tae-ho, Inter-Korean relations reporter of the Hankyoreh
      Nuclear disablement is merely a minor stop (a ganiyeok, a "one-room train station") along the tracks. So says Chun Young-woo, South Korea’s chief negotiator to the six-party talks. Disablement is to be the "second phase" in North Korea’s denuclearization, a place where the process stops momentarily between closing nuclear facilities and getting rid of them. In other words, it is a temporary and transitional point along the way. Having been energized by the recent inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang, North Korea is racing toward this ganiyeok to keep up with the timetable of the document the summit produced, the October 3 Agreement. There is criticism in American circles that the disablement outlined in the October 3 Agreement is too vague. Top U.S. six-party delegate, Christopher Hill, responds to the criticism by saying that implementation is outpacing the agreement.
  Furthermore, this stage of disablement requires the complete declaration of North Korea’s nuclear facilities. At the end of December awaits a rigorous process of verification. Jeffery Lewis, director of the Nuclear Strategy and Nonproliferation Initiative at the New America Foundation, said that "even if North Korea’s declaration is accurate," finding a solution to "the debate in the U.S." is "going to be extremely difficult." In other words, the politics of distrust toward Pyongyang are going to kick in again. North Korea’s plutonium program can pretty much be verified by looking at the record of its operations and making on-site visits. The problem is its uranium enrichment program, or UEP. The same kind of technical verification is not possible for UEP. It would be "very easy if you are an opponent of the deal to say that you do not believe the uranium enrichment program has been fully accounted for," said Lewis
• N. Korea Offers Evidence to Rebut Uranium Claims
  By Glenn Kessler Washington Post Staff Writer Saturday, November 10, 2007; Page A01
  North Korea is providing evidence to the United States aimed at proving that it never intended to produce highly enriched uranium for nuclear weapons, undermining a key U.S. intelligence finding, South Korean and U.S. officials said this week.
  In closely held talks, the North Korean government has granted U.S. experts access to equipment and documents to make its case, in preparation for declaring the extent of its nuclear activities before the end of the year. North Korean officials hope the United States will simultaneously lift sanctions against Pyongyang as the declaration is made.
  If North Korea successfully demonstrates that U.S. accusations about the uranium-enrichment program are wrong, it will be a blow to U.S. intelligence and the Bush administration's credibility. [HEU] [Backdown]

• Syrians Disassembling Ruins at Site Bombed by Israel, Officials Say
  By Robin Wright and Joby Warrick Washington Post Staff Writers Friday, October 19, 2007; Page A18 Syria has begun dismantling the remains of a site Israel bombed Sept. 6 in what may be an attempt to prevent the location from coming under international scrutiny, said U.S. and foreign officials familiar with the aftermath of the attack. Based on overhead photography, the officials say the site in Syria's eastern desert near the Euphrates River had a "signature" or characteristics of a small but substantial nuclear reactor, one similar in structure to North Korea's facilities.
• Who Said Anything About Nukes?
  Lost in translation . . . The U.N. news release Wednesday morning, about a disarmament committee meeting Tuesday, said a Syrian representative had accused Israel of taking action against nuclear facilities in Syria. Damascus promptly issued a denial. After all, that much-talked-about Israeli strike on an alleged nuclear facility in Syria is something that no one is supposed to talk about. The Syrians never said anything about nukes, their delegation insisted. So the United Nations brought in its Egyptian deputy head of public information to take another listen to the remarks in Arabic. He concluded that the interpreter had mistranslated the remarks, and that the Syrian representative really hadn't said anything about an Israeli strike on Syrian nukes but had only condemned general Israeli "military aggression." The Syrian ambassador to the United Nations, Bashar Jaafari, told our colleague Colum Lynch that the mistranslation was clearly "intentional" and that he was demanding a complete investigation.   [UNUS] [Disinformation]
• Peace begins where plutonium ends, Hill says
  U.S. nuclear negotiator believes N. Korea's facilities will be disabled and plutonium gone by end of year
  WASHINGTON-Top U.S. nuclear negotiator Christopher Hill said that the 50 kilograms of plutonium which is estimated to have been produced by North Korea will be a major barrier to the progress of the six-party talks. But he was optimistic that the task could be accomplished within the year, at which time the United States would be willing to begin moving forward with the peace process on the Korean Peninsula. He added, however, that unless the North decides to scrap its plutonium, the United States will not normalize relations with the communist country.
• U.S. Sees North Korea Ending Uranium Enrichment
  By REUTERS Published: October 16, 2007 Filed at 2:04 a.m. ET SYDNEY (Reuters) - Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said on Tuesday he believed North Korea would stop its uranium enrichment program by the end of the year. Were the reclusive state to take such a step it would go beyond an agreement struck with regional powers to disable its nuclear facilities and reveal its atomic programs. Speaking to the Sydney Institute, Hill said that if North Korea agreed to abandon its last 50 kg of plutonium -- already produced at its Yongbyon reactor, which is to be dismantled -- then peace talks on the divided Korean peninsula could start. But he said shutting down and dismantling nuclear facilities was not the end of the road: Pyongyang must also dispose of any nuclear fuel to ensure facilities cannot be restarted. "We have been talking to the North Koreans about making sure there is no fuel to put back in the reactor," Hill said in off-the-cuff remarks to the Sydney Institute. "We have had a lot of discussions with the North Koreans ... I think that by the end of the year we have good reason to believe that whatever uranium enrichment program they have going, they will not have going by the end of the year." [HEU]
• Nuclear Deal With India May Be Near Collapse
  Premier Cites Internal Opposition To Agreement Pushed by Bush By Robin Wright and Rama Lakshmi Washington Post Staff Writers Tuesday, October 16, 2007; Page A01
  A controversial nuclear deal between the United States and India appears close to collapse after the Indian prime minister told President Bush yesterday that "certain difficulties" will prevent India from moving forward on the pact for the foreseeable future. The main obstacle does not involve the specific terms of the agreement but rather India's internal politics, including fears from leftist parties that India is moving too close to the United States, according to officials and experts familiar with the deal. Besieged over the past two months by growing opposition to nuclear energy cooperation with the United States, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh indicated over the weekend that he would rather save his coalition government than the nuclear pact. [Nuclear deal]
• N.Korea Tightens Security at Nuclear Test Site
  A satellite image of North Korea's nuclear test site in Punggye-ri, North Hamgyeong Province, taken by the domestic multipurpose satellite Arirang-2 on Oct. 16, 2006. South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities are watching North Korean moves to tighten security in Punggye-ri, North Hamgyeong Province, where it carried out a nuclear test in October last year. The North recently set up a barbed wire fence around the test site and stationed more soldiers there. A South Korean government official on Sunday said a U.S. reconnaissance satellite detected the development, and Seoul and Washington are keeping an eye on Pyongyang while trying to figure out what it means. They believe North Korea has strengthened security to prevent outside inspectors from collecting soil that could be used for analysis of last year's nuclear test. Seoul believes North Korea will not conduct any more nuclear tests in Punggye-ri since agreeing to implement second-phase denuclearization measures originally agreed in a Sept. 19, 2005 six-nation statement of principles.
• Israel Silent on Reports of Bombing Within Syria
  By STEVEN ERLANGER Published: October 15, 2007 JERUSALEM, Oct. 14 - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Israeli officials declined Sunday to confirm or deny a report that an Israeli Air Force strike against Syria last month had bombed a partly constructed nuclear reactor of North Korean design.
• A Denuclearized Korea
  Published: October 15, 2007 To the Editor: Op-Ed Contributor: Kim Jong-il's Last Card (October 8, 2007) Re "Kim Jong-il's Last Card" (Op-Ed, Oct. 8): Jason T. Shaplen and James Laney offer a rarity: a new idea on North Korea. China taking physical possession of Pyongyang's fissile materials on the latter's territory has consequences beyond their own assessment. One downside: if things ever get nasty, Beijing could give it all back. That's unlikely, but the capacity would increase Chinese leverage vis-à-vis the United States in the region. On the upside, Beijing's control over fuel and food spigots would impede Pyongyang from throwing China out as it did the International Atomic Energy Agency, locking in Pyongyang's commitments and so facilitating an ultimate arrangement to remove the fissile materials from the country. China's strengthened de facto security guarantee to North Korea plus United States reliance on China's control of the fissile materials would increase both Beijing's and Washington's incentives to keep Korea out of play between them. Net result: a nearly denuclearized Korean Peninsula and improved regional cooperation. Not bad! Wade L. Huntley Vancouver, British Columbia Oct. 8, 2007 The writer is director, Simons Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Research, University of British Columbia.  
• Pre-emptive Caution: The Case of Syria
  Stephen Crowley/The New York Times In 2002, President Bush, seen here with Colin L. Powell, then secretary of state, and Vice President Dick Cheney, spoke of "the world's worst weapons" in Saddam Hussein's hands.
  By DAVID E. SANGER Published: October 15, 2007 WASHINGTON, Oct. 14 - It was President Bush who, a year after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, rewrote America's national security strategy to warn any nation that might be thinking of trying to develop atomic weapons that it could find itself the target of a pre-emptive military strike. But that was the fall of 2002, when the world looked very different from how it does in the fall of 2007. Now, the case of Syria, which Israeli and American analysts suspect was trying to build a nuclear reactor, has become a prime example of what can happen when Mr. Bush's first-term instincts run headlong into second-term realities. Five years later, dealing with nations that may have nuclear weapons ambitions - but are also staying within the letter of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty - looks a lot more complicated than it once did.
• Analysts Find Israel Struck a Nuclear Project Inside Syria
  By DAVID E. SANGER and MARK MAZZETTI Published: October 14, 2007 WASHINGTON, Oct. 13 - Israel's air attack on Syria last month was directed against a site that Israeli and American intelligence analysts judged was a partly constructed nuclear reactor, apparently modeled on one North Korea has used to create its stockpile of nuclear weapons fuel, according to American and foreign officials with access to the intelligence reports. The description of the target addresses one of the central mysteries surrounding the Sept. 6 attack, and suggests that Israel carried out the raid to demonstrate its determination to snuff out even a nascent nuclear project in a neighboring state. The Bush administration was divided at the time about the wisdom of Israel's strike, American officials said, and some senior policy makers still regard the attack as premature. [Dissension] [Evidence]
• KCNA Blasts Some Congressmen for Standing in Way of Six-Party Talks
  Pyongyang, October 12 (KCNA) -- Some lawmakers from the Republican Party of the United States recently introduced a bill to Congress urging the U.S. not to de-list the DPRK as a sponsor of terrorism. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, member of the House of Representatives, who sponsored the bill, put up in the bill such unreasonable conditionalities as putting an end to cooperation in the field of development of banned military equipment and cooperation in the nuclear field with Syria, insisting that the U.S. policy toward the DPRK should not be based on the hope that it would honor its commitments but based on its actual performance. This is nothing but reckless remarks beclouding the prospect of the talks as they are intended to stem the trend of the times toward detente over the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula and put a brake on the process to advance the six-party talks and warm up the DPRK-U.S. relations. The DPRK cannot overlook the brazen-faced remarks made by the U.S. chief executive against his dialogue partner on the international arena, timed to coincide with the introduction of the above-said bill by U.S. conservative hard-liners. He, addressing the UN General Assembly on Sept. 25, went so reckless as to mention some countries including the DPRK and call them "brutal regimes". [Dissension] [Vituperation]
• North Korea: neutral instead of nuclear
  By Bruce Cumings
  Kim Jong Il confronts Bush — and wins
  The leaders of South and North Korea have met. The meeting had been formally delayed since the summer because of serious flooding in the North – but in fact both sides had to wait six years for this opportunity The two Korean heads of state met for the first time in June 2000 in Pyongyang. Kim Jong Il, leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), was supposed to reciprocate by visiting Seoul, but he never did. Now he has succeeded in having a South Korean president visit his capital again.
  But the real reason for the summit is the entirely unexpected warming of relations between President George W Bush and Kim Jong Il, manifest in the 13 February agreement on denuclearisation, the origins of which remain murky. [Agreement070213] [KR_Summit07] [US NK policy] [Dissension]
• Hill: North must give up plutonium
  October 11, 2007 The United States will not normalize ties with North Korea until the communist country gives up all of the plutonium it has produced, a senior U.S. official said yesterday. “We are not going to get to normalized, full diplomatic relations until North Korea gives up all of its nuclear ambitions and that last 50 kilos [110 pounds] of material that they’ve already got,” Christopher Hill said in an interview on the Charlie Rose Show last week. A transcript of that discussion was released yesterday by the U.S. State Department. Earlier this month, Pyongyang committed itself to declaring and disabling its nuclear programs by the end of this year in return for energy and economic aid. The deal does not address the issue of what to do with the plutonium, uranium or equipment used in the North’s nuclear programs. Privately, South Korean officials have suggested storing it in a third country, such as Russia. The normalization of ties is the biggest prize to North Korea [HEU] [NK US policy]
• N. Korea celebrates one year anniversary of nuclear test
  . On the one-year anniversary of its first nuclear test, North Korea gushed praise over the country's success and its leader, saying the test was a "miracle." "Our leader Kim Jong-il has brought to us, 70 million people (on the Korean Peninsula), the sky of lasting peace, prosperity and hope," said the Rodong Shinmun, the newspaper of the ruling North Korean Workers' Party monitored in Seoul.
• U.S. nuclear experts group to delay North Korean trip to Thursday
  . A group of U.S. nuclear experts will fly to Pyongyang Thursday to discuss detailed steps for the disablement of the North's nuclear facilities, delaying its trip by two days from its original schedule, a diplomatic source here said Monday.
• Questioning the India deal
  Published: October 7, 2007 The Bush administration and the American business community have been hoping for a swift, rubber-stamp approval of their ill-conceived nuclear trade deal with India. Luckily, some members of Congress, and some American allies, are finally asking questions. Congress was far too uncritical when it gave preliminary approval to the agreement in December. As a next step, Washington must get a change in rules from the Nuclear Suppliers Group, the main providers of so-called civilian nuclear technology around the world. All nuclear trade with India has been banned since it refused to sign the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and tested nuclear weapons. Now some members of Congress are beginning to raise doubts about the deal. A proposal introduced in the House last week would be a "sense of the House" resolution. But by highlighting bipartisan concerns, it should bolster skeptics in the suppliers' group who rightfully fear that the agreement could benefit New Delhi's weapons program as much as its pursuit of nuclear power, while making it even harder to rein in the ambitions of nuclear wannabes, including Iran. American and Indian officials have offered conflicting interpretations about whether - as the law demands, but the agreement fudges - the United States would cut off trade and fuel deliveries if the Indians test another nuclear weapon. The resolution also instructs the administration to ensure that any change in the suppliers' group rules be consistent with U.S. law. This would include adopting specific conditions that would require all member states to halt nuclear trade with India if New Delhi tests a weapon. If the suppliers' group fails to set these conditions, it will be far too easy for New Delhi to do an end-run around Washington and buy technology and fuel from states that are even more eager to make a buck.
  President George W. Bush is right when he says that the United States needs to develop strong ties with democratic India. But he erred in making a nuclear deal the centerpiece of that relationship. And he erred by being so eager for a deal that sufficient thought wasn't given to its implications. Now it's up to Congress and other countries to try to limit the damage. [Nuclear deal]
• U.S.-led team to assess nuclear disablement in N. Korea
  Phase two denuclearization to be completed by end of October with foreign ministers' meetings to follow
  As a group of nuclear experts are planning to visit North Korea on October 9, second-phase denuclearization efforts are gaining momentum. Unlike the previous delegation composed of officials from the United States, China and Russia, this time a South Korean official and a group of U.S. experts will travel to the communist country. In return, the United States began taking measures to remove North Korea from its list of nations that sponsor terrorism on October 4.
• Kim Jong-il's Last Card
  By JASON T. SHAPLEN and JAMES LANEY Published: October 8, 2007 ONE year ago tomorrow, North Korea conducted its first nuclear test, a small explosion that established it as the newest member of the world's nuclear club. Strangely, since then, the prospects for peace and stability in northeastern Asia have never been better. North Korea's agreement, last week, to disable all its nuclear facilities by year's end is the biggest step so far in the right direction.
  The nuclear test seemed to give President Bush focus. He took control of his administration's policy toward the North, ending a six-year feud between hard-line conservatives who favor the collapse of Kim Jong-il's regime and others who favor negotiation. Eager for a foreign policy success before leaving office, Mr. Bush granted substantial negotiating power to Christopher R. Hill, the State Department's point person on North Korea, and instructed him to reach a deal.
• Nuclear Power Primed for Comeback
  Demand, Subsidies Spur U.S. Utilities By Steven Mufson Washington Post Staff Writer Monday, October 8, 2007; Page A01 CHEROKEE COUNTY, S.C. -- Two decades ago, after Duke Energy abandoned its partly built nuclear power reactors here, the site was sold and turned into a movie set. Director James Cameron used it to film "The Abyss," a 1989 movie about civilian divers who encounter aliens while trying to rescue a stricken nuclear submarine. Cameron filled the unused nuclear containment building with water and hauled a section of an oil rig, a tiny submarine and fiberglass rocks inside to make convincing underwater scenes. Now there's a new twist in the plot: The nuclear power industry is trying to come back from its own abyss. With natural gas prices volatile and people anxious about climate change, the nuclear power industry is touting its technology as a way to meet the nation's growing energy needs without emitting more greenhouse gases. Over the next two years, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission expects applications to build as many as 32 new nuclear reactors.
• Derailing a deal
  by Noam Chomsky
  7 October 2007 NUCLEAR-armed states are criminal states. They have a legal obligation, confirmed by the World Court, to live up to Article 6 of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, which calls on them to carry out good-faith negotiations to eliminate nuclear weapons entirely. None of the nuclear states has lived up to it. The United States is a leading violator, especially the Bush administration, which even has stated that it isn't subject to Article 6. On July 27, Washington entered into an agreement with India that guts the central part of the NPT, though there remains substantial opposition in both countries.
  In most of the world, few can fail to see the cynicism. Washington rewards allies and clients that ignore the NPT rules entirely, while threatening war against Iran, which is not known to have violated the NPT, despite extreme provocation: The United States has occupied two of Iran's neighbours and openly sought to overthrow the Iranian regime since it broke free of US control in 1979. [Nuclear deal] [NPT] [Double standards]
• Non-nuclear missile plan stalls
  Congress, Russia say conventional Trident might lead to a full-scale war
  By ERIC ROSENBERG Oct. 7, 2007, 12:03AM Copyright 2007 Hearst News Service WASHINGTON — Congress has derailed a Pentagon project that would arm some intercontinental ballistic missiles with conventional warheads to provide a non-nuclear option of striking targets thousands of miles away. The Pentagon had sought to deploy the conventional-warhead version of the Navy's Trident ICBM as early as next year. Four committees — the House and Senate armed services committee and appropriations committees — have proposed either killing the program or delaying it for further study. The upshot is that the Pentagon program won't go forward next year. The lawmakers are concerned that Russia or China might mistake a submarine-launched conventional Trident for a nuclear attack and retaliate with their own nuclear weapons.
  Possible targets are alleged nuclear weapons facilities in North Korea and Iran.
• Resolution in US House seeks restraints on N-trade
  Washington, Oct. 5 (PTI): Cutting across party lines, a small group of senior lawmakers have introduced a non-binding resolution in the US House of Representatives seeking tough restraints on nuclear trade with India. The move is seen as indicating not only displeasure by a section of members but also intended to significantly delay or perhaps outright derail the final passage of the civilian nuclear initiative that will operationalise the Indo-US deal. [Nuclear deal]
• North Korean Mystery
  By Jim Hoagland
  Sunday, October 7, 2007; Page B07 Two big questions hang over the new agreement to contain North Korea's nuclear weapons program at its current level -- whatever that level is. Why has a secretive government addicted to power politics and flexing its military muscles abruptly turned to negotiations and peaceful compromise?
  And why is North Korea doing the same? The Bush administration, of course, cannot match Kim Jong Il's regime in paranoia, bellicosity and information control, although this White House seems at times to have been tempted to try. Other countries know next to nothing about Pyongyang's motivations, intentions or even its ability to carry out any agreement it makes.
  North Korea's desperation as its economy implodes and its people starve is clearly part of the answer [Bizarre] [Sanctions effect]
• Sixth Session of Second Phase of Six-party Talks Held
  Pyongyang, October 5 (KCNA) -- The sixth session of the second phase of the six-party talks was held in Beijing from Sept. 27 to 30. The session reviewed the implementation of February 13 agreement, the first-phase measure for the implementation of the September 19, 2005 joint statement for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and discussed the next-phase goals and commitments of the six parties before adopting a joint document. According to the joint document made public on October 3, the U.S. decided to take such political measures as delisting the DPRK as a terrorism sponsor and putting an end to the application of the Trading with the Enemy Act in return for the DPRK's neutralization of its nuclear facilities by the end of 2007 on the principle of "action for action" and the five parties decided to wind up the economic compensation equivalent to one million tons of heavy fuel oil whose supply has already started and is now underway under February 13 agreement.
• Roh says he confirmed N. Korean leader's commitment to denuclearization
  President Roh Moo-hyun, returning to South Korea Thursday evening after winding up his three-day visit to North Korea, said that he confirmed North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's determination to denuclearize the communist North. "My trip to North Korea was very satisfactory," Roh said at a ceremony for his return held near the inter-Korean border. "I and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il came to understand each other better. I confirmed Kim's commitment to the denuclearization of the North. I found no problem in North Korea's implementation of its denuclearization," said the president.
• U.S. to start steps to remove North Korea from list of terror-sponsoring state
  North allows nuclear inspectors as early as next week and will be removed from terrorism list by year's end
  SEOUL/WASHINGTON - During the sixth round of six-party talks, North Korea and the United States reached a separate agreement aimed at removing the North from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism by the end of this year. The U.S. is known to have started the 45-day procedure required to remove it from the list. In addition, North Korea agreed to allow nuclear experts, led by the United States, to clarify suspicions over a uranium enrichment program for the first time. A senior diplomatic source who is familiar with North Korea-U.S. relations said on October 4, "Though a publicized six-party agreement didn't contain an exact date for when the U.S. will remove North Korea from the list of state sponsors of terrorism, there is a separate agreement that confirms the timing. And the timing is the end of this year, the same deadline for North Korea to disable its nuclear programs." Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, the U.S. chief negotiator to the six-party talks, also admitted that a series of "side understandings" which serve to clarify the substance of the agreement were reached during the latest round of talks, the Washington Post reported. Such forms of compromise appear to have facilitated the settlement of the final agreement between the six nations involved in the talks: North and South Korea, China, Japan, Russia and the United States. In a teleconference with journalists, Hill said the U.S. government will start consulting with the Congress to remove North Korea from the list of state sponsors of terrorism beginning on October 4. North Korea and the U.S. will hold a series of talks next week to discuss the specifics of removing Pyongyang from the terrorism list, Hill said. He added that both nations have a clear understanding of the issue and the U.S. is willing to move swiftly. In addition, North Korea will allow nuclear experts to examine aluminum tubes, a source of speculation over the uranium enrichment program, another diplomatic source said on the same day. "North Korea acknowledged it imported the aluminum tubes in August from Russia," the source said. "During the latest round of six-party talks in Beijing last month, North Korea expressed its will to allow the nuclear experts to examine the tubes." Citing Hill, the Washington Post reported that North Korea promised to make a satisfactory explanation over the suspicions on its uranium enrichment program. If North Korea has a uranium enrichment facility, it would also be a subject of disablement, the report said. [HEU] [Terrorism list]  
• On the Status of the Six Party Talks
  'It's never been an easy sell in Washington,' says Chris Hill
    Ronda Hauben (netizen2)
  Published 2007-10-04 12:09 (KST)   At a press conference held in New York City on Tuesday, Oct. 2, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill answered questions and outlined some of his concerns regarding the recent session of the Six-Party talks (1) held in Beijing, Sept. 27-30. Hill said that originally there was not to be a formal statement of agreement, but that on Sunday morning before the session was to end, the Chinese hosts distributed a draft of a short statement for the six parties to consider. Hill said that each of the parties took the statement back to their capitols to seek approval. For Hill, this meant flying to New York City to meet with Secretary of State Rice who had been attending UN related events. Then the proposal was brought to President Bush for his approval.
  When Hill was asked how difficult was the process of getting an agreement from Washington, he said "It's never been an easy sell in Washington." Hill explained the agreement in general terms, as the press conference was held before the statement was officially released. [Dissension]
• Rogue Regulator
  Mohamed ElBaradei pursues a separate peace with Iran.
  Wednesday, September 5, 2007; Page A20 FOR SOME time Mohamed ElBaradei, the Egyptian diplomat who heads the International Atomic Energy Agency, has made it clear he considers himself above his position as a U.N. civil servant. Rather than carry out the policy of the Security Council or the IAEA board, for which he nominally works, Mr. ElBaradei behaves as if he were independent of them, free to ignore their decisions and to use his agency to thwart their leading members -- above all the United States. Mr. ElBaradei was lionized by opponents of the Iraq war for debunking Bush administration charges that Saddam Hussein had restarted his nuclear program before the 2003 invasion. Emboldened, he has now set himself a new task: stopping what he considers to be the "crazies" in Washington who "want to say, 'Let us go and bomb Iran.' " We're not part of that camp, though we consider its members saner than many of the statements of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. But what's really unacceptable is Mr. ElBaradei's way of accomplishing his aim, which is to excuse the Iranian activity that most justifies the would-be bombers -- uranium enrichment -- while also trying to undermine the principal non-military leverage against it, which is economic sanctions. [UNUS] [ElBaradei]
• An Indispensable Irritant to Iran and Its Foes
  By ELAINE SCIOLINO and WILLIAM J. BROAD Published: September 17, 2007 VIENNA — Late in August, Mohamed ElBaradei put the finishing touches on a nuclear accord negotiated in secret with Iran. The deal would be divisive and risky, one of the biggest gambles of his 10 years as director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Iran would answer questions about its clandestine nuclear past in exchange for a series of concessions. With no advance notice or media strategy, Dr. ElBaradei ordered the plan released in the evening. And then he waited. The next day, diplomats from the United States, France, Britain and Germany marched into his office atop a Vienna skyscraper to deliver a joint protest. The deal, they said, amounted to irresponsible meddling that threatened to undermine a United Nations Security Council strategy to punish, not reward, Tehran. [UNUS] [ElBaradei]
• Second-Phase Actions for the Implementation of the Joint Statement
  Full text of joint document of the second session of the sixth round six-party talks
  October 04, 2007 A joint document, named the Second-Phase Actions for the Implementation of the Joint Statement, was released here Wednesday after a two-day recess of the second session of the sixth round of the six-party talks. The full text is as follows:….
• Nuclear accord with North Korea hailed by U.S.
  By Warren P. Strobel and Tim Johnson | McClatchy Newspapers * Posted on Wednesday, October 3, 2007
  WASHINGTON - North Korea's agreement to shut down its main nuclear complex and provide a full accounting of its weapons program by Dec. 31 appears to be a significant step forward that could herald warming ties between the isolated North and the United States. Past agreements with North Korea have collapsed amid acrimony on all sides. But this deal caps 10 months of productive diplomacy that followed North Korea's underground detonation of a nuclear device a year ago next Tuesday.
• To Reach Pact With N. Korea, Bush Adopted an Approach He Had Criticized
  By Glenn Kessler Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, October 4, 2007; Page A17
  Three years ago this month, President Bush met Democratic challenger John F. Kerry in a debate and declared that Kerry's answer on negotiations with North Korea "made me want to scowl." Bush said that Kerry was advocating a "naive and dangerous" policy of offering to conduct bilateral negotiations with Pyongyang in parallel with the six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear ambitions. "That's what President Clinton did," Bush asserted, saying Kerry's idea would undermine the six-party talks. Clinton "had bilateral talks with the North Korean, and guess what happened: He [Kim Jong Il] didn't honor the agreement."
  If there was any doubt, yesterday's announcement in Beijing of a new agreement with North Korea demonstrates how much Bush has adopted the approach he once condemned. The agreement was reached after bilateral negotiations between the United States and North Korea, held in parallel with the six-nation talks, just as Kerry had suggested. Under the deal, North Korea is to begin disabling its core [Bilateral]
• U.S. endorses six-party agreement on N.K. nuclear disablement
  . The United States approved the tentative agreement reached at six-party denuclearization talks in full after a review with the White House, the State Department said Tuesday.
• Nuclear whistleblower Vanunu appeals jail term for foreign ties
  By Reuters Nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu is contesting a new jail sentence received for maintaining unauthorized ties with foreigners after he completed an 18-year prison term for treason, his lawyer said on Monday. Attorney Avigdor Feldman said that Vanunu had filed an appeal on Sunday with the district court in Jerusalem, where a lower court sentenced him to six months behind bars in July. "The immediate significance is that my client will not be going back to jail any time soon," Feldman told Reuters, adding that he expected a decision on the appeal within three months. Advertisement Vanunu was first imprisoned in 1986 after giving a tell-all interview to a British newspaper about his work as a mid-level technician at Israel's main atomic reactor outside the southern desert town of Dimona. The disclosures all but blew away the iron-clad secrecy around Israel's assumed atomic arsenal. [Double standards]
• DPRK Delegation Returns
  Pyongyang, October 2 (KCNA) -- The DPRK delegation headed by Kim Kye Gwan, vice-minister of Foreign Affairs, returned home Tuesday after participating in the six-party talks held in Beijing.
• Israel says it bombed Syria, but why remains a mystery
  By Dion Nissenbaum | McClatchy Newspapers * Posted on Tuesday, October 2, 2007
  .JERUSALEM - Nearly a month after a mysterious Israeli military airstrike in Syria generated political aftershocks from Washington to North Korea, the Israeli government lifted its official veil of secrecy Tuesday. It didn't provide much new information about what took place on Sept. 6, however. While its government censor cleared the way for journalists here to report that the incident had taken place, rigid rules remained in effect that ban reporting what the target was, what troops were involved or why the strike was ordered.
  The dearth of information has allowed fertile speculation: The strike was a dry run for an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities. The target was an Iranian missile cache bound for Hezbollah Islamic fighters in Lebanon. The attack hit a fledgling Syrian-North Korean nuclear weapons program. Or it was meant to thwart efforts to provide Hezbollah with a "dirty bomb" to use against Israel. This being the Middle East, however, the simplest theories generally are discounted in favor of more convoluted explanations. One of the latest theories is that North Korea told the United States it had sold nuclear technology to Syria, which prompted the U.S. to tell Israel that North Korea had sold nuclear technology to Syria, which prompted Israel to attack the North Korean technology in Syria. Follow? The problem of separating fact from fiction is compounded by the fact that all sides routinely leak distorted, exaggerated or downright bogus information to conceal the truth and wage psychological warfare on one another.
  The Washington Post, meanwhile, reported that Israel had told the U.S. that Syria was working with North Korea on a nuclear weapons program. The Post reported that the strike came three days after a ship from North Korea arrived in Syria. The ship was said to be carrying cement, but unnamed officials told The Post that it was really military materiel sent to the site hit by the Israeli raid. U.S. intelligence officials are skeptical of those claims. Syria, they argue, lacks the technical infrastructure and the money for a nuclear weapons program; its leaders may not be reckless enough to pursue one when their country is under constant surveillance and within range of Israel's military; and the North Koreans, who are as closely watched as Syria is, are unlikely partners for a secret program.
• North Korean Talks Close to Consensus
  . By HELENE COOPER Published: October 3, 2007
  WASHINGTON, Oct. 2 - The United States has endorsed a plan for dismantling North Korea's nuclear facilities by the end of the year, Bush administration officials said Tuesday. Negotiators reached agreement on a draft in Beijing on Sunday after four days of six-nation talks, but said at the time that they needed final approval from their superiors in Moscow, Washington, Seoul, Tokyo, Beijing and Pyongyang. The draft sets out a timetable for North Korea to disclose all its nuclear programs and disable all facilities in return for 950,000 metric tons of fuel oil or its equivalent in economic aid.
• N. Korea Nuclear Accord Reached
  Side Deal With U.S. Involves Terror List By Glenn Kessler Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, October 3, 2007; Page A14
  North Korea will begin disabling key nuclear facilities within weeks and start disclosing details of its nuclear programs under a six-nation agreement to be announced this week, U.S. and Asian diplomats said yesterday. Success on the deal appears to have been aided by a "side understanding" between Washington and Pyongyang that could accelerate the removal of North Korea from a U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism.
  .The United States also appears willing to accept, initially, more limited action to disable three key nuclear facilities at Yongbyon than it originally sought, with the understanding that additional work to incapacitate the facilities would occur later. In exchange, North Korea is expected to disclose the extent of its weapons-grade plutonium, including how much was used in a nuclear test last year. North Korea also will allow nuclear experts from Russia, China and the United States to examine aluminum tubes procured from Russia that could have been used in a uranium-enrichment program, diplomats said. But diplomats said it is unclear whether North Korea will admit to acquiring centrifuges for use in such a program, as the United States has charged. The Bush administration in 2002 accused North Korea of having a clandestine uranium-enrichment program, and the accusation led to the collapse of a 1994 deal that had frozen the facilities at Yongbyon. [HEU] [Terrorism list]
• N.Korea Won't Declare Nuclear Weapons This Year
      North Korea has made it clear in six-nation talks that it will report its nuclear programs but not its nuclear weapons by year's end. After the six-party talks came to an end Sunday, the chief North Korean negotiator Kim Kye-gwan reportedly said, "We can't declare nuclear weapons this year, because if we do it at this stage, our nuclear weapons technology level will be revealed." He hinted North Korea wants to keep its nuclear weapons as the last bargaining chip for the negotiations.
• Six-Party Talks in Breakthrough Nuclear Deal
    The six countries in talks on North Korea's nuclear problem dramatically agreed on a joint statement, South Korea's chief delegate to the talks said Sunday. However, the statement will be formally adopted after a two-day recess, subject to approval by the governments of some member countries, he said. After adopting it, the six countries will announce the statement which requires North Korea to report and disable its nuclear facilities by Dec. 31. Chun said the joint statement pinpoints no deadline for the U.S. to remove the North from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, but North Korea did not insist on a date because both the U.S. and the North promised in the statement to stick to a recent Geneva agreement, Chun said. There, Washington promised to remove Pyongyang from the state terrorism sponsor list around the time the North completes the reporting and disablement of its nuclear programs
• Six-parties agree on tentative timetable
  Full statement to be released later this week; U.S., N. Korea may have reached agreement on terror list removal
  On September 30, envoys at the six-party talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear program agreed on a statement detailing action plans on how to push the disarmament process forward. Though the statement still needs final approval from the nations of the six parties involved before it can be released later this week, negotiators on all sides appear satisfied with the results of this round. The main sticking point, however, remains the removal of North Korea from the United States' list of state sponsors of terrorism, but the South Korean envoy has indicated that even this may soon be resolved. The tentative deal is known to include removing the North from the U.S. state sponsors of terror list, providing 400,000 tons of heavy oil or aid equivalent to 500,000 tons, and offering power generation equipment and its maintenance in return for Pyongyang's complete disablement and declaration of its nuclear program by the end of the year.
• Denuclearization of N. Korea takes a step forward
  [Editorial]   North Korea is taking a very proactive approach to denuclearization. At the three-day round of six-party talks in Beijing it is said to have announced its intention to declare everything about its production, use and current stock of plutonium and accept outside verification. It also had the attitude that it would speak to all suspicions regarding a uranium enrichment program. This is consistent with the "complete declaration of all nuclear programs" as called for in the February 13 agreement. There has also been concrete agreement about North Korea "disabling" all existing nuclear facilities within the end of the year. Central to this will be removing the key parts from, and keeping under special care, the 5-megawatt reactor at Yongbyon, a reprocessing facility and nuclear fuel rod manufacturing plant. The United States has long put pressure on North Korea, but at this recent round of talks North Korea strongly demanded action in response from the United States, showing you how the six-party process has been through all kinds of ups and downs and now enters a new phase.
• Removing N.K. from U.S. terrorism list requires 45-day process initiated by U.S. president
    he removal of North Korea from the U.S. list of states sponsoring terrorism, one of the terms said to be in the denuclearization agreement to be announced later this week, is a 45-day process that the U.S. president must initiate. North Korea was placed on the list on Jan. 20, 1988, less than two months after the bombing of a South Korean passenger jet over the Andaman Sea near Burma. Pyongyang's agents were accused of the Nov. 28, 1987 bombing that killed everyone aboard, including 11 crew members and 104 passengers. [Terrorism list]
• Plan to Disarm North Korea Is Evaluated as Talks Recess
  By DAVID LAGUE Published: October 1, 2007 BEIJING, Sept. 30 - Talks on dismantling North Korea's nuclear program broke Sunday for a two-day recess so delegates could consult their governments on a draft plan and timetable to disable the North's nuclear facilities. The draft agreed to after four days of six-nation talks here was expected to be made public after the recess, negotiators said without revealing further details. [media]

• Japan urges ‘total elimination’ of nuclear weapons, top official tells UN
  28 September 2007 – Japan is committed to bolstering global efforts for the elimination of nuclear weapons, the country’s newly-appointed foreign minister told the United Nations General Assembly’s annual high-level debate today. Japan, as the only country ever to suffer nuclear devastation, “will again submit a draft resolution at this session of the General Assembly to map out concrete measures toward the total elimination of nuclear weapons,” said Foreign Minister Masahiko Koumura. He welcomed the Security Council’s adoption by consensus of several resolutions regarding the nuclear programmes of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and Iran.
  Elsewhere, Japan is dedicated to assisting other countries consolidate peace and stability, he said. In Iraq, Japan has been aiding reconstruction efforts through is provision of $5 billion in Official Development Assistance (ODA) and through its dispatching of Self-Defence Forces. [Double standards] [Spin]
• N.Korea Must Come Clean About its Nuclear Arsenal
  Six-party talks on ending North Korea's nuclear weapons program began in Beijing on Thursday. Ahead of the official meetings, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill met with Kim Kye-gwan, North Korea's vice foreign minister, and said after the meeting, "We would like to do more, (North Korea) would like to do less. (But) we will figure out a way through that, this is not a big gap." Early this month, the U.S. and North Korea agreed in Geneva to dismantle the communist country's nuclear facilities by the end of this year. It would be a significant step toward scrapping North Korea's nuclear program if the specific steps for disablement the two sides are set to agree on this time do not veer too far away from the original aim of the Geneva agreement.
  If it tries again to deceive the international community, as it did after the Geneva Accords by secretly enriching uranium after promising to freeze its nuclear program, then all of the efforts made so far will go to waste. The prospects at this point are not dim. North Korea admitted to U.S. officials early this month that it had imported from Russia around 2,600 aluminum tubes used to make uranium-enrichment centrifuges [HEU]
• White House authorizes energy assistance to North Korea
        The White House on Friday authorized up to US$25 million in energy assistance to North Korea, fulfilling its initial share of aid under a six-nation denuclearization agreement.  
• N.Korea 'to Remove Core Devices From Reactors'
    North Korea is close to agreement with the U.S. to remove or disable a core device from each of its three nuclear facilities in Yongbyon, sources said Thursday. The agreement is emerging in a new round of six-country nuclear talks that opened in Beijing on Thursday. The core devices include an apparatus controlling the speed of nuclear fission in the 5-MW nuclear reactor, a device for cutting spent fuel rods in a reprocessing facility and a mold at a fuel rod factory.
• Syria issue not affecting six-party talks: S. Korean foreign minister
  South Korean Foreign Minister Song Min-soon on Thursday played down continuing reports alleging North Korea-Syria nuclear cooperation, saying they were not affecting negotiations under way to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula.
• Many problems may emerge at new round of 6-way talks-Losyukov
  26.09.2007, 13.52 BEIJING, September 26 (Itar-Tass) - Head of the Russian delegation at the six-sided talks on the North Korean nuclear problem settlement Alexander Losyukov believes that “many problems may arise” at the forthcoming round of the talks. “They arise quite unexpectedly, however we try to settle them,” the Russian deputy foreign minister said at the airport of the Chinese capital on Wednesday. The deputy foreign minister also stressed that “there is limited success – the talks continue and are yielding certain results.” Losyukov noted, however that at the forthcoming round “it is necessary to look what the results are like.” According to the Russian delegation head, “It is necessary first of all to assess prospects of the freezing process, denuclearisation and disabling” of North Korean nuclear facilities.
  Besides, “it is necessary to look in what mood are the North Korean colleagues regarding the fulfillment of the planned programmes,” he pointed out. In the view of Losyukov, representatives of Pyongyang “will be interested in the compensation measures fulfillment.”
  The Russian deputy foreign minister also said that he intended to meet on Wednesday some colleagues in the multilateral dialogue, in particular, with Chinese officials. The second stage of the sixth round of the talks on the nuclear problem of the Korean Peninsula will be held in Beijing on September 27-30. Representatives of China, Russia, the United States, South Korea and North Korea are expected to discuss further steps aimed at dismantling Pyongyang’s nuclear programme. The steps include making public by North Korea of the full list of remaining nuclear facilities and their following total liquidation in exchange for economic aid and normalization of relations with Tokyo and Washington.
• Bush Calls N.Korea a 'Brutal Regime'
    U.S. President George W. Bush denounced North Korea as a "brutal regime" in the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, ending months of restraint in his remarks about the country while nuclear negotiations are underway. North Korea in turn strongly protested against suspicions raised in the U.S. that it sold nuclear materials to Syria. The new development bodes ill for six-nation nuclear talks slated to start on Thursday in Beijing. In his speech at the UN, Bush said, "The people of Lebanon and Afghanistan and Iraq have asked for our help, and every civilized nation has a responsibility to stand with them. In Belarus, North Korea, Syria, and Iran, brutal regimes deny their people fundamental rights." [Chutzpah]
• Mixed signals from U.S. cast cloud over six-party talks
  U.S. President's U.N. speech names North Korea among countries housing brutal regimes
    BEIJING, WASHINGTON - Just a few days ahead the six-party talks, set to open today, news from the United States has cast a cloud over agreements on North Korea's nuclear disablement. First of all, there are mixed signals coming out of the United States. In his speech at the United Nations on Tuesday, U.S. President George Bush said that all civilized nations should play a role in standing up for people suffering under brutal regimes, citing Belarus, North Korea, Syria and Iran. This is not the first time that Bush has expressed negative views about North Korea.
• US says North Korea sanctions renew concerns of Pyongyang's proliferation
  The United States said Wednesday the newly announced sanctions against North Korea and a North Korean company, while already in place from previous measures, reinforce concerns about proliferation activities by the communist regime. The "net effect" of the sanctions may be the same, State Department spokesman Tom Casey said. "It's an indication once again of the serious concerns that exist about behavior by North Korean entities with respect to these kinds of technology transfers." [Strategic incoherence]
• Bush Calls NK Brutal Regime Ahead of 6-Way Talks
  Compiled From Wire Services
  U.S. President George W. Bush Tuesday described North Korea as one of the ``brutal regimes'' that oppresses its own people and urged the U.S. Congress to ratify the free trade agreement (FTA) between Seoul and Washington. In a speech at the U.N. General Assembly in New York, Bush criticized the U.N. human rights panel for its failure to speak up on these regimes in North Korea, Myanmar, Syria, Belarus and Iran. He lumped these countries as brutal regimes, saying that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is not being upheld in these countries. Bush made the remark two days before the six-way talks are to open in Beijing to denuclearize North Korea. Just one day before the crucial Beijing talks, the U.S. State Department plans to announce additional sanctions on North Korean entities connected to missile proliferation.
• Former Official: North Korea Aids Syria
  By BARRY SCHWEIDThe Associated Press Wednesday, September 26, 2007; 12:39 PM WASHINGTON -- The target of Israel's air strike in northeastern Syria earlier this month was either a joint nuclear or missile facility with North Korea, John R. Bolton, a former senior Bush administration official, said Wednesday. "I am definitely hearing it from U.S. and Israeli sources," Bolton said in an interview. "The information is very closely held."
  The strike raised tensions in the region, but has not stopped the Bush administration from including Syria in its plans for Mideast peacemaking or for six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear program. Those discussions are due to commence Thursday in Beijing. [Bolton]
• Israel, Syria and the Glaring Secret
  September 25, 2007  1754 GMT By George Friedman What happened in the Middle East on Sept. 6? The first reports came from the Syrians, who said their air defenses fired at an Israeli warplane that had penetrated Syrian airspace and dropped some ordnance on the country's North. The plane then fled toward the Mediterranean at supersonic speeds, the Syrians said, noting that sonic booms had been heard.
  When events get so strange that interpretation is a challenge, it usually indicates it was intended that way, that the events are significant and that they could point to further instability. We do not know whether that is true, but Israel and the United States have certainly worked hard to create a riddle wrapped in a mystery.
• Hill: Blocking 'Key' Nuke Work Enough
  09/27/2007 By Tsutomu Ishiai The Asahi Shimbun To move on to the next stage in talks over North Korea's nuclear programs, Pyongyang needs only to disable its "key programs" for plutonium production, not its entire roster of nuclear projects, visiting U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said Wednesday. Hill's comment could be a sign that Washington will take a more flexible approach in the next round of six-party talks that start today in Beijing. If so, Japan may find it hard to keep the United States on its side. Japan has yet to show a willingness to compromise on the abduction issue.
  Hill said the United States is looking for ways to disable Pyongyang's ability to produce more weapons-grade plutonium. Hill said the North has 50 kilograms of the stuff.
  Hill said measures to disable Pyongyang's suspected program to develop highly enriched uranium would be on the agenda in the next round of talks. "There is no point in talking about getting rid of the plutonium program if there is an enriched-uranium program going on," he said. "That is like closing the front door and leaving the back door wide open." [HEU] [Backdown]
• U.S. bill would set conditions on N. Korea terror list issue
  WASHINGTON - A U.S. lawmaker has introduced a bill that would prevent North Korea's removal from a U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism until it stops what the lawmaker described as nuclear and missile exports to rogue regimes. Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen said Tuesday that North Korea should also halt training and financing of terror groups, stop counterfeiting U.S. currency and release abducted Japanese citizens before the United States lifts economic and political sanctions. "Our policy toward this regime cannot be based on the hope that it will actually honor its commitments but based instead on its actual performance," Ros-Lehtinen said. Under a February accord, North Korea said it would scrap its nuclear programs. In return, the United States agreed to open talks on normalizing relations with the North and to explore removing the terrorism designation. [Terrorism list] [Dissension] [Agreement070213] [Media] [Disinformation]
• Nukes wrangle threatens Indian government
  Sep 26, 2007 By Praful Bidwai NEW DELHI - As India's coalition government tries to complete the controversial nuclear cooperation deal with the United States, it finds itself caught between domestic opposition to the agreement from its left-wing allies and pressure from Washington to seal the deal. For the agreement to be completed, it needs to be approved by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and must receive unconditional exemption from the rules for nuclear commerce set by the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers' Group (NSG), before it is put up for ratification by the US Congress. At stake is the survival of India's United Progressive Alliance government, which needs the support of the left for a parliamentary majority. After a second round of talks between the UPA coalition and the left in a 15-member committee three days ago, the two sides seem [Nuclear deal]
• Israel Seeks Exemption From Atomic Rules
    By GEORGE JAHN Tuesday September 25, 2007 7:31 PM Associated Press Writer VIENNA, Austria (AP) - Israel is looking to a U.S.-India nuclear deal to expand its own ties to suppliers, quietly lobbying for an exemption to non-proliferation rules so it can legally import atomic material, according to documents made available Tuesday to The Associated Press. The move is sure to raise concerns among Arab nations already considering their neighbor the region's atomic arms threat. Israel has never publicly acknowledged having nuclear weapons but is generally considered to posess them. The new push is reflected in papers Israel presented earlier this year to the ``Nuclear Suppliers' Group'' - 45 nations that export nuclear fuel and technology under strict rules meant to lessen the dangers of proliferation and trafficking in materials that could be used for a weapons program. The initiative appeared to be linked to a U.S.-India deal that would effectively waive the group's rules by allowing the United States to supply India with nuclear fuel despite its refusal both to sign the nonproliferation treaty and allowing the IAEA to inspect all of its nuclear facilities. [Chutzpah] [Double standards] [Nuclear deal]  
• Top NK Envoy Reiterates Denial of Pyongyang-Damascus Nuclear Ties
  BEIJING _ North Korea's chief nuclear negotiator reiterated Tuesday his country's denial of allegations that the North is helping Syria with a secret atomic weapons program, warning six-nation talks aimed at denuclearizing the North could grind to a halt if no substantial agreement is reached this week, Yonhap News reported.
• North Korea accuses US of helping Israel develop nuclear weapons
  The Associated Press Published: September 25, 2007 SEOUL, South Korea: North Korea accused the United States on Tuesday of actively providing nuclear weapons assistance to Israel while seeking to deprive other countries of the right to peaceful nuclear programs. North Korea's top nuclear negotiator, meanwhile, denied accusations that his country had cooperated with Syria on a secret nuclear project. The United States is "shutting its eyes" to the nuclear programs of its allies while "taking issue with the rights to nuclear activities of other countries for peaceful purposes," North Korea's communist party newspaper Rodong Sinmun said in a commentary carried by the official Korean Central News Agency. "As an illustration, the U.S. has long actively promoted and cooperated with the Israeli nuclear armament plan," the newspaper said. "They decided to provide assistance to Israel's nuclear development program. Then the U.S. dispatched nuclear experts to Israel and transferred highly enriched uranium, the key ingredient for nuclear weapons, to them." Israel is widely believed to be a nuclear power, but its government has never formally confirmed or denied that it has nuclear weapons. The Israeli "nuclear ambiguity" doctrine is largely meant to scare potential enemies from considering an annihilating attack while denying them the rationale for developing their own nuclear deterrent.  
• DPRK Delegation Leaves for Beijing
  Pyongyang, September 25 (KCNA) -- A delegation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea headed by Kim Kye Gwan, vice-minister of Foreign Affairs, left here today by air to participate in the six-party talks starting in Beijing on September 27
• U.S. Hit for Its Unreasonable Nuclear Policy
  Pyongyang, September 25 (KCNA) -- The United States is not fulfilling any commitments under NPT, but, taking advantage of the position of nuclear power, is resorting to blackmail and high-handed and arbitrary practices against non-nuclear states. Commenting on this, Rodong Sinmun Tuesday says: The U.S. is wantonly violating NPT, behaving as it pleases in utter disregard of NPT. It is now hell-bent on high-handed and arbitrary practices, clean indifferent to impartiality in the nuclear field. The U.S., while shutting its eyes to nuclear weapons programs of those countries that share the "idea" with it and those of its satellite countries, is taking issue with the rights to nuclear activities of other countries for peaceful purposes and working hard to deprive them of those rights for the mere reason that they go against the grain with it. It is justifying its criminal nuclear program, describing it as one for "peace." It claims that all its nuclear programs do not pose any threat to other countries but the peaceful nuclear programs of those countries that incur its displeasure "threaten" its security and global peace and they should be, therefore, abandoned. Science and technology have reached a high level. Given the fact, if the United States takes the road of nuclear war, threatening other countries with nuclear weapons, this will compel many countries to take counter-measures. Then this will lead to escalated nuclear standoff and the earth will be threatened with more nuclear arms. It is clear to everyone that in that case the U.S. will not come off unscathed. The U.S. security can be guaranteed by nuclear disarmament, not by nuclear arms buildup. The U.S. will never be able to escape the responsibility for being an arch disturber of the nuclear non-proliferation regime.
• North Korea Nuclear Talks Face Uncertain Hurdles
  By REUTERS Published: September 25, 2007 Filed at 2:29 a.m. ET BEIJING (Reuters) - Having coaxed North Korea to shut an aged reactor, disarmament talks resuming this week face the harder task of persuading Pyongyang to loosen its grip on broader atomic ambitions it has long held vital to survival. North Korea locked its Soviet-era Yongbyon nuclear plant and allowed U.N. atomic monitors back to the site in July, following a February 13 deal made at the six-party talks in Beijing. In return, Pyongyang has received shiploads of heavy fuel oil and held bilateral talks with the United States that could eventually bring the impoverished fortress state out of diplomatic isolation. But having reached that milestone, negotiators meeting from Thursday must begin to line up a daunting set of decisions -- especially how to "disable" Yongbyon and what details North Korea must disclose in its declaration of atomic activities.  
• North Korea May Be Dropped From Terrorism List, U.S. Hints
  By REUTERS Published: September 24, 2007 Filed at 8:43 p.m. ET NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice hinted on Monday that North Korea could be dropped from a U.S. terrorism blacklist before fully accounting for the Japanese citizens it abducted in the 1970s and 1980s. Such a move could antagonize Japan, a key U.S. ally for whom the fate of the abductees -- who were kidnapped by North Korean agents and kept in the impoverished, Stalinist state for decades -- is a politically sensitive issue. North Korea's presence on the U.S. state sponsors of terrorism list -- which imposes a range of U.S. sanctions -- has become a bargaining chip in multilateral negotiations on ending Pyongyang's nuclear programs. [Terrorism List] [Agreement070213]
• Israeli air strike did not hit nuclear facility, intelligence officials say
  Larisa Alexandrovna Published: Monday September 24, 2007   Attack said spawned from chemical weapons disaster Israel did not strike a nuclear weapons facility in Syria on Sept. 6, instead striking a cache of North Korean missiles, current and former intelligence officials say. American intelligence sources familiar with key events leading up to the Israeli air raid tell RAW STORY that what the Syrians actually had were North Korean No-Dong missiles, possibly located at a site in either the city of Musalmiya in the northern part of Syria or further south around the city of Hama. While reports have alleged the US provided intelligence to Israel or that Israel shared their intelligence with the US, sources interviewed for this article believe that neither is accurate. By most accounts of intelligence officials, both former and current, Israel and the US both were well aware of the activities of North Korea and Syria and their attempts to chemically weaponize the No-Dong missile (above right). It therefore remains unclear why an intricate story involving evidence of a Syrian nuclear weapons program and/or enriched uranium was put out to press organizations. The North Korean missiles -- described as "legacy" by one source and "older generation" by another -- were not nuclear arms.
• Rice Calls on NK to Make Nuke Issue Transparent
  U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Sunday called on North Korea to make transparent fully its nuclear weapons program amid reports it was secretly assisting Syria to develop an atomic weapons facilities, the AFP reported in New York. "There are frankly a lot of questions that remain to be answered and we want to be able to answer questions about all aspects of the North Korean nuclear program," AFP quoted Rice as telling reporters with her Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi beside her, before their talks on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.
• Israel Seizes NK Nuclear Material From Syria
  LONDON _ Elite Israeli forces seized North Korean nuclear material during a raid on a secret military site in Syria before Israeli warplanes bombed it Sept. 6, a newspaper reported Sunday. The Sunday Times quoted well-placed sources as saying the commandos seized the material from a compound near Dayr az-Zwar in northern Syria and that tests of it in Israel showed it was of North Korean origin.
• Syria's Strategic Weapons Programs
  By Michael Eisenstadt September 20, 2007 PolicyWatch #1288 The September 6 Israeli airstrike in northeastern Syria has produced intense speculation. According to the New York Times, Israeli intelligence believes the target was part of a clandestine Syrian nuclear weapons program aided by North Korea. This raises broader questions about the status of Syria's strategic weapons programs, which would likely play a crucial role in any future confrontation with Israel. Syria's Strategic Safety Net Given that Syria lacks both a superpower patron and territorial depth (Israeli forces are thirty miles from Damascus), the regime depends on strategic weapons -- mainly conventionally and chemically armed rockets and missiles -- to deter foreign aggression and ensure its survival. The Israeli raid has heightened concerns that Syria might be seeking to supplement its substantial chemical weapons stockpile with a small nuclear arsenal. Nuclear activities. Syria's declared civilian nuclear infrastructure is rudimentary, and until recently, there was no evidence of a nuclear weapons program (rumors that the regime was a client of the Abdul Qadir Khan network were never substantiated). Syria has nuclear research labs, a miniature 30-kilowatt reactor (unsuitable for the production of fissile material), a small particle accelerator, and a plant that separates uranium from the country's abundant phosphate deposits. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Damascus showed an interest in acquiring larger research reactors and nuclear power and desalination plants from Russia and elsewhere, but nothing came to fruition. Speculation about the airstrike has centered on reports that it targeted a site where North Korea purportedly delivered nuclear materials or technology several days prior. Foreign assistance could help jumpstart a Syrian nuclear weapons program, but it would likely take years to yield results -- unless North Korea provided Syria with fissile material (presumably plutonium) from which a bomb could be made.
• Egypt hits at EU for UN nuclear vote abstention
  Sat 22 Sep 2007, 7:44 GMT [-] Text [+] CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt criticized the European Union on Friday for failing to support a U.N. atomic watchdog resolution calling on all Middle East nations to renounce atomic weapons -- a clear reference to Israel's undeclared arsenal. In New York, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit warned of a potential nuclear arms race in the Middle East, saying Israel was as much a concern as Iran. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) passed the resolution with a 53-2 vote on Thursday, but 47 abstentions by Western and developing states exposed reservations that the move politicized the U.N. agency's work. The Egyptian foreign ministry signaled out EU states in its criticism for the lack of Western support for the nonbinding resolution, which highlighted Arab frustration about Israel's presumed nuclear might. "The European Union movement was a clear contradiction with the principles it claims to defend regarding nuclear disarmament and the prevention of nuclear proliferation," the official Middle East News Agency quoted a ministry statement as saying. Israel is widely believed to have the Middle East's only nuclear arsenal. The Jewish state has never confirmed or denied it. [IEAE] [Double standards]
• Security and Defense: Quiet - we're on the air!
  By YAAKOV KATZ Jerusalem Post Sep 20, 2007 18:38 | Updated Sep 21, 2007 14:03
  This week, Khan's name again made headlines - this time over suspicions that his black-market ring was behind the supply of nuclear technology and material to the facility that Israel - according to foreign news reports - bombed two weeks ago in northern Syria. Last Friday, acting US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Nuclear Nonproliferation Policy Andrew Semmel said that though he could not name suppliers, there were North Korean officials in Syria, and that he could not rule out the possibility that Khan's network was involved in transferring the nuclear material that Israel allegedly destroyed. It is still unclear whether North Korea was sending its technology to Syria for safekeeping while supposedly having abandoned nuclear installations inspected by the IAEA, or whether it had actually sold the technology to Syria. What is clear is that an alleged Syrian-North Korean nuclear collaboration - strongly denied by both countries - is a primary point of concern for the Israeli defense establishment. Though
• N. Korea must stop nuclear proliferation: Bush
  U.S. is clear on non-proliferation - it is just as important as dismantlement
        WASHINGTON - U.S. President George Bush said on Thursday that the North Korea is expected to stop nuclear proliferation if the nation wants the six-nation talks to be successful. His comments appeared to be made in relation to alleged nuclear cooperation between North Korea and Syria.
• Six-way nuclear talks to resume Sept. 27-30 in Beijing
  The latest round of multilateral talks aimed at shutting down North Korea's key nuclear facilities has been set for next week, Beijing officials said Friday. "The sixth round of the six-party talks will be held in Beijing from September 27 to 30," the Chinese foreign ministry announced on its Web site. The talks involving the divided Koreas, the U.S., Japan, China and Russia was originally expected to be held from Wednesday, but Beijing, host of the negotiations, called off the meeting on Monday without providing any reasons.
• Schedule on for six-party talks amid Syria woes
  September 22, 2007 In what appeared to be an acknowledgement that reports of a nuclear connection between North Korea and Syria are being closely scrutinized, Foreign Minister Song Min-soon said yesterday that the six-party nuclear talks are also a venue to address proliferation concerns.
• 6-Party Talks Going Smoothly
  By Yoon Won-sup Staff Reporter The upcoming six-party talks slated for Sept. 27-30 in Beijing have good prospects to produce another agreement for concrete ways on the disablement and declaration of nuclear facilities in North Korea. This is backed by the fact that the main negotiators at the talks have already agreed on core principles. In addition, nuclear experts inspected the facilities in order to draw up a technical roadmap. Early this month, top negotiators of the United States and North Korea tentatively agreed to the disablement and declaration within this year in a meeting in Geneva. In return, Washington will remove Pyongyang from its list of terror-sponsoring states and rescind the application of the Trading with the Enemy Act.
• Israeli Raid on Syria Fuels Debate on Weapons
  By MARK MAZZETTI and DAVID E. SANGER Published: September 22, 2007 WASHINGTON, Sept. 21 - American concerns about ties between Syria and North Korea have long focused on a partnership involving missiles and missile technology. Even many hawks within the Bush administration have expressed doubts that the Syrians have the money or technical depth to build a serious nuclear program like the one in Iran
• Israel's mystery raid on Syria...what happened in the early morning hours of September 6?
  Posted September 21, 2007; UPDATED 8:00AM GMT September 22 (new articles, new theories) The Deepening Israel/Syria Mystery: We had intended to begin a feature tonight titled "Winners and Losers" which in the future will list at the end of each week the players (nations, movements, individuals, etc.) that the GPB systems calculated did the best and worst during the week. However, were going to postpone this feature a week to focus on the issue of Israel's mysterious raid into Syria in the early morning hours of September 6. We decided to go in this direction because the GPB comment string on the Israeli raid against Syria has been fascinating, President Bush has been alluringly secretive today in his responses to questions on the raid, and the level of attention across the blogosphere has grown so quickly. We'll keep the comments up over the weekend and update this observation when new theories or facts are published. We've aggregated a number of key articles on the raid in today's Israel Key Articles. They're updated as of 8AM GMT, September 22. We're presenting articles that summarize the latest on the issue. We're not researching in detail articles that provide new theories so if you find good links, post them in the comments and we'll move them to this summary over the weekend. We particularly encourage our loyal readers from Israel and Syria to contribute. While you should read the articles, here's generally what analysts and commentators are saying presently about the mysterious Israeli air attack: * The strategic forecasting firm Stratfor best sums up the view of global analysts in reports, ""The mystery is deep and we are baffled, but it does not strike us as trivial. Something important happened." * About the only uncontested facts are that Israeli planes crossed the border into Syria on Thursday, September 6 and no one, not Israel, not Syria, not the US, is giving any details. Syria reported only one plane and no damage. However, The Guardian reported, "Far from being a minor incursion, the Israeli overflight of Syrian airspace through its ally, Turkey, was a far more major affair involving as many as eight aircraft, including Israel's most ultra-modern F-15s and F-16s equipped with Maverick missiles and 500lb bombs. Flying among the Israeli fighters at great height, The Observer can reveal, was an ELINT - an electronic intelligence gathering aircraft." * The theory most widely held in the media at present is that the raid was against the Dayr az-Zaw complex in the northern part of Syria and that the complex was destroyed. * No one really knows what was at the raid site, if in fact it was Dayr az-Zaw. Speculation ranges from a secret nuclear reactor to a missile storage site. * Some believe the raid was arranged by Israel and the Turkish military to remind the newly elected Islamist government of PM Erdogan and President Gul who runs the Middle East show. * Some believe the raid was designed to re-establish Israel's deterrence capacity * Some believe the attack was designed to test new Russian-made air defense systems. * Some believe it was a dry run for an attack on Iran and intended to send a message to Iran that Israel can hit wherever and whenever it wants. * Quite a few analysts believe the story about a secret Syrian nuclear facility makes little sense...Syria has been on an Israel/US schmoozing drive of recent...the Dayr az-Zaw site is right on the border with pro-West Turkey, an absurd place for an ultra-secret nuclear facility...South Korea dismisses the idea that North Korea is helping Syria with a clandestine nuclear plan, saying there's not a shred of evidence. According to the Jerusalem Post, "A week after the attack, the US announced its intention to give Pyongyang $25 million worth of heavy fuel oil in return for Pynogyang's good faith in their nuclear activities." The Post also reports that members of the Israeli military have recommended renewing discussion about giving the Golan Heights back to Syria. These things would never occur if North Korea were supplying nuclear materials or parts to Syria.
• US feared N Korea-Syria link before Israeli strike
  By Demetri Sevastopulo in Washington Published: September 21 2007 03:00 | Last updated: September 21 2007 03:00 The US had concerns about potential nuclear-related co-operation between North Korea and Syria before recently receiving Israeli intelligence on the issue that Israel reportedly used to justify an air strike inside Syria. Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli opposition leader, yesterday appeared to confirm reports that Israeli fighter jets had earlier this month launched strikes inside Syria, which US and Israeli media reported were due to concerns that North Korea was helping Syria develop a clandestine nuclear programme. One senior US official said Washington had for some time possessed intelligence about potential nuclear co-operation between the two countries. He added that North Korea would have to answer the US concerns in order to have a successful outcome to the six-party talks aimed at denuclearising the Korean peninsula, which are expected to resume in Beijing next week after North Korea refused to return to the table this week.
• S. Korea, China agree to expand nuclear energy cooperation
    South Korea and China have agreed to expand cooperation in the development of atomic energy technologies and the building of commercial nuclear reactors, the Ministry of Science and Technology said Friday.
• Bush Declines to Lift Veil of Secrecy Over Israeli Airstrike on Syria
  By STEVEN LEE MYERS and STEVEN ERLANGER Published: September 21, 2007 WASHINGTON, Sept. 20 - President Bush pointedly declined on Thursday to discuss an Israeli airstrike in northern Syria on Sept. 6 that Israeli officials say hit a nuclear-related facility that North Korea was helping to equip. Mr. Bush did, however, warn North Korea that the United States expected it to dismantle its nuclear weapons programs and to stop selling weapons or expertise abroad, as it promised to do this year. He emphasized that he was speaking generally, not specifically, about whether North Korea provided assistance to Syria.    
• North Korea Talks May Start Sept. 27
  By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: September 20, 2007 Filed at 12:30 p.m. ET WASHINGTON (AP) -- The State Department said Thursday the next round of six-nation North Korean nuclear talks could start on Sept. 27. Spokesman Tom Casey said that was the date ''the Chinese have floated with us'' to begin the talks. China hosts the talks among the Koreas, the United States, Russia, China and Japan. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, the chief U.S. negotiator at the talks meant to rid the North of its nuclear weapons, plans to be in Beijing on that date, Casey said. Casey said the Chinese are waiting for confirmation from one of the six nations before announcing the date. He would not say which country it was, only that it was not North Korea
• State Dept on Six party talks
  Daily Press Briefing Sean McCormack, Spokesman Washington, DC September 19, 2007
  QUESTION: Do you have anything on the six-party talks? What do the Chinese say (inaudible)? MR. CASEY: Not much beyond what we talked about this morning. We have been contacted by the Chinese about a next envoy-levels meeting that they have proposed take place next week. We are certainly amenable to that and would like to see it happen. As far as I know, the -- they have not completed consulting with all the other parties, but at least at this point those they have talked to have all said they'd be willing to come then. So Chris' bags are packed and ready, and hopefully he will be in Beijing next week and meeting with his counterparts in the six-party talks. QUESTION: And the Chinese have talked to the North Koreans, as far as you know? MR. CASEY: My understanding is they've already talked to the North Koreans about it, yes. QUESTION: And what was their response? MR. CASEY: Well, as I said, all the people they've talked to have been amenable to the dates they were proposing. QUESTION: Have you got any official letter or notice (inaudible) from North Korea? Why -- reason why they are postponed the talk? MR. CASEY: Well, the Chinese did not, as I recall, give us any detailed reason for the postponement. Whether that was because of the North Koreans or because of others, the Chinese can detail for you. QUESTION: I mean not Chinese. It's North Korea and between United States direct talks, maybe you (inaudible). MR. CASEY: Well, no, I mean, we've -- in terms of the envoy level meeting and what our expectations would be, I would expect that Chris would have bilateral consultations with all the other members, including with the North Koreans. But I wouldn't expect anything beyond what you've seen at previous envoy-level sessions. Yeah. QUESTION: Do you have any idea of how much tons of fuel oil is going to be provided by the $25 million that you're redressing to the Congress? MR. CASEY: I haven't checked the stock market recently. No, I don't. Again, this is something that is out there. We've put forward a notice to Congress saying that we were reprogramming some funds in anticipation of being able to provide heavy fuel oil as part of the contribution of the other five parties to North Korea's energy needs in response to them taking steps on the denuclearization front. But exactly how much that dollar figure would amount to, I'm honestly not sure. Joel, I'll give you the last one. QUESTION: All right. Last week when Christopher Hill was here in this briefing room, he was badgered with questions concerning perhaps a transfer of nuclear -- either equipment and/or nuclear technologies to Syria. And under those circumstances, is he prepared to talk to the North Koreans? There's a possible -- also a connection with the A.Q. Khan network. And furthermore, the Syrians are saying that they're going to bring this to the Security Council at the UN. With the Secretary in the region right now, is she prepared or not prepared to further talk with the Syrians directly concerning these matters? MR. CASEY: Joel, with respect to the press reports that are out there, Sean's addressed it, I’ve addressed it, Chris addressed it, and the Secretary addressed it in her plane briefing yesterday. I don't think I have anything to add to that. Thanks. (The briefing was concluded at 1:25 p.m.)
• . Israel, U.S. Shared Data On Suspected Nuclear Site
  Bush Was Told of North Korean Presence in Syria, Sources Say  
  By Glenn Kessler and Robin Wright Washington Post Staff Writers Friday, September 21, 2007; Page A01 Israel's decision to attack Syria on Sept. 6, bombing a suspected nuclear site set up in apparent collaboration with North Korea, came after Israel shared intelligence with President Bush this summer indicating that North Korean nuclear personnel were in Syria, U.S. government sources said. The Bush administration has not commented on the Israeli raid or the underlying intelligence. Although the administration was deeply troubled by Israel's assertion that North Korea was assisting the nuclear ambitions of a country closely linked with Iran, sources said, the White House opted against an immediate response because of concerns it would undermine long-running negotiations aimed at persuading North Korea to abandon its nuclear program.
• Middle East Volcano
  By Charles Krauthammer Friday, September 21, 2007; Page A19 On Sept. 6, something important happened in northern Syria. Problem is, no one knows exactly what. Except for those few who were involved, and they're not saying. We do know that Israel carried out an airstrike. How do we know it was important? Because in Israel, where leaking is an art form, even the best-informed don't have a clue. They tell me they have never seen a better-kept secret.
  Circumstantial evidence points to this being an attack on some nuclear facility provided by North Korea. Three days earlier, a freighter flying the North Korean flag docked in the Syrian port city of Tartus with a shipment of "cement." Long way to go for cement. Within days, a top State Department official warned that "there may have been contact between Syria and some secret suppliers for nuclear equipment." Three days later, the six-party meeting on dismantling North Korea's nuclear facilities scheduled for Sept. 19 was suddenly postponed, officially by China, almost certainly at the behest of North Korea. Apart from the usual suspects -- Syria, Iran, Libya and Russia -- only two countries registered strong protests to the Israeli strike: Turkey and North Korea. Turkey we can understand. Its military may have permitted Israel an overflight corridor without ever having told the Islamist civilian government. But North Korea? What business is this of North Korea's? Unless it was a North Korean facility being hit. Which raises alarms for many reasons. First, it would undermine the whole North Korean disarmament process. Pyongyang might be selling its stuff to other rogue states or perhaps just temporarily hiding it abroad while permitting ostentatious inspections back home.
• N. Korea-Syria Deal?
  US Hawks Should Stop Attempts to Undermine Nuclear Talks
  Foreign Affairs-Trade Minister Song Min-soon has flatly denied the recent report that North Korea may be aiding Syria with a nuclear facility. ``The suspicion involving North Korea and Syria has been raised by unverified sources,'' Song said during a meeting organized by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry Monday. Earlier, The New York Times first reported the suspicious nuclear deal based on testimonies from unidentified sources. Other newspapers followed. The right-wing Wall Street Journal even urged Washington to halt the ongoing nuclear talks with the reclusive nation until lingering suspicions are cleared. We believe it is improper for the papers to carry the articles without identifying the sources, as such speculation would seriously undermine the multilateral nuclear negotiations. It is not desirable to raise the allegation with only quotes from officials of Israel, which has been in antagonistic relations with Syria. In fact, the nuclear talks have already been delayed with North Korea having complained over China's failure in delivering heavy oil. But this seems to be an excuse. Rather, the North might have harbored dissatisfaction over the attempt to undermine the six-way talks by some hawks in the U.S. administration, who support Israel.
  In a goodwill gesture toward possible normalization of relations with the U.S., North Korea Monday confessed it had been operating uranium enrichment program (UEP) but gave up such attempt due to lack of money and technology. We believe North Korea's such confession should be the starting point in resolving the lingering distrust between Pyongyang and Washington. The conflict surrounding freezing of North Korea's money in Banco Delta Asia (BDA) found solution when the North partially admitted it had engaged in faking dollars. [Admission] [Media] [Disinformation]    
• NK-Syria Allegations Should Be Resolved at 6-Party Talks
  WASHINGTON _ Allegations of North Korea-Syria nuclear cooperation could undermine the very basis of the six-party talks and should be clarified at the talks, a former U.S. envoy said Tuesday.
  John Bolton, former ambassador to the United Nations, was skeptical that recent experts' visit to North Korean nuclear sites gave any new insight to Pyongyang's weapons program and stressed the core issue lies with North Korea's nuclear stockpile.
• (242) Obsession With Nuclear Family
  By Andrei Lankov
  On Aug. 24, 1962, the Soviet Ambassador to Pyongyang, Vasilii Moskovski, met the North Korean foreign minister, Pak Song-chol. The issue to be discussed was nuclear non-proliferation, one closely related to the nuclear test ban treaty, then in preparation. Moscow was an enthusiastic backer of the treaty, and wanted support from its allies. Relations with North Korea were deteriorating fast, but still some supportive gesture from the North was hoped for. However, Comrade Pak was straightforward: a non-proliferation treaty was a bad idea. He explained the reasons for his skepticism. He asked a Soviet diplomat: ``Who can impose such a treaty on countries that do not have nuclear weapons, but are perhaps successfully working in that direction?'' Having said that, the North Korean foreign minister continued, ``The Americans hold on to Taiwan, to South Korea, and South Vietnam, they blackmail the people with their nuclear weapons, and so rule over those lands and do not intend to leave. Their possession of nuclear weapons, and the lack thereof in our hands, objectively helps them, therefore, to eternalize their rule.''
• Shock Waves From Syria
  Did Israel bomb a secret nuclear facility equipped by North Korea? Thursday, September 20, 2007; Page A20 THERE'S BEEN no official confirmation of the targets or results of an Israeli air raid in northeastern Syria on Sept. 6. Yet, like a subterranean explosion, the event is sending shock waves through the Middle East and beyond. Syria has protested to the United Nations, though it hasn't been very clear about what it's protesting. On Tuesday, a front-page editorial in Damascus's main government-run newspaper criticized the United States for not condemning the attack. An Israeli newspaper, meanwhile, noted triumphantly that no nation other than North Korea had come to Syria's defense, rhetorically or otherwise. What happened? Media accounts are beginning to converge on a report that Israel bombed a facility where it believed Syria was attempting to hatch its own nuclear weapons program with North Korea's assistance. The Post's Glenn Kessler reported that the strike came three days after a ship carrying material from North Korea docked at a Syrian port and delivered containers that Israel believes held nuclear materials. It's not clear whether U.S. intelligence agencies concur with Israel's conclusion, and independent experts have said that Syria lacks the resources for a credible nuclear weapons program.
  It nevertheless is beginning to look as if Israel may have carried out the boldest act of nuclear preemption since its own 1981 raid against Iraq's Osirak nuclear complex. If so, its silence is shrewd. It has allowed Syria to avoid a military response and every other Arab state to pretend that nothing happened. So far, the most serious fallout may be China's abrupt and unexplained postponement of scheduled "six-party" talks on North Korea's nuclear program.
• US on the warpath with the IAEA
  By Shireen M Mazari 9/19/2007 Being at the IAEA these days has once again reminded one that US diatribes are not limited to regimes and states that act contrary to US goals or even wishes. In the usual alliance of the government and the media -- clearly the US media has its own interpretations of a "free" media -- the Americans have launched a blitzkrieg against the IAEA and especially its head, El Baradei. The issue, which has aroused a hail of abuse is Iran's nuclear programme. What has irked the US is the fact that the IAEA under its present leadership has proactively sought to resolve this issue peacefully by dialoguing with Iran instead of supporting the American position of seeking confrontation through provocation so that a pretext can be provided for US military action. Remember Iraq and the WMD issue? [IAEA] [UNUS]
• US on the warpath with the IAEA
  By Shireen M Mazari 9/19/2007 Being at the IAEA these days has once again reminded one that US diatribes are not limited to regimes and states that act contrary to US goals or even wishes. In the usual alliance of the government and the media -- clearly the US media has its own interpretations of a "free" media -- the Americans have launched a blitzkrieg against the IAEA and especially its head, El Baradei. The issue, which has aroused a hail of abuse is Iran's nuclear programme. What has irked the US is the fact that the IAEA under its present leadership has proactively sought to resolve this issue peacefully by dialoguing with Iran instead of supporting the American position of seeking confrontation through provocation so that a pretext can be provided for US military action. Remember Iraq and the WMD issue? [IAEA] [UNUS]
• [Editorial] The six-party talks cannot fall apart now
  The second stage of the sixth round of six-party talks was scheduled to open this week but it was suddenly postponed. We are told this is because of North Korea, which has a bad attitude for making other countries wait for no good reason. The talks need to be held next week at the latest, so as to avoid making them coincide with the inter-Korean summit coming in early October.
• White House adviser says N.K. nuclear issue won't be passed on to next administration
  The George W. Bush administration does not want to pass on the North Korean nuclear issue to the next administration, and it is making sure that Pyongyang does not try to "run out the clock," a top U.S. security adviser said Monday. Stephen Hadley, the White House national security adviser, said the six-party talks on North Korea's denuclearization seem to be "progressing well." [Spin]
• Talk of Syria nuclear link a conspiracy, says North
  September 19, 2007 Allegations that Pyongyang may be aiding Damascus with a clandestine nuclear program are part of a plot, according to the North Korean Foreign Ministry. Through the Korean Central News Agency, an unidentified ministry spokesman said yesterday, "Recently, the New York Times and some other media of the United States spread a rumor about the DPRK's secret nuclear cooperation with Syria. This is sheer misinformation."
• Rumor about "Secret Nuclear Cooperation" between DPRK and Syria Dismissed
  Pyongyang, September 18 (KCNA) -- A spokesman for the DPRK Foreign Ministry gave the following answer to a question put by KCNA today as regards the rumor about "secret nuclear cooperation" between the DPRK and Syria spread by some media of the United States: Recently, the New York Times and some other media of the United States spread the rumor about the DPRK's secret nuclear cooperation with Syria. This is sheer misinformation. The DPRK solemnly declared in October 2006 that, being a responsible nuclear weapons state, it would never allow nuclear transfer, and has stood by its words. The DPRK never makes an empty talk but always tells truth. The above-said story is nothing but a clumsy plot hatched by the dishonest forces who do not like to see any progress at the six-party talks and in the DPRK-U.S. relations.
• Suspected Syrian Connection Halts Talks, Aid
  [Analysis] No call for diplomatic sanctions against North Korea likely Lee Byong-chul (merrycow) Published 2007-09-19 12:22 (KST) "The focal point of the North Korean involvement with Syria is not actually placed on Pyongyang but on Iran, whose nuclear facilities are threatening to the security of Israel," said an official who did not want to be identified. "It is my judgment that the neoconservatives are attempting to screw up a series of talks over the Korean issues by leaking some unverified sources to the press." Another official added that people needed to know where the sources first came from. According to a variety of reports mainly from the U.S. media, Israel showed the image of a site in northern Syria to a very small group of officials in Washington last month while suggesting it could be part of a clandestine nuclear project underway with North Korean involvement.
• N.Korea Postpones Six-Party Talks
  North Korea has abruptly postponed the next round of six-nation talks slated to discuss the timetable for disabling its nuclear program in Beijing starting Wednesday. Host country China on Monday notified the South Korean government that the talks cannot start as scheduled, adding it will consult with the participating nations on a new date.
  North Korea's reasons are unknown. Some experts believe the North made the request due to a delay in the delivery of 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil China had promised by the end of August but failed to ship due to recent floods that hit North Korea. They say the North may regard this as a breach of promise.  
• 6-party talks likely delayed a week due to North Korea
  North may be reacting to allegations about nuke transfer to Syria
  The sixth round of the six-party talks on North Korea's denuclearization, with meetings slated to open at Beijing on September 19, will likely be postponed until the next week. An official of the Seoul government on September 17 said, "China informed us that it will be difficult to open the meeting on September 19."' China on September 14 officially proposed to open the next round of the six-nation talks on September 19-21, but says it is physically difficult to start the talks on that day because one of the participating countries has not yet given a reply, according to the official. Another high-ranking Korean government official who is familiar to the negotiations expects the meeting will open about next week. Both officials asked to remain off record due to the sensitivity of the topic. The country that has not yet replied is alleged to be North Korea. Regarding this, some observers raised the possibility that the North has not accepted the plan to open the meeting on September 19 in order to pressure China to keep its promise to the North to provide 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil. China announced that it would complete shipment of the oil by the middle of this month.
• N. Korea admits for 1st time procurement of enrichment equipment
  TOKYO, Sept. 17 KYODO      North Korea told the United States earlier this month that it procured materials related to centrifuges used for uranium enrichment from a third country, diplomatic sources said Monday.      North Korea's revelation regarding aluminum pipes marks the first time that Pyongyang has admitted to allegations about a secret uranium enrichment program which sparked the current North Korean nuclear standoff.      But North Korea did not go as far as to say that it had begun uranium enrichment, the sources said, referring to a Sept. 1-2 meeting of a bilateral working group in Geneva on normalizing North Korea-U.S. ties under the six-party talks on Pyongyang's nuclear programs. [HEU] [Evidence] [Media]
• Nuclear Experts Return From N.Korea Inspection
  Nuclear experts from the U.S., China and Russia have wound up a five-day visit to North Korea, where they inspected the nuclear facilities at Yongbyon. On Sunday, they reached a draft agreement with North Korean officials ensuring that the facilities cannot work for several years once they have been disabled. North Korea was cooperative, even showing them blueprints of the key facilities, including the 5-megawatt atomic reactor. The North also apparently accepted a proposal that nuclear experts led by Americans would oversee the disablement process. This bodes well for a roadmap on disablement to be reached in six-nation nuclear talks that resume in Beijing on Wednesday, including concrete methods based on the experts' visit.
• N. Korea-Syria nuke transfer questioned
  Intelligence authorities calling scenario unlikely
  Israeli and the United States reported recently that Israeli intelligence authorities have raised doubts about reports that North Korea transferred materials regarding nuclear development to Syria. The Washington Post on September 15 reported that information regarding nuclear cooperation between the North and Syria -- known as code name Orchard by U.S. authorities -- was conveyed to the United States from Israel on September 3. The New York Times, which on September 12 first broke the story on the latest North Korea-Syria development, quoted an official at the U.S. Defense Department as saying that Israeli surveillance planes took photos of alleged nuclear facilities in Syria. The conservative U.S. cable TV network Fox News reported on September 14 that such information was obtained via Israeli intelligence authorities quoting an anonymous source, rather than via one of its surveillance planes. [Disinformation]
• N.K. diplomat dismisses reports of nuclear ties with Syria as 'groundless'
  A senior North Korean diplomat on Saturday denied continuing allegations of his country's nuclear cooperation with Syria. "They often say things that are groundless," Kim Myong-gil, deputy chief of North Korean mission to the United Nations, told Yonhap over the phone, the first comment by a Pyongyang official on fresh allegations that broke out this week.
  The Washington Post, citing a U.S. expert who talked to Israeli officials, said Saturday that the attack appears to be linked to the arrival of a ship carrying material from North Korea labeled as cement.
• 6-Party Talks to Produce Disablement Accord
  By Yoon Won-sup Staff Reporter Officials said Sunday that the upcoming six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear ambitions scheduled for late this week in Beijing will likely produce an agreement on a roadmap to the dismantling of its Yongbyon nuclear facilities. Lim Sung-nam, South Korea's No. 2 nuclear negotiator, said talks between North Korea and a U.S.-led team of nuclear experts were positive after he was briefed Saturday by the experts following their return from a five-day trip to North Korea.  
• Foreign Minister Song Dismisses Reports on Alleged NK-Syria
  South Korean Foreign Minister Song Min-soon on Monday dismissed recent reports of alleged nuclear cooperation between North Korea and Syria, saying no one has any concrete evidence to prove the allegation. Song also pointed to conflicting reports on the level of cooperation between the countries. [Evidence]
• Israel Strikes Syrian Nuclear Program
  Foreign media reports point to North Korean nuclear transfers
    Yehonathan Tommer (tommery06)
  Published 2007-09-17 06:08 (KST)   Official Israel has retained stoic silence amid an unabated stream of foreign media reports detailing the aerial strike against a Syrian nuclear installation in northeastern Syria 10 days ago. The incident continues to dominate the Israeli media and together with Syria's restraint fuels the ongoing tensions and war scares of past weeks between the two countries. But as the Israeli media are not privy to government leaks since the story broke, they have been quoting and analyzing foreign reports emanating mainly from London and Washington.
    According to the emerging picture, three and possibly eight F-15-I Israeli Air force planes were ordered on short notice on the night of Wednesday, Sept. 5, to launch a strike and destroy mission on an agricultural research station in northern Syria, suspected by Israeli military intelligence and high altitude photography as a site housing nuclear equipment supplied by North Korea for producing enriched uranium from phosphates. Three days earlier, according to a Washington Post report, a shipment of nuclear equipment disguised as malt for the site had arrived on a North Korean vessel at the northern Syrian port of Tartus.
• North Korea Nuclear Talks Postponed
  By BURT HERMAN The Associated Press Monday, September 17, 2007; 3:08 AM SEOUL, South Korea -- Expected international talks on North Korea's nuclear program to firm up a deadline for the country to disable its facilities so it can no longer produce weapons have been postponed, regional officials said Monday. The talks had been expected to start around the middle of the week, but Japanese and South Korean officials said they would instead meet at a later date that has not yet been set. No reason for the delay was given.
• U.S. Calls Korea Nuclear Talks Positive
  By JAE-SOON CHANG The Associated Press Sunday, September 16, 2007; 2:33 AM SEOUL, South Korea -- Recent talks between a U.S.-led team of nuclear experts and North Korea were "businesslike" and "positive," an official said Saturday, raising hopes for a deal soon on how to disable the North's nuclear facilities. Lim Sung-nam, South Korea's No. 2 nuclear negotiator, made the remark after receiving a briefing from the American team of experts who returned to Seoul earlier in the day after a five-day survey of the North's main atomic facilities.  
  "The talks between the U.S. and the North this time were conducted in a businesslike manner in a very positive atmosphere," Lim told reporters. "Additional consultations and a decision are expected at next week's six-party talks."
• US Wary of Syria-North Korea Ties
  The Associated Press Sunday, September 16, 2007; 11:34 AM WASHINGTON -- The U.S. is keeping close watch on Syria and North Korea, the Pentagon chief said Sunday, amid suspicions the Koreans are possibly cooperating with Syria on a nuclear facility. "I think it would be a real problem," Defense Secretary Robert Gates said when asked how the Bush administration would view such an effort.
  A senior U.S. nuclear official said Friday that North Koreans were in Syria and that Syria may have had contacts with "secret suppliers" to obtain nuclear equipment. Andrew Semmel, acting deputy assistant secretary of state for nuclear nonproliferation policy, did not identify the suppliers, but said North Koreans were in Syria and that he could not exclude that the network run by the disgraced Pakistan nuclear scientist A.Q. Khan may have been involved. Gates was asked in a broadcast interview whether Syria was involved in a covert nuclear program with North Korea's assistance. "I'm not going to get into things that may involve intelligence matters, but all I will say is we are watching the North Koreans very carefully. We watch the Syrians very carefully," Gates said. He added, "If such an activity were taking place, it would be a matter of great concern because the president has put down a very strong marker with the North Koreans about further proliferation efforts. And obviously, any effort by the Syrians to pursue weapons of mass destruction would be a concern for us." [Evidence]
• N.K.'s nuclear list should answer proliferation suspicions: U.S. envoy
    The United States hopes North Korea's declaration of its nuclear programs, expected by year's end, will also answer questions about any proliferation activities, Washington's top nuclear envoy said Friday. Christopher Hill, assistant secretary of state, declined to address directly press reports of North Korean nuclear cooperation with Syria. When Pyongyang provides a list of its atomic programs, "we would need to know what all of their programs are, and obviously any proliferation," he said. [Proliferation] [Double standards] [Toolkit] [Dissension]
• The North's Koryo Air will fly engineers here
  September 15, 2007 A U.S. official who led a group of nuclear engineers to North Korea to determine efficient methods to disable its facilities said their visit will help denuclearize the North. "I think it was useful," Sung Kim, a U.S. State Department official who has been deeply involved in the North Korean nuclear talks, said late Thursday. Kim is expected to meet with Seoul officials today to brief them on the visit. A source said yesterday that the delegation will be flown back with the North's sole air carrier Koryo Air, at Pyongyang's request. Originally, the delegation was scheduled to head back to Seoul via Panmunjom at the inter-Korean border. The government source interpreted the move as a significant measure in the thorny relations between Washington and Pyongyang.
• Is Peace Declaration Feasible Without Denuclearization?
  Victor Cha Professor at Georgetown University By Yoon Won-sup Staff Reporter A former director of the U.S. National Security Council for Asian affairs has said the second inter-Korean summit slated for Oct. 2-4 in Pyongyang should address concrete obligations or actions expected of North Korea in giving up its nuclear ambitions rather than ``beautiful'' but empty rhetoric as seen in the first summit. Victor Cha, 46, an international relations professor at Georgetown University, said that it is important for the summit to support the six-party talks, aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear weapons program. [KR_Summit07] [Friction]
• Syria-N. Korea Reports Won't Stop Talks
  By Glenn Kessler Washington Post Staff Writer Saturday, September 15, 2007; Page A12 Reports that North Korea may be assisting Syria with a possible nuclear program will not derail efforts to implement a deal to end North Korea's nuclear programs, the chief U.S. negotiator said yesterday, arguing that the reports emphasized the need to complete the agreement. U.S. sources reported this week that Israel had recently provided the United States with evidence -- known by the code name "Orchard" -- that North Korea has been cooperating with Syria on a nuclear facility. But many outside nuclear experts have expressed skepticism that Syria, which has mostly focused on chemical and biological weapons, would be conducting nuclear trade with North Korea. [Dissension]
• N. Korea's past threats to spread nuclear technology
  Last update - 21:01 13/09/2007 ANALYSIS: By Yossi Melman, Haaretz Correspondent The recent Washington Post report on Damascus-Pyongyang atomic ties sheds light on the relationship between North Korea and Syria and the possible nuclear cooperation between the two countries.
  During the '90s and following a deal signed with the Clinton administration, Pyongyang agreed not to further develop its nuclear program for military purposes, and received in return a joint pledge by the U.S., Japan and South Korea to provide it with fuel until electricity-generating power plants funded by the three were built.
  The accord, however, did not last and a new crisis developed in 2000 when it was revealed that North Korea had continued to secretly produce plutonium [HEU] [Disinformation] [Media] [Imperialism]
• U.S. official: North Korean atom experts visited Syria
  By Barak Ravid, Avi Issacharoff and Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondents and News Agencies
  "Syria was on the U.S. nuclear watch list," a senior U.S. official told the Associated Press on Friday, asserting that foreign technicians were in the country and that there had been possible contacts with suppliers for nuclear equipment.
  Andrew Semmel, acting deputy assistant secretary for nuclear nonproliferation policy, didn't name the suppliers, but said there were North Koreans in Syria and that he couldn't exclude that the network run by disgraced Pakistan nuclear scientist A.Q. Khan was possibly involved.
  Asked if the suppliers could have been North Koreans, he said: "There are North Korean people there. There's no question about that. Just as there are a lot of North Koreans in Iraq and Iran."
  Ex-U.S. envoy: Iran and Syria are 'safe havens' for N. Korea nuclear activity The former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, said North Korea may be using Syria and Iran as "safe havens" for its nuclear activity, and another U.S. official was quoted as saying Damascus may be building a nuclear facility with North Korean assistance.
  Bolton recently told Haaretz that United States President George W. Bush warned North Korea last year against transferring nuclear material to Syria, Iran or a terrorist organization, saying such a move would be perceived as a "grave threat." [John Bolton] [Disinformation] [Media]
• U.S., China prepare fuel aid for N. Korea
  The United States and China are gearing up to provide 100,000 tons of heavy fuel oil to North Korea as part of the nuclear deal under the six-party talks, news reports said yesterday. China will be the first to send its shipment of 50,000 tons to the North by as soon as the end of the month, to be followed by the United States who will supply the remaining amount, news reports said. U.S. President George W. Bush's administration notified Congress on Tuesday "of its intent to provide 25 million dollars which would cover the third tranche shipment of 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil to North Korea," according to an AFP report.
• U.S. Preparing to Send Fuel to N.Korea
  The U.S. has notified Congress that it is preparing to provide aid to North Korea under the Feb. 13 denuclearization agreement. U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters Thursday that the congressional notification was "done with an eye toward if North Korea does, in fact, follow through on their commitments ... then the other five parties have some commitments." He added, "It prepares us in the case that we do need to fulfill some commitment." "The United States has made enough headway in talks on ending North Korea's atomic programs to prepare for the possibility of rewarding Pyongyang with $25 million in heavy fuel oil," Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing a document recently submitted by the Bush administration to the U.S. Congress.
• [Analysis] U.S. fuel aid to foster trust with N. Korea
  The United States is preparing to provide heavy fuel oil to North Korea as it moves to denuclearize, a move which is likely to provide a substantial impetus towards trust-building between the two states.
• Nuke Fusion Test Reactor Completed in Daejeon
  Engineers of the National Fusion Research Institute prepare for the opening ceremony of the KSTAR fusion reactor in the Daedeok reseach complex in Daejeon, Wednesday. The 300-billion won reactor begins operation today after 12 years of design and construction. / Yonhap By Cho Jin-seo Staff Reporter An experimental nuclear fusion reactor begins operation in Daejon today, which will lay the foundation for Korea's dream of developing an unlimited source of clean and safe energy. [Nuclear energy]
• Roh Charged With Faulty Reasoning Over Nuke Problem
    President Roh Moo-hyun on Tuesday said the North Korean nuclear problem was being resolved, and asking him to discuss the issue at the upcoming inter-Korean summit was like pushing him to quarrel with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. But pundits said the president's remarks are self-contradictory. Nam Joo-hong, a political scientist at Kyonggi University, said it is necessary to get confirmation from Kim at the summit to speed up resolution of the nuclear problem, if indeed it is being genuinely settled as the president said. "The president's remarks conflict with each other," Nam said, because if North Korea is trying to resolve the problem through negotiations with the U.S., it is difficult to understand how raising it at the summit would cause a quarrel. [KR_summit07] [In denial]
• Korea to Build 2 New Atomic Power Plants
  Korea will build two new 1,400-megawatt nuclear power plants using a new Korean reactor for the first time. The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy (MOCIE) said on Wednesday that it has approved an application by Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) to build Kori Nuclear Power Plant Units Three and Four. [Nuclear energy] [Double standards]
• Nuclear survey team gets full access to N.Korean facilities
    A three-nation survey team successfully toured a North Korean reactor and will gain access to other key nuclear sites, the U.S. State Department said Wednesday. The nine-member delegation, including seven American officials and nuclear experts, on Wednesday viewed the 5-megawatt reactor at the Yongbyon nuclear complex, the site of North Korea's suspected atomic weapons program, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters.
• U.S. has spent $2.3 million to monitor North's nukes
  September 13, 2007 Washington has provided more than $2.3 million to the International Atomic Energy Agency for nuclear monitoring activities in North Korea, Gregory Schulte, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said yesterday, Agence France-Presse reported. [IAEA]  
• North Korea's Nuclear Weapons: Dismantlement or Disarmament
  By Ruediger Frank September 13th, 2007
  On September 2nd, media started reporting about an agreement reached between the United States and North Korea on the future of the latter's much disputed nuclear program. Although the wording of the announcements was quite clear, the interpretations seemed to differ. The sincerity of the offer notwithstanding, the North Korean side agreed to dismantle the program, i.e. the production facilities, for the generation of weapons-grade nuclear material. In the West, this was often misinterpreted as a step towards giving up the products themselves, i.e., nuclear bombs, warheads, or devices. While the former is indeed within the scope of available options of the North Korean leadership, the latter clearly is not. Given both the track record of the decades since the end of the Korean War in 1953 and official propaganda, the North Korean nuclear program seems not to be designed to create inputs for an aggressive expansionist strategy but rather to provide a reliable means of deterrence. Domestically, too, what counts is the ability of the Kim Jong-il leadership to dramatically demonstrate to his people the capability of producing these weapons and their actual possession, and not the relatively unspectacular continued existence of related production facilities.
• Nuclear delegation to N.K. to focus on disablement
    A three-nation nuclear survey team visiting North Korea this week will focus on how to disable the country's atomic facilities, the U.S. State Department said Tuesday.
• The U.S., India and the Elusive 123 Deal
  Saira Yamin | September 7, 2007
  The United States and India are turning a new chapter in world history as they seek to close a deal on civil nuclear cooperation and nonproliferation. Referred to as the "123" agreement, negotiations have been in the works since 2005. While there have been some roadblocks put up on the deal from members of India's parliament in recent weeks, both parties hope to have a final agreement approved by the end of the year. The agreement claims to enhance cooperation between the United States and India for generation of peaceful nuclear energy. But in reality it allows India to reprocess U.S. supplied nuclear fuel and proceed with its nuclear weapons program. If passed in its current form, the agreement will act as a catalyst for pumping nuclear fuel and technology into a region perceived by some U.S. leaders as a "nuclear tinder box". The deal disregards India's 1974 and 1998 nuclear tests and it's unwillingness to join the 1968 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT). Furthermore, the 123 agreement could have wider repercussions for U.S. efforts to contain other nations seeking nuclear power such as Iran and North Korea. Increased cooperation between the U.S. and India would be a welcome development for these two nations who have often been at odds with one another. But the deal that is on the table is too dangerous for the region and the world for it to go forward. [Nuclear deal] [India US] [China confrontation]
• India building nuclear sub, says top scientist
  Maseeh Rahman in Delhi Tuesday September 11, 2007 The Guardian India has kept its efforts to build a nuclear submarine under wraps for more than 30 years, but a top Indian scientist has confirmed that the ongoing project at the Kalpakkam nuclear facility near Chennai to develop a nuclear reactor fuelled by enriched uranium was in fact intended to power the country's first indigenously built submarine. After several setbacks, the top secret military programme appears to be nearing completion, and the nuclear submarine, codenamed the Advanced Technology Vehicle (ATV), is expected to undergo sea trials next year before its induction into the Indian navy in 2009. [Arms sales] [China confrontation] [Proliferation] [Double standards]
• 'Bush Would Meet With NK Leader'
    By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter U.S. President George W. Bush would likely meet with North Korean Kim Jong-il if the Stalinist state shows its willingness to dismantle its nuclear weapons program, even if its nuclear program is not fully dismantled, a local report said Monday, quoting an unidentified U.S. diplomat. The Washington source, quoted by the Kyunghyang Shinmun, said the Bush-Kim summit would be ``doable'' before the end of the Bush administration if Pyongyang is serious about the denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula. The source said U.S.-North Korea summit talks could take place in the North Korean capital Pyongyang.
• Bush Favors Denuclearization First, Peace Later
    U.S. President George W. Bush made it clear on Friday that Washington is prepared to end the armistice on the Korean Peninsula and build a proper peace framework once North Korea completely dismantles its nuclear programs and any existing nuclear weapons. The message came in a joint press conference with South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun after their summit on the sidelines of the APEC forum in Sydney. [Sequencing] [Media] [KR_summit07]
• Korean American Heads Nuclear Team for N.Korea
    A senior Korean-American State Department official heads a technical team addressing the disablement of North Korea's nuclear facilities. Comprising some 10 experts from the U.S., China and Russia, the team will inspect three nuclear facilities including the 5MW nuclear reactor, reprocessing facility and nuclear rod plant in Yongbyon. They will discuss with North Korean technicians the scope of nuclear disablement. The U.S. technicians visit Seoul on Monday and meet with Im Seong-nam, a South Korean deputy negotiator in the six-nation denuclearization talks to discuss measures to disable North Korea's nuclear facilities. They then drive to North Korea via the truce village of Panmunjeom on Tuesday. The team leader is Sung Kim, director of the Korea Desk at the U.S. State Department. Other experts come from the Departments of State and Energy, and the National Security Council. Russian and Chinese experts will visit North Korea via Beijing and join the U.S. team on Tuesday.
• When and how best to achieve peace on Korean Peninsula?
  Significant progress has been made toward establishing peace regime but next steps still unclear
        South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and his U.S. counterpart George W. Bush clarified their willingness to sign a peace treaty in the bilateral summit in Sidney, Australia, on Sept. 7. Now the problem is who, when and how to start discussions on the establishment of a peace regime on the Korean peninsula.
• U.S. diplomat will head delegation of engineers to N. Korea
  Inspections and discussions top agenda of technical team       Sung Kim, director of the Korea Desk in the State Department of the United States is to head the delegation that will inspect the Yongbyon nuclear facilities in North Korea and participate in discussions necessary for their disablement.
• U.S. undecided on Korean peace treaty's timing
  The United States has not decided on exactly when a Korean peace treaty could be signed, with opinions varying on the timing as well as how closely it should be linked to North Korea's denuclearization, a former White House aide said Sunday. [Sequencing]
• N. Korea and U.S. take a few steps back
  After N.K. declaration that it would be removed from terror list, U.S. appears more reserved
  WASHINGTON - North Korea and the United States seem to be looking the other way on what they discussed during the second round of talks aimed at normalizing bilateral ties in Geneva, Switzerland, last weekend. On Sept. 4, U.S. State Department spokesperson Tom Casey noted that nothing was determined on when and how the North will be removed from the list of states sponsoring terrorism and the process will start when all U.S. legal standards are met and efforts on disabling Pyongyang's nuclear program make further headway. The remarks came just one day after Christopher Hill, top U.S. nuclear envoy, said that removal of the North from the blacklist was dependant on its denuclearization. These reserved attitudes come in contrast with what the North said just after the Geneva meeting. On Sept. 3, a North Korean foreign ministry spokesman said, "Both sides have discussed and agreed upon ways to disable existing nuclear weapons. The U.S. promised to remove our country from its list of countries sponsoring terrorism and provide economic compensation such as lifting all the sanctions in accordance with Trading With the Enemy Act."
  Han S. Park, a professor at Georgia University and an expert on North Korea, said, "The problem is not the North. Everything depends on whether the Bush administration has the political will to take countermeasures." As for the legal standards mentioned by Casey, experts say that the Bush administration has continued to review the delisting issue since the Feb. 13 agreement was reached and that few obstacles lie ahead, since it is within the government's authority to remove a country from the list [Terrorism list] [Sanctions]
• N Korea invites US to nuclear inspection
  By Andrew Ward in Sydney Published: September 8 2007 03:00 | Last updated: September 8 2007 03:00 North Korea has invited nuclear experts from the US, China and Russia to survey its nuclear facilities next week, increasing momentum behind efforts to dismantle an atomic weapons programme that has bedevilled north-east Asia for 15 years. The US described the breakthrough as "another significant step" towards denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula. The four-day visit, starting on Tuesday, is aimed at studying North Korean nuclear facilities to determine what steps are needed to put them out of use. President George W. Bush yesterday reiterated his willingness to sign a peace treaty with North Korea if it went through with denuclearisation. However, Mr Bush was pressed into making the commitment in a testy exchange with Roh Moo-hyun, president of South Korea, on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific summit in Sydney. In remarks to reporters after a closed-door meeting, Mr Roh twice pressed Mr Bush to be "clearer" about his intention to normalise relations with Pyongyang, which remains technically at war with the US after a 54-year ceasefire. Mr Bush, sitting beside Mr Roh in front of a bank of photographers and television cameras, visibly bristled at his counterpart's tactics. "I can't make it any more clear, Mr President," he told Mr Roh. "We look forward to the day when we can end the Korean war. That will happen when [North Korean president] Kim Jong-il verifiably gets rid of his weapons programmes and his weapons." [Friction] [Sequencing]
• Bush offers North Korea a deal to end the world's oldest cold war
    Video: Jonathan Watts in North Korea asks whether the world's last cold war conflict is near to a resolution Jonathan Watts in Beijing, Justin McCurry in Tokyo Saturday September 8, 2007 The Guardian George Bush offered North Korea a peace deal yesterday that would end the world's oldest and bloodiest cold war conflict on condition that Pyongyang gives up its nuclear weapons programme. Prodded into the commitment during a testy exchange with South Korea's president, Roh Moo-hyun, on the eve of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in Sydney, Mr Bush said he would reward North Korea with a security arrangement that would replace the armistice signed at the end of the Korean war in 1953, which had cost 4 million lives.
      The offer represents another shift away from Washington's hardline stance towards the communist country, which Mr Bush once included in the "axis of evil". It came as Pyongyang invited the US, China and Russia to survey its nuclear facilities, work at which was halted earlier this year. Mr Bush's move towards engagement rather than confrontation was the subject of an awkward dialogue with Mr Roh played out in front of the TV cameras. Mr Roh leaned across and urged the president to be more explicit about the security arrangement. "I might be wrong. I think I did not hear President Bush mention a declaration to end the Korean war just now," Mr Roh said through an interpreter. "Did you say that, President Bush?" Mr Bush replied it was "up to Kim Jong-il". The South Korean leader remained unconvinced. "If you could be a little clearer," he said. A clearly irritated Mr Bush said that he had in mind a formal peace treaty that would end hostilities in the war, which ended with the US still technically at war with the North. [Media]
• New era of peace is coming on the Korean Peninsula
  Bush is willing to sign a peace treaty with N. Korea, once North Korea dismantles its nuclear programs
      SYDNEY - South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and U.S. President George Bush mapped out a blueprint for the establishment of a peace regime on the Korean peninsula, once North Korea dismantles its nuclear programs. Remarks by the two leaders were exchanged in a summit which took place on Sept. 7, in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Sydney, Australia. Most importantly, if the North scraps its nuclear weapon programs, the war will end and a new peace regime will be established on the peninsula.       [Sequencing]
• Engineers to inspect N. Korea's nuclear facilities
  North's inspection invitation makes disablement within the year a likely prospect   A delegation of technicians from the United States, China and Russia have been invited by North Korea to inspect key nuclear facilities. The trip, scheduled for Sept. 11-15, is a significant sign that disablement of the North's nuclear facilities has begun. Beyond merely confirming the North's political will, by agreeing to send a delegation to Yongbyon, nations participating in the six-party talks will be able to commit practical actions toward disabling the North's nuclear programs within the year.
•   [Editorial]Roh-Bush summit lays groundwork for peace
    The U.S.-South Korea summit held on Sept. 7 in Australia was significant in that it reaffirmed the intention of South Korea and the United States to work together in step with the new political situation on the Korean peninsula and Northeast Asia. The two nations expanded their shared understanding about the effort to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue and build a peace regime for the Korean peninsula, and they did so with the next round of six-party talks and the inter-Korean summit just around the corner. What this means is that the two countries have initiatives that are not all that different, in terms of immediate problems, as well as strategies for the peninsula and the region, well beyond the end of the year. [In denial]
• U.S. welcomes nuclear experts' visit to N.K. as 'important step'
  The United States on Friday said next week's North Korea visit by nuclear experts from three nations is an "important and welcome step" toward disabling the regime's atomic weapons program. "It's good news and something we look forward to seeing take place," State Department spokesman Tom Casey told reporters. The United States would like to see the weapons disabled by year's end.
• NK Given 'Favored' Ultimatum
  By Kim Yon-se Korea Times Correspondent SYDNEY _ U.S. President George W. Bush passed the ball over to North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, demanding Pyongyang make an ultimate decision to dismantle nuclear facilities. Notably, Bush attached ``mister'' when he mentioned the name of Kim in his talks with South President Roh Moo-hyun, while he formerly called him just ``Kim Jong-il.'' Bush's remarks during his summit with South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun means that the launch of negotiating a peace treaty that would end the 1950-53 Korean War is totally up to Kim. [Sequencing] [Media]
• Nuclear Experts to Inspect Sites in North Korea
  By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG Published: September 8, 2007 SYDNEY, Australia, Sept. 7 - At the invitation of North Korea, an international delegation of nuclear experts from Russia, China and the United States will travel to the North next week to inspect nuclear sites that are to be shut down, the chief American envoy to the country said here on Friday.
• [Column] Kim Jong-il's next move
    By KangTae-ho, Reporter of The Hankyoreh The political situation on the Korean peninsula remains dynamic. Such is the case with the decision in late August to hold another summit. It was then suddenly postponed to October. It demonstrates how unsure and unstable the country's future is. It is dynamic, but also ominous. North Korea has been suffering from natural disasters, like a poor household facing another family tragedy. Among them, the Ryongchon Train Station explosion and the recent flooding of Pyongyang, the capital of the Revolution, threaten the North's ability to manage the country. Esme Jo Culver of the American international aid organization, Mercy Corps, visited North Korea for the first time in June. She said she felt the land, and not just the people, was growing "exhausted," too. North Korean fields and mountains have become helpless in the face of floods and droughts for the fact that tree growth has disappeared. Time is not on North Korea's side. National Defence Commission chairman Kim Jong-il surely must know this. It is clear they are not going to "kick back and wait." On May 22, 2004, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi went to Pyongyang to talk about gaining the return of abducted Japanese citizens. Kim Jong-il looked at Koizumi and told him that Korea's "ultimate goal is denuclearization" and that "the freezing of our nuclear development programs will be followed by verification." Koizumi asked Kim if he could convey that message to U.S. President George W. Bush. "I would hope that you do," was Kim's answer. "I want to sing and dance with Bush until I go hoarse. I would hope that you would all accompany us as well. An orchestra of six people ... and the duet of me and Bush would go well together." These words of his were disregarded. [Koizumi0209] [NK US policy]
• No Firm Date to Take N.Korea off Terror List - Hill
        U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said on Tuesday that no date has been set for striking North Korea from the U.S. list of states sponsoring terrorism and lift the Trade with Hostile Nations Act. "I don't want to get into some of the specific things that we're prepared to do," Hill said. "Obviously we had a considerable discussion about these, but I need to consult with my government and also among the six parties before I consult with the press on that." Hill's comments contradict speculation that an agreement has been reached to strike North Korea from the terrorism list before the end of the year. [Terrorism list] [US NK negotiations]
• Will Nuke Disablement Commitment Materialize?
  By Yoon Won-sup Staff Reporter Did another ``agreed framework in Geneva'' appear under which the United States tries get rid of North Korea's nuclear weapons program? The question is easily raised as North Korea agreed to make a full declaration of all its nuclear programs and disable them by the end of the year.
• The US and North Korea near diplomatic thaw
  The North says the US already agreed to take it off the list of terrorism-sponsoring states. By Donald Kirk
  | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor from the September 4, 2007 edition WASHINGTON - The deal struck by the top US and North Korean negotiators in Geneva for North Korea to live up to its promise to give up its nuclear weapons program apparently comes with crucial US concessions. The US agreed in the talks to take North Korea off the State Department's list of "terrorist" countries, according to a spokesman for the North Korean foreign ministry, and also to provide political and economic "compensation" in the form of removal of sanctions. The State Department refrained from immediate comment on the North Korean report, carried by Pyongyang's Korean Central News Agency. Analysts are confident, though, that the weekend talks between the US chief negotiator, Christopher Hill, and his North Korean counterpart, Kim Gye Kwan, revolved around those issues. "North Korea has been saying they are ready to dismantle their nuclear facilities if the US removes North Korea from the list of terrorist countries and the ban imposed under the trading-with-the-enemy act," says Kim Sung Han, professor of international relations at Korea University in Seoul, South Korea. "North Korea says it suffers because of the US trade embargo, and if the US lifts the sanctions, North Korea will get out of its suffering." It would take an act of Congress to de-list North Korea from the US terrorist list, but President Bush could act to erase the "terrorist" label by reporting to Congress that North Korea had not been involved in terrorist activities for the past six months.
  Analysts here and in Seoul cite the quid pro quo inherent in an understanding that Hill says calls for North Korea to "provide a full declaration of all their nuclear programs" and "disable" them by the end of this year. "You can see the North Korean strategy," says Moon Jung In, professor of international relations at Yonsei University in Seoul. The reward for North Korean cooperation, besides an outpouring of aid, he says, is diplomatic relations between Pyongyang and Washington. "North Korea is interested in normalizing relations," says Mr. Moon, who functions as an ambassador at large for the South Korean government. "The US has nothing to lose." Kim Sung Han points out, however, the subtlety in Hill's announcement. Hill and Kim "are just concerned with nuclear facilities," he says, while omitting specific mention of North Korea's nuclear weapons or its program for developing nuclear warheads from highly enriched uranium rather than plutonium. [HEU] [Terrorism List] [US NK Policy]
• US rebuffs N Korea on terror list
  Christopher Hill linked the move to progress on the nuclear deal A top US official has rejected North Korea's claim that Washington has agreed to remove it from a list of countries that support terrorism. Nuclear negotiator Christopher Hill said that such a move would depend on progress by Pyongyang towards ending its nuclear programme. On Monday North Korea said that the US had agreed to the move at bilateral talks in Geneva at the weekend. In return, it would disable its nuclear facilities by year-end, it said.
  But Mr Hill, in Australia for the forthcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation summit, said that this was not the case. "No, they haven't been taken off the terrorism list," he said. "Their getting off that list will depend on further denuclearisation." [Terrorism List] [Media]
• Did Bush Get the N.Korea Deal He Needs in Geneva?
  North Korea on Sunday agreed to report all nuclear programs and disable its nuclear facilities by the end of the year. Some experts are saying this was prompted by a key concession on the part of U.S. President George W. Bush to strike the North from the U.S. list of states sponsoring terrorism and lift the Trade with Hostile Nations Act. Pyongyang has linked these two demands with its declaration and disablement of nuclear programs under a Feb. 13 six-nation agreement.
• Pyongyang claims end of 'pariah' status
  Jonathan Watts, East Asia correspondent Tuesday September 4, 2007 The Guardian One of the many posters on the streets of Pyongyang supporting North Korea's 'military first' policy. Photograph: Jonathan Watts The United States has agreed to lift sanctions against North Korea and remove it from its list of pariah states that sponsor terrorism, the foreign ministry in Pyongyang announced yesterday. Washington declined to confirm the report, but if true the move would represent one of the biggest steps towards peace on the divided peninsula since the Korean war armistice in 1953
• The US and North Korea come closer to détente
  N. Korea will disable and declare nuclear programs, U.S. will provide compensation in agreement reached in Geneva
  The US and North Korea come closer to detente N. Korea will disable and declare nuclear programs, U.S. will provide compensation, in agreement reached in Geneva North Korea and the United States reportedly plan to discuss possible ways to implement disablement of North Korea's nuclear programs within the year and, in exchange, the U.S. plans to provide compensation to the communist nation. These steps were agreed upon at the 2nd round of North Korea-U.S. working-level talks to normalize relations between the two countries, and will be discussed once again at the next round of six-party talks to be held in Beijing in the middle of this month. In connection with the results of the North Korea-U.S. meeting, which ended in Geneva on Sunday, a high-ranking government official said on the following day, "These steps should be seen as part of a bigger framework. The details will be discussed in the next round of six-party talks."
• A milestone in the N. Korean nuclear issue
  [Editorial] The two-day talks between North Korea and the United States held in Geneva Sept. 1-2 have come to a successful close. The talks were part of a series of working-level discussions within the six-party framework, and it appears that the two sides have tentatively agreed to a timetable for commensurate measures to be taken by the United States in response to the second phase of North Korea's denuclearization. Subsequently, it becomes more likely that the main six-party talks scheduled for the middle of this month and the six-nation foreign ministers' meeting expected in October will go smoothly. This development also gives the summit between Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and U.S. President George W. Bush on Sept. 7, and the inter-Korean summit coming in early October, more room to work with.
• North: U.S. ready to lift sanctions,adjust terror list
  Deal contingent on the disclosure, disablement of nuclear programs September 04, 2007 North Korea said yesterday that the United States has agreed to take it off the list of state sponsors of terrorism and remove some trade sanctions if the communist country discloses and disables all of its nuclear programs by the end of this year. The two sides agreed on working-level steps to disable the nuclear facilities, an unnamed spokesman for North Korea's foreign ministry told the state-run Korean Central News Agency. In return, he said, North Korea will be delisted from the terrorism roster and the sanctions imposed under the Trading with the Enemy Act will be lifted.
• Foreign Ministry Spokesman on Recent DPRK-U.S. Talks
  Pyongyang, September 3 (KCNA) -- A spokesman for the DPRK Foreign Ministry gave the following answer to a question put by KCNA Monday as regards the recent DPRK-U.S. talks held in Geneva: A meeting of the DPRK-U.S. working group for the six-party talks was held in Geneva from Sept. 1 to 2. The meeting discussed the goals at the next phase for the implementation of the September 19 joint statement and reached a series of agreements. Both sides discussed the issue of taking practical measures to neutralize the existing nuclear facilities in the DPRK within this year and agreed on them. In return for this the U.S. decided to take such political and economic measures for compensation as delisting the DPRK as a terrorism sponsor and lifting all sanctions that have been applied according to the Trading with the Enemy Act. This has laid a groundwork for making progress at the plenary session of the six-party talks to be held in the future. [Terrorism List] [Sanctions]
• U.S. Says N. Korea Not Off Terror List
  By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: September 4, 2007 Filed at 4:37 a.m. ET Skip to next paragraph Related North Korea Says U.S. Will Lift Sanctions (September 4, 2007) SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- North Korea remains on a list of states that sponsor terrorism, a senior U.S. diplomat said Tuesday, dismissing North Korean claims that Washington decided to remove the designation. ''No, they haven't been taken off the terrorism list,'' Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill told Japanese reporters as he arrived in Australia's business capital for a meeting of Pacific Rim nations. A State Department press officer separately confirmed the remarks. Hill's comments were the first U.S. denial since North Korea's Foreign Ministry, in a statement carried Monday by the country's official news agency, said that Washington decided to scotch the terror designation and with it related economic sanctions. The North Korean statement said the change came in a weekend meeting between Hill and his counterpart in Geneva. [Terrorism List]
• N. Korea Says It Will Be Taken Off U.S. Terror List
  (Update5) By Bomi Lim Sept. 3 (Bloomberg) -- North Korea said the U.S. agreed to remove the communist country from its list of state sponsors of terrorism and lift all economic sanctions, a claim the U.S. declined to confirm. ``The U.S. decided to take such political and economic measures for compensation as delisting the DPRK as a terrorism sponsor and lift all sanctions,'' an unidentified North Korean spokesman said in a report carried by the official Korean Central News Agency. The DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
  The spokesman said the decision was made during Sept. 1-2 talks in Geneva, where North Korea agreed to dismantle its nuclear facilities this year. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, speaking to reporters in Geneva yesterday, said only that that there had been ``considerable discussion'' of terms under which North Korea might be dropped from the terror list. ``I don't want to get into some of the specific things that we're prepared to do,'' Hill told reporters yesterday. Nancy Beck, a State Department spokeswoman, said today that she had nothing to add to Hill's comments. [Terrorism List] [US NK negotiation] [Media]
• It's North's turn to make strategic decision
  At bilateral talks conducted this weekend, the United States and North Korea affirmed their determination to complete the nuclear disablement process by the year's end and that North Korea will make a full nuclear declaration.
  Without revealing more details, Kim said, "Political compensation means a change in (Washington's) hostile policy toward us, and laying out a legal mechanism for peaceful co-existence."
• N.Korea to Disable Nuclear Facilities 'by Year-End'
    North Korea has agreed to report and disable all its nuclear facilities by late this year, the chief U.S. envoy in talks with the reclusive nation said Sunday. Christopher Hill summed up two days of working talks on the normalization of relations between the U.S. and North Korea saying, "We had very good and very substantive talks."   He said North Korea will report its uranium enrichment program, on which the two sides had "good discussions" that will continue, agency reports said. Hill said the two sides dealt with a broad range of issues. His North Korean counterpart Kim Kye-gwan said, "We made it clear, we showed clear willingness to declare and dismantle all nuclear facilities." He added, "In return for this, we will receive political and economic compensation."
• Government Finds No Traces of Missing Uranium
  By Cho Jin-seo Staff Reporter The government said Friday it failed to retrieve 2.7 kilograms of uranium samples accidentally sent to a garbage incinerator in May, leaving worries and suspicions on its loose control of radioactive materials.
• A step toward scrapping North Korea's nuclear program
  By Jonathan S. Landay | McClatchy Newspapers * Posted on Sunday, September 2, 2007
  WASHINGTON - An announcement Sunday that North Korea has agreed to reveal and disable its nuclear programs by the end of this year represents progress on one of the Bush administration's few major diplomatic initiatives. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, the chief U.S. negotiator, announced on Sunday in Geneva, Switzerland, that North Korea had agreed during two days of talks to reveal all its nuclear programs and disable them by Dec. 31.
  Cheney and his allies have continued to fight a rear-guard action against negotiating with North Korea. Just last Friday, former State Department official and Cheney ally John Bolton argued in The Wall Street Journal that "little real progress has been made in eliminating Pyongyang's (nuclear) program" and charged that advocates of the negotiations need "a diplomatic success to justify long years of faith in the Six-Party Talks." [Dissension] [Media]
• Nuclear Pact Broadening, North Korea and U.S. Say
  By DAVID E. SANGER Published: September 3, 2007 The top American negotiator with North Korea said yesterday that the country had agreed to disable its main nuclear fuel production plant by the end of the year and to account to international monitors for all of its nuclear programs, including what American intelligence agencies say they believe was a second, secret program purchased from Pakistan. At the end of a two-day meeting in Geneva - exactly the kind of one-on-one session that the Bush administration had refused to hold in recent years - Christopher R. Hill, the assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, said the two sides had agreed on what would be a speedy next step, following action by North Korea this summer to turn off its main nuclear reactor. [HEU] [Dissension]
• N. Korea Agrees to Nuclear Deadline
  Deal Would Disable Programs, U.S. Says By John Ward Anderson Washington Post Foreign Service Monday, September 3, 2007; Page A10 PARIS, Sept. 2 -- North Korea agreed to disclose all of its nuclear activities and disable its nuclear programs by the end of the year, a senior U.S. official said Sunday after negotiations this weekend in Geneva.
• New Zealand to lead UN call for nuclear weapons risk to be lowered
  The Associated Press Published: August 30, 2007 WELLINGTON, New Zealand: Anti-nuclear New Zealand, with the support of like-minded nations including Sweden, will call on nuclear weapons states at the United Nations to lower the risk posed by their nuclear arsenals, an official said Thursday. "Thousands of nuclear weapons currently are on high-alert status, ready for instant launch. This presents a major threat to global security," said Disarmament and Arms Control Minister Phil Goff. "We call on states with nuclear weapons to take mutual action to remove all nuclear weapons from launch-on-warning status," he said
• U.S. and North Korean Negotiators Meet in Geneva
  By REUTERS Published: September 1, 2007 Filed at 3:31 p.m. ET Skip to next paragraph GENEVA (Reuters) - Top negotiators from the United States and North Korea said on Saturday they had made progress on the first day of talks meant to advance an international effort to end Pyongyang's nuclear program. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Chris Hill and his North Korean counterpart Kim Kye-gwan briefed reporters independently after meeting at the U.S. mission in Geneva. The weekend session will conclude on Sunday at the North Korean mission. "We had a fairly frank and in-depth discussion," Hill said, noting the talks spanned a range of topics including the terms under which the Stalinist state will disable and account for its nuclear facilities, as promised under a "six-party" deal. "We do have a long way to go on many of these issues but I think we reached substantial understanding between the two of us on what needs to be accomplished in the months ahead," he said. "All in all it was a very substantive discussion today. One of the most substantive we have had." Kim, speaking in Korean, said the first day of talks "went well," and had included discussions on removing North Korea from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism. That designation imposes a ban on arms-related sales and prevents North Korea, an economically vulnerable country that battles chronic food shortages, from receiving some aid. [Spin] [Bilateral]
• How the West summoned up a nuclear nightmare in Pakistan
  September 2, 2007 Adrian Levy and Catherine Scott-Clark reveal how misguided deals with Pakistan have created a terrifying threat of nuclear terrorism General Pervez Musharraf was surprised. Visiting New York for a session of the UN, the last thing the Pakistani president expected was to be confronted with evidence of his country’s secret sales of nuclear bomb technology and equipment to members of the “axis of evil”. Yet here on the polished wooden table of Musharraf’s hotel suite, George Tenet, director of the CIA, was laying out a sheaf of incriminating evidence. There were intricate drawings of Pakistan’s P-1 uranium-enrich-ing centrifuge, with part numbers, dates and signatures. And there were details of the activities of Abdul Qadeer “A Q” Khan, the so-called Father of the Pakistani Bomb: his travels around the world, bank statements, even paperwork showing what his organisation had offered for sale and to which countries. A senior Musharraf aide described it disingenuously as “the most embarrassing moment in the president’s life” – not because of the evidence but because he had felt Pakistan was on a long leash as it was integral to the Americans’ war on terror. It was only three months since President George W Bush had cancelled a $1 billion debt and instigated a new $3 billion military and economic assistance package for Pakistan
  Furthermore, disturbing new intelligence suggests that proliferation has not stopped. Last year, a 55-page highly classified “early warning” assessment was produced by Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service, the BND, taking in the pooled knowledge of British, French and Belgian spies. Its authors found that a range of materials and components were still being procured by Pakistan that “clearly exceeds” what Islamabad needed for its domestic nuclear programme. One of the report’s authors said: “They were buying to sell, and it could no longer be hived off as rogue scientists doing the deed.” The report said that KRL labs, Khan’s old facility, had continued to coordinate the Pakistani sales programme and now ran a network of front companies in Europe, the Gulf and southeast Asia which deployed all the old tricks: disguising end-user certificates by shielding the ultimate destinations from sellers, and lying on customs manifests. The Pakistan-North Korean relationship was still very much alive, the report stated. Islamabad had hooked Pyongyang into its nuclear procurement network in western Europe, buying raw materials and machinery for production lines in North Korea that were churning out cheap centrifuge components. Pakistan was one of the key customers, selling the parts on to other clients.
  Yet even when American spy satellites photographed missile components being loaded into a Pakistani C-130 outside Pyong-yang, the North Korean capital – and intelligence analysts concluded that the cargo was a direct exchange for Pakistani nuclear technology – Washington did not react. [Evidence] [HEU] [Espionage] [Disinformation]
• Bush throws the ball into Kim Jong-il's court
  If N. Korea can denuclearize, Bush is likely to push for resolution of N. Korean nuclear issue before the end of his term
    "I've made my choice. It's his choice to make." U.S. President George W. Bush, speaking at a White House press conference on Aug. 31 and sounding sure that the North Korean nuclear problem would be resolved during his term, urged Kim Jong-il, the leader of the communist state, to make a decision. His remarks are not surprising at all. During the ROK-U.S. summit that was held on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Hanoi in 2006, Bush reportedly said that if North Korea were to abandon its nuclear programs, he would recognize Kim's regime. [Spin] [Sequencing]
• N.Korea, U.S. to Discuss Terror List
  U.S. chief negotiator Christopher Hill told reporters Wednesday that his country and North Korea will discuss removing the North from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism in talks between the two countries in Geneva over the weekend. "We are going to have a discussion about things that they need to do... how far we are going to expect to see denuclearization go" in order to remove Pyongyang from the list, Hill said. The working talks on normalizing U.S.-North Korea relations arise from a Feb. 13 six-nation agreement on the denuclearization process in North Korea. [Agreement070213] [Terrorism List]
• Bush says effort to disarm N.Korea making progress
  By Caren BohanReuters Friday, August 31, 2007; 3:11 AM WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush said he thought the effort to persuade North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons program was making progress and he hoped full disarmament could be accomplished by the time his term ends in early 2009. In an interview on Thursday with Asian newspapers before an Asia-Pacific summit in Sydney next week, Bush expressed frustration that Washington and its allies were still trying to persuade Pyongyang to follow through with a 2005 agreement to disclose and dismantle its nuclear weapons program. [Spin]

• Uranium's reaction to a nuclear future
  Last Updated: 12:43am BST 30/08/2007 So-called 'hot gold' exploded in price as new atomic power stations were mooted but has since fallen, reports Katherine Griffiths As oil has been the "black gold" which has made many fortunes, some have started to call uranium "hot gold". The market for the dense, metallic element which fuels nuclear power stations has exploded over the past few years. Having languished at less than $10 (£5) a pound for much of the 1990s - which saw the closure of many uranium mines - its price shot up by 900pc between 2001 and 2006.   Demand for uranium is set to rise 40pc by 2012 But now investors' appetite is cooling rapidly. After four years of non-stop rises, uranium hit $135 in June and then began to fall. In the past few weeks, it has slumped to $90.
• U.S. reaffirms N.K. terrorism list removal depends on denuclearization
  The United States will talk to North Korea next week about terms for removing it from the list of terrorism-sponsoring nations, a key demand made by Pyongyang in their negotiations toward denuclearization and diplomatic normalization, the top U.S. nuclear envoy said Wednesday. Christopher Hill, assistant secretary of state, would not give any time frame on when North Korea might be delisted. But he said he and his North Korean counterpart would discuss what Pyongyang needs to do and how far North Korea's denuclearization should progress to meet the criteria for removal. [Agreement070213] [Terrorism list] [Spin]
• US Delays Decision on North Korea
  By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: August 29, 2007 Filed at 6:43 p.m. ET WASHINGTON (AP) -- The chief U.S. envoy at North Korean nuclear talks said Wednesday the United States will make sure close ally Japan is satisfied before lifting North Korea from a U.S. list of countries accused of sponsoring terrorists. Christopher Hill acknowledged the North has raised the terror-list removal repeatedly as a crucial part of a February nuclear disarmament accord. But, he said, the United States is ''not going to cup our eyes and pretend a country is not a state sponsor of terrorism if they are a state sponsor.'' Japan, the top U.S. ally in northeast Asia, is refusing to provide the North with energy and economic aid until the abduction of Japanese citizens in the 1970s and 1980s by North Korean agents is resolved. Many in Tokyo see the abduction issue as linked to the U.S. terrorism designation. ''We care very much what our Japanese friends and allies have to say about an issue,'' Hill told reporters. The United States, he said, wants to handle the issue ''in a way that strengthens our relationship with Japan.'' Hill's comments come ahead of meetings Saturday and Sunday in Geneva, Switzerland, between the United States and North Korea. Those talks will deal with the terror list, which the North says is evidence
• U.S. National Security and Nuclear Weapons in the 21st Century
  By James Doyle
  Proliferation Analysis, August 23, 2007 Published: August 23, 2007 On July 24, 2007 the Bush Administration issued a statement, signed by the Secretaries of the Energy, Defense and State Departments, arguing that a new nuclear warhead called the Reliable Replacement Warhead or "RRW" was critical to maintaining a credible nuclear deterrent in the 21st century.  The statement also claimed that if the RRW was not manufactured and introduced into the U.S. nuclear arsenal there would be risks associated with making further reductions in America's stockpile of nuclear arms.  These are the opinions of a limited set of experts within the Administration and are opposed by other national security experts who contend that additional nuclear arms reductions can be made safely and the reliability of the current arsenal can be maintained for decades without the need for a new nuclear warhead. 
• Is peace that difficult?
  AT THE end of the Cold War there was an opportunity for the world to create a new collective security order. In 1991, after decades of blockages in the Security Council, it authorised armed intervention to stop the Iraqi aggression against Kuwait. In the same period, Russia and the United States took steps to reduce the number of deployed non-strategic nuclear weapons: the Chemical Weapons Convention was adopted in 1993, the Non-Proliferation Treaty was prolonged indefinitely after renewed commitments by nuclear weapon states to take get serious about disarmament; a Comprehensive Test-Ban Treaty was negotiated and adopted in 1996; and at the review conference of the NPT in 2000, countries agreed on 13 practical steps to disarmament. But the window of opportunity soon closed. The US embarked on unilateralism
• N. Korea and U.S. to resume normalization talks in September
  Two-day meeting will cover disablement and denuclearization; Japan prepares to meet with N. Korea later this month North Korea and the United States will resume talks on normalizing ties in Geneva, Switzerland, on September 1-2. These are the second talks of their kind and are one of the various working-level discussions put in motion by the February 13 six-party agreement. They will be attended by the two countries' top representatives to the six-party talks on the North Korean nuclear issue, North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill.
• U.S. to address North Korea's missiles after nuke
  By Lee Joo-hee
  The United States will address the missile threat posed by North Korea once it disables the country's nuclear weapons programs, a U.S. State Department official was quoted as telling reporters in Washington. "The discussion framework in the six-party talks is a discussion framework about the nuclear weapons program in North Korea," deputy assistant secretary of state for international security and nonproliferation Donald Mahley was quoted as saying. "Obviously once we have that very real threat out of the way, if that happens, then we will have ways and means to address other issues with North Korea, such as their missile program and missile proliferation," he told reporters. The United States and North Korea are currently preparing for their second round of bilateral working group talks early next month. The bilateral meetings not only deal with the normalization of relations between the two countries but also the sensitive problem of getting the North to admit to any clandestine uranium enrichment program. [HEU] [Missiles] [Toolkit]
• US, NK to Resume Normalization Talks Sept. 1-2 in Geneva
  The United States and North Korea will resume talks on normalizing relations in Geneva Sept. 1-2 under a six-way framework aimed at defusing Pyongyang's nuclear threat, Kyodo news agency reported Friday quoting a U.S. government source as saying. At the working group gathering, the second of its kind, the two countries are expected to continue talks on North Korea's nuclear ambitions, in addition to discussing normalizing bilateral ties, Kyodo said. Washington is keen on having all of Pyongyang's existing nuclear facilities disabled by the end of the year. For its part, North Korea could increase its pressure on the United States to remove the country from a U.S. state-sponsor-of-terrorism list.
• Three Hard Truths
  John Feffer
  | August 17, 2007
  Editor: Debayani Kar Foreign Policy In Focus www.fpif.org After finally receiving $24 million in frozen assets, North Korea shut down its nuclear reactor at Yongbyon in July. The optimists cautiously celebrated the move as the first step toward the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and the eventual establishment of diplomatic relations between Washington and Pyongyang. The pessimists drolly pointed out that we’re back to where we were in 2002, except that now North Korea has a whole lot more nuclear material and possibly a bomb to boot.
  But the question remains: besides a non-nuclear North Korea, what does Washington really want out of the current six-party negotiations? The apparent decline of the regime-change enthusiasts in Washington notwithstanding, the United States hasn’t changed its fundamental approach to Northeast Asia. This approach is based on three hard truths. * The United States fundamentally doesn’t care about North Korea. * The United States is deeply ambivalent about Korean reunification.  * And the United States is allergic to a regional security system. [US NK policy]
• The Road to Peace in Northeast Asia – Prospects and Pitfalls
  Tim Beal
  The shutdown of the DPRK plutonium reactor, the New York Times noted angrily recently, shows that ‘real nonproliferation diplomacy can produce real results’ as long as it is stripped of ‘empty, ideological posturing’.[1] The target of the Times’ fulminations was not, as is usually the case, and as it will probably be again tomorrow, the government in Pyongyang, but that in Washington. Tearing up the agreement it had inherited from the Clinton administration had only produced an ‘embarrassing outcome for the hard-line tactics favored by Vice-President Dick Cheney’. The Bush administration, recalled the Times, had ‘walked away from Mr. Clinton’s deal in 2002, with sensational charges, from which it has since retreated, that North Korea was pursuing a second, secret bomb-making program based on uranium enrichment.’ We might recall that the newspaper had itself published an embarrassed mea culpa that the administration’s ‘sensational charges’ about Iraq, subsequently proven fraudulent, had misled it into enthusiastically supported the disastrous invasion. Were the charges against the DPRK equally fraudulent? Probably, but since they cannot be disproved – and there’s the rub – the Times is left with nagging doubt, and anger about ‘the six bombs’ worth of nuclear fuel Pyongyang produced – and the nuclear test - while Washington strutted and postured.’[2]
  The much-criticised nuclear test of last October was probably the clincher. [US NK policy] [Agreement070213] [HEU] [Dissension]
• Australia is backing a nuclear rogue
  Andy Butfoy August 20, 2007 THE Australian Government will be seen around the world as pulling the rug from under global arms control. This is an obvious consequence of its decision to pave the way for uranium sales to India, a country that rejects treaties aimed at stopping the nuclear arms race. The Government, apparently led by Foreign Minister Downer, believes boosting mining profits, and following Washington's lead on nuclear co-operation with India, are more important than reinforcing global non-proliferation rules. Of course, there is a case for selling uranium to India. It's one that tends to reflect the views of the US neo-cons who laid much of the groundwork for the idea. Advocates of the exports often pin their case on three points. First, they can play the global warming card, although this mostly looks like tactical positioning rather than a genuine motive. Second, they say it's a moral nonsense for the rules to ban civil nuclear sales to a democracy such as India, while simultaneously permitting sales to an authoritarian state such as China just because Beijing has signed arms control agreements. Third, armchair strategists think India can be used to balance the growing power of China. [NPT] [Double standards] [China confrontation]
• September Crucial for N.Korea Denuclearization, Peace
  With the second inter-Korean summit delayed until Oct. 2-4, the month of September becomes a crucial time for efforts to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula and establish a peace framework here. First up is the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Sydney on Sept. 8-9. The leaders of the nations in six-party nuclear talks except North Korean leader Kim Jong-il will gather for the summit. On the sidelines, various bilateral or trilateral talks are scheduled between the leaders of South Korea, the U.S., China, Japan, and Russia that are expected to touch on denuclearization efforts.
• IAEA’s Role Under Scrutiny
  By Bennett Ramberg
  Project Syndicate News Service This summer’s 50th anniversary of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) founding offers an opportunity for stocktaking about the world’s most important nuclear watchdog. It comes at a time when the Agency has assumed increasing responsibility for nuclear security. The recent dispatch of inspectors to verify the shutdown of North Korea’s weapons reactor and the continuing efforts to ferret out Iran’s nuclear intentions are only the most visible signs of its monitoring function.
  But, while there is much to celebrate, questions remain about whether the IAEA can increase its capacity both to combat proliferation and promote nuclear power plant safety. History suggests that without greater authority, the agency will be incapable of dramatically reducing global nuclear risks.
  Despite these errors, in the past few years, the IAEA has demonstrated its worth as an effective nuclear sleuth. In 2002, its inspectors revealed North Korea’s cheating, prompting U.N. sanctions. (Unfortunately, this did not halt the country’s subsequent withdrawal from the NPT.)
  Bennett Ramberg served in the Bureau of Politico-Military Affairs under President George H.W. Bush. He is the author and editor of six books on international security. The article is distributed by Project Syndicate (www.project-syndicate.org). [HEU] [Disinformation]
• North Korea vows "transparent" disclosure of all nuclear programs
  SHENYANG -- North Korea is prepared to reveal all its nuclear programs and facilities in a transparent manner, under the six-party disarmament deal struck in February, the country's deputy chief nuclear negotiator said on Saturday. On Friday, envoys from the six nations in this Chinese city ended a two-day meeting dealing with how to proceed with the February agreement on dismantling the North's nuclear weapons program. "We will transparently disclose all our nuclear programs and nuclear facilities," Ri Gun, the North's foreign ministry director in charge of U.S. affairs, told reporters before returning home. Ri was the North's chief negotiator in this week's Shenyang meeting. The North's chief nuclear negotiator, Kim Kye-gwan, was absent from the Shenyang meeting because he was in a bilateral meeting with the U.S.
  One of the major obstacles in the second phase of denuclearization is the North's suspected uranium-based weapons program, which was the subject of U.S. accusations in late 2002. However, Ri didn't respond to a reporter's question about the uranium-enrichment program, which the North has previously denied operating [HEU]
• U.S. says more work needed on North Korea's nuclear disablement talks
  Work remains to be done on negotiating the disablement of North Korea's nuclear programs, and talks will continue until the plenary six-nation forum next month, the U.S. State Department said Friday. "I think in a lot of areas there were some overlap, still work to be done," spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters, describing the concluded working group meeting in China as a session for "putting on the table various ideas" rather than negotiations.
• Nuclear talks end amid 'positive' atmosphere, but no agreement
  Working-level talks on ending North Korea's nuclear ambition closed Friday in what a South Korean official called a "positive and friendly" mood, but the countries have failed to reach an agreement on how to disable the communist nation's nuclear facilities as part of a February denuclearization deal.
• U.S. Chiefly to Blame for Posing Nuclear Threat and Proliferating Nukes
  Pyongyang, August 17 (KCNA) -- The United States is chiefly to blame for posing a nuclear threat to the world and proliferating nukes there, sparking a nuclear arms race and increasing the danger of a nuclear war. It is, therefore, brigandish sophism and preposterous assertion for the U.S. to talk about someone's "nuclear threat" and "nuclear proliferation." Rodong Sinmun Friday says this in a signed commentary. Recalling that the U.S. development of new type nukes is touching off great concern and protest of the international community and the tendency of opposing this is growing stronger inside Congress and other political circles, thus becoming the focus of public attention, the commentary goes on:
• N.K. willing to talk uranium program
  With North Korea expressing willingness to address suspicions regarding its alleged clandestine uranium-enrichment program, members of the six-party talks held a second day of working group discussions on denuclearization in China yesterday. At the meeting, North Korea reportedly selected its 5-megawatt nuclear reactor and a reprocessing facility as the first to be disabled. North Korea has so far shut down the five main nuclear facilities, including the two above-mentioned programs, and has received verification by the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency. Delegates from South Korea and the United States said there was some progress in the first day of the working group talks, but underscored that more time is needed to reach a "common understanding."
  The key sticking point and the critical juncture to gauge the success of the six-party talks is whether North Korea will admit to having a highly-enriched uranium program. Hill confirmed that North Korea has expressed its willingness to address Washington's suspicions concerning such a program. However, this does not mean that the North has yet admitted to having a clandestine UEP, Hill said. The United States has suspected the North of running the uranium enrichment program since the late 1990s, but North Korea has so far denied it. Pyongyang only admits to running a plutonium-based nuclear program. North Korea reportedly has changed its stance, and said it would address any evidence the United States puts on the table. By Lee Joo-hee [HEU]
• North Korea Intends to declare Uranium Enrichment Plan
  N. Korea working-group meetings make progress "It's a technical process, not negotiations." Christopher Hill, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State, described this week's working-group meetings as a technical process after arriving in Shenyang, China, to join the second round of meetings on North Korea's nuclear program. Hill told reporters that he expected the meetings to go smoothly because the envoys will not try to reach a specific agreement. North Korea dispatched Ri Gun, the director of U.S. affairs at the North Korean Foreign Ministry, to the Shenyang meetings instead of Kim Kye-gwan, the North's chief negotiator in the six-party talks. On August 13, the North's negotiator Kim met with Hill in Beijing. North Korea and the United States are likely to meet in Berlin sometime in September to discuss ways to normalize bilateral relations.
  While this week's meetings were aimed at the technical aspects of dismantling North Korea's nuclear facilities, the North's Uranium Enrichment Program (UEP) is a very sensitive issue as well. Hill said efforts have been made to resolve the issue of enriched uranium and that the issue would be dealt with at future working-level meetings between North Korea and the United States, held to normalize ties between the two countries. The UEP program is at the core of suspicions surrounding the North's nuclear weapons program. A South Korean negotiator told the Korean press that the North Korean envoy expressed North Korea's willingness to declare the controversial UEP and resolve the UEP disputes. [HEU]
• Second round of N. Korea working-level talks begins today
  Disablement, declaration and deadline are the focus as discussions get underway in China
  The second round of working-level talks on North Korea's denuclearization will be held in Shenyang, China, from August 16-17. Meeting participants will discuss the next step following the North's nuclear shutdown, disablement and reporting on its nuclear programs. A working-group meeting for economic and energy support that five other nations will provide to North Korea in exchange for the nuclear disablement was held at the truce village of Panmunjeom earlier this month.
• Diplomatic Normalization
  North Must Speed Up Denuclearization for Ties With US
  The United States and North Korea are expected to hold a working group meeting late this month or early next month to discuss ways to normalize bilateral diplomatic ties in line with Pyongyang's dismantling of its nuclear weapons programs. South Korean media reported that the normalization talks are likely to take place in Europe, possibly Berlin, although Washington has yet to confirm the venue and date for the meeting.
• International Campaign To Abolish Nuclear Weapons
  Publications
• Uranium issue clouds hopes on N Korea nuclear talks
  By Anna Fifield in Seoul Published: August 15 2007 03:00 | Last updated: August 15 2007 03:00 When diplomats gather in the Chinese industrial city of Shenyang tomorrow to hammer out just how much and when North Korea will have to disclose about its nuclear programmes as part of a February deal, they will confront a thorny issue: uranium enrichment. Under the terms of the February 13 deal, which has already resulted in Pyongyang shutting down its Yongbyon nuclear facility in exchange for energy aid, North Korea must disclose all its nuclear programmes. Included are the known plutonium efforts that fuelled last year's nuclear test, as well as a uranium programme, which the US has long accused Pyongyang of having. At the heart of the matter now is both how much Pyongyang is prepared to disclose and what level of confession Washington feels it can accept from Kim Jong-il's regime. The US's 2002 allegation that North Korea was enriching uranium to weapons grade sparked the current nuclear crisis, after James Kelly, the assistant secretary of state, accused the North Korean regime of contravening the 1994 deal under which Pyongyang agreed to stop producing nuclear fuel. US officials claim that during a 2002 meeting Kang Sok-ju, North Korea's vice- foreign minister, essentially admitted to the charge Pyongyang was making highly enriched uranium.
  The uranium charge is now widely considered to have been exaggerated for political purposes and is often compared with the US allegation that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. "There is no evidence that they have any significant uranium capability," says Joe Cirincione of the Center for American Progress, a Washington think-tank. "It strikes me that we did the same thing with North Korea that we did with Iraq. A few facts were extrapolated to make a case that was not really supported by the evidence."
  US officials do appear to be stepping back from the original allegations, referring to a "uranium enrichment programme" rather than "highly enriched uranium". Analysts and officials alike say the change in language is about setting North Korea "a bar that they can meet". [HEU] [Backdown]
• Hats off to Hill!
  By Ralph A. Cossa
  Hats off to Assistant U.S. Secretary of State Christopher Hill! It's not exactly clear what he told (or promised) North Korean officials during his first-ever surprise visit to Pyongyang last week – or if the mere continuation of the long sought after one-on-one direct dialogue was sufficient – but Pyongyang has finally agreed to honor its commitment to begin the denuclearization process. As spelled out in the Feb. 13, 2007 Six-Party Talks “action for action” agreement, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) officials are returning to Pyongyang to begin the process of shutting down and sealing the DPRK’s nuclear facilities at Yongbyon.
  True, North Korea still had to be bribed to honor its promises – to the tune of $25 million dollars – but in a refreshing twist, this time they were bribed with their own money, tainted though it may have been, via the release of frozen assets from Banco Delta Asia (BDA) in Macao.
  While this action appears sufficient to allow Pyongyang to proceed with its phase one commitments, it is doubtful we have heard the last of this “financial sanctions” issue, since overall U.S. warnings against doing business with Pyongyang reportedly remain in place. As one North Korean interlocutor announced at an international conference recently (see PacNet 27A), “Lifting financial sanctions is not simply a technical issue of withdrawing some amounts.” Permitting full access to the international banking system, North Korean officials have long insisted, “serves as a yardstick showing whether the U.S. is willing to drop its hostile policy” toward the DPRK.
  The “proof” sought by Pyongyang that this policy has been eliminated has included demands for an end to U.S. military exercises in the South, the provision of light-water reactors, a peace treaty, acknowledgment of North Korea's status as a nuclear weapons state on a par with the U.S., and full diplomatic recognition. Without such a demonstrated commitment by Washington to “peaceful coexistence,” Pyongyang maintains, “the Korean Peninsula will hold no prospect for denuclearization for an indefinite period.” Getting past the “hostile policy” hurdle is likely to take longer than the end of this calendar year (and likely to cost considerably more than the promised million tons of fuel oil or equivalent of total aid). [Chutzpah] [BDA] [Financial sanctions]
• Lessons learned from the BDA Debacle and the Six Party Talks
  By Gordon Flake
  Executive Director, The Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation Given the tortuous history of the past three month’s efforts to resolve the stalemate surrounding the disposition of North Korean funds in the Macanese bank Banco Delta Asia--BDA, it is too early to celebrate. Although it appears that with yet another in a long series of concessions by the U.S. side, North Korea might finally be prepared to declare its demands satisfied and begin implementation of the February 13 agreement of the Six- Party Talks involving Japan, the U.S., South Korea, China, Russia and North Korea. Significantly, this week marks a full two months since the passing of the initial deadline for North Korea to shutdown its reactors and admit inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency as required during the first phase of the agreement. [BDA]
• China & the 123 Agreement: An Update
  By B. Raman
  Between July, 2005, when India and the US agreed in principle on civilian nuclear co-operation, and June, 2006, Beijing's reaction was unmistakably unenthusiastic. It sought to justify its lack of enthusiasm on the ground that such a special waiver to India, when it has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and not given up its military nuclear ambitions, could weaken the global non-proliferation architecture. [NPT] [China confrontation]
• U.S., N.Korean Envoys 'to Meet One-on-One'
  The chief U.S. and North Korean negotiators meet in Beijing to discuss the North's nuclear program with their Chinese counterparts. Kim Kye-gwan and Christopher Hill were expected to meet one-on-one on Monday or Tuesday, sources in Beijing said Sunday. [Bilateral]
• Why North Korea continues to defy the world
  By Stephen Rademaker Published: August 13 2007 03:00 | Last updated: August 13 2007 03:00 Most of the recent diplomatic news on North Korea is encouraging. After protracted delays, Kim Jong-il last month honoured the promise he made in February to shut down his nuclear reactor at Yongbyon. This paved the way for the announcement last week of the first summit between leaders of the two Koreas in seven years. It will be held this month. Having got its way on the frozen funds and on implementation of the Security Council resolutions, North Koreais sure to make additional demands. It has already said it will take no further steps to implement the February agreement until the US ends the trade embargo and removes it from the US list of terrorism sponsors. Assuming they receive satisfaction on these issues, two much more serious sticking points can be expected to emerge. First, they will not want to reveal the full extent of their nuclear weapons programme - most importantly their uranium enrichment activities - as required under the February agreement. Second, they will make further progress conditional on the resumption of the $4.5bn light water reactor project begun during the Clinton administration. If the North Koreans can prevail on both issues, they effectively will have reinstated the Agreed Framework - except that now they have additional nuclear weapons, have tested them, and will have been given a pass on their uranium enrichment programme. And, as under the Agreed Framework, they will insist that we do not get what we want - dismantlement of their nuclear weapons and related infrastructure - until construction of the light water reactors is complete. This will afford them another decade during which to present additional demands. Alternatively, if the North Koreans do not prevail on both issues, they will put the diplomatic process on indefinite hold. Then, at a propitious moment, they will plunge it into another crisis to bully others into meeting their demands. Either way, it is safe to assume that diplomacy is unlikely to end the North Korean nuclear weapons threat for the foreseeable future. The writer is a former US assistant secretary of state responsible for international security and non-proliferation, and vice-president at Barbour Griffith& Rogers [Bizarre] [Agreed Framework] [Spin] [Blame] [LWR]  
• Korea Struggles to Find Lost Uranium
  By Kim Tae-gyu Staff Reporter The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) is having a hard time searching for 2.7 kilograms of uranium sent to an incinerator by accident in May. The state-run institute learned of the grave mistake on Aug. 6 and formed a task force to find the material that had drawn the attention of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
• North Korea's Top Nuclear Negotiator In Beijing
  By REUTERS Published: August 11, 2007 Filed at 3:52 a.m. ET TOKYO (Reuters) - North Korea's chief nuclear negotiator Kim Kye-gwan arrived in Beijing on Saturday, for possible talks with his U.S. counterpart ahead of next week's meeting aimed at denuclearizing the reclusive state, Kyodo news agency said. Last month, energy-starved North Korea shut its Soviet era reactor and a plant that makes arms-grade plutonium in exchange for 50,000 tonnes of heavy fuel as part of a February 13 disarmament deal struck by the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States.
• Research Agency Loses Uranium Samples
  The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute was found to have carelessly discarded about two kilograms of uranium test samples in the trash. Natural uranium which is used to fuel nuclear power plants is not harmful to people or the environment. However, handling uranium is strictly regulated in accordance with nuclear safeguards since enriched uranium can be used in nuclear weapons. According to KAERI on Thursday, 1.98 kg of uranium including a golf ball-sized 1.90 kg sample of natural uranium and 0.2 grams of enriched uranium went missing from the institute in May. [HEU] [IAEA]
• N.Korea Wants Regular Flow of Heavy Fuel Oil
  North Korea wants a regular supply of 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil until it has the entire reward for disabling its nuclear facilities under a February denuclearization agreement, or 950,000 tons, in hand. After two days of six-nation economic and energy aid working group meetings ended in the truce village of Panmunjeom on Wednesday, the deputy negotiator for South Korea Im Seong-nam said the North wants regular oil shipments. It also asked for equipment needed to improve and repair its thermoelectric and hydroelectric power plants and coalmines. The North said it would show flexibility based on mutual trust and would understand even if the economic rewards come after steps it takes toward denuclearization
• North Korea Wants Investment-Based Aid at 6-Party Talks
  By Yoon Won-sup Staff Reporter North Korea Wednesday asked for investment-based aid at a working-group meeting of the six-party talks aimed at ending the Stalinist country's nuclear ambitions. Seoul officials said that for the first time North Korea brought up the concept that energy aid is divided into two kinds _ investment and consumption _ during the meeting held Aug. 7-8 at the truce village of Panmunjeom. ``Consumption-based aid is, for example, heavy fuel oil and coal that is gone once used; while investment-based aid is that which helps continued production of energy, such as by mending power stations,'' South Korea's deputy nuclear negotiator Lim Sung-nam told reporters. North Korean negotiators put the concept on the table on Tuesday and produced detailed documents on Wednesday so that other delegates could understand how the North wants the investment-type assistance.
• N. Korean Energy Aid Talks Kick Off in Panmunjeom
  Kim Myong Gil, center left in front, minister at the Noreth Korea's mission to the United Nations, cosses border from North to South with South Korea's deputy nuclear negotiator Lim Sung-nam, center right in front, to attend the 2nd Economy and Energy Coopperation Working Group Meeting in Panmunjom Tuesday. Negotioations were set to begin Tuesday amont the two Koreas, the United States and regional partners to iron out the details of an aid-for-disarmament deal with North Korea. / AP-Yonap [Photo]
• Six-Party Ministerial Talks Flagged for September
      Six-nation ministerial talks on the North Korean nuclear problem could be held in September for the first time since multilateral efforts to resolve the issue started in 2003, the U.S. State Department said Monday. The six nations have so far been represented by envoys at deputy level. AFP quoted U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack as saying, "If all that goes according to schedule I think you could look at something as early as September."  
• Russia hopes for N. Korea ministerial meeting at U.N.: report
  MOSCOW, Aug. 6 KYODO      A senior Russian diplomat said Monday the foreign ministerial meeting on North Korea's nuclear program should be called during the U.N. General Assembly session opening in New York on Sept. 19, Russia's RIA Novosti news agency reported.      ''If the meeting is not held in New York on the sidelines of the General Assembly meeting, then the most likely time will be October,'' Alexander Losyukov, a deputy foreign minister, said in Tokyo where he met with Japan's envoy to the six-nation talks on North Korea, Kenichiro Sasae, the report said.
• Shaken to the Sore: Japan’s Nuclear Program Battered by Niigata Quake
  David McNeill
  One of the lesser-known casualties of the deadly July 16 quake that struck Niigata Prefecture was a headstone that toppled in a village a few miles from the epicenter off Kashiwazaki. The grave bore the name of legendary former Prime Minister Tanaka Kakuei, Japan’s postwar master of pork-barrel politics and the man who helped bring the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant to this deprived area on the Sea of Japan coast. [Energy security] [nuclear energy]
• US-India Civil Nuclear Initiative
  Alexander Downer, 31 July 2007
  I welcome the recent announcement that the United States and India have successfully completed negotiations on the text of a bilateral civil nuclear agreement.  This very positive and historic development paves the way for a strengthened strategic partnership between these two countries, which is very much in Australia’s interest. [Double standards] [NPT]
• A Bad Deal Gets Worse
  Published: August 5, 2007 President Bush is understandably desperate for some kind of foreign policy success. But that cannot justify sacrificing his principled stand against weapons proliferation to seal a nuclear cooperation deal with India. The agreement could end up benefiting New Delhi's weapons program as much as its pursuit of nuclear power. The deal was deeply flawed from the start. And it has been made even worse by a newly negotiated companion agreement that lays out the technical details for nuclear commerce. Congress should reject the agreement and demand that the administration, or its successor, negotiate a new one that does not undermine efforts to restrain the spread of nuclear weapons.
  The message of all this is unmistakable: When it comes to nuclear proliferation, Washington's only real policy is to reward its friends and punish its enemies. Suspicion of America's motives around the world are high enough. America cannot afford another such blow to its credibility, especially when it is trying to rally international pressure against nuclear programs in Iran and North Korea. [NPT] [Double standards]
• Turnabout is Fair Play
  By Leon V. Sigal
  August 2nd, 2007
  Leon V. Sigal, Director of the Northeast Cooperative Security Project at the Social Science Research Council and author of Disarming Strangers: Nuclear Diplomacy with North Korea, writes, “The irreconcilables insist Pyongyang will never live up to its pledge… How can they be so sure? The fact is, with the possible exception of Kim Jong-il, nobody knows. And the only way for Washington to find out is to proceed, reciprocal step by reciprocal step, in sustained negotiations to reconcile with Pyongyang in return for its disarming.” [US NK policy] [Dissension] [Bilateral]
• Pak: North waiting for end to 'hostile' U.S. policy
  August 03, 2007 North Korea will not give up its nuclear ambitions in exchange for mere energy assistance, but will move ahead only when it sees an end to what it calls a "hostile" U.S. policy toward its regime, the North's Foreign Minister Pak Ui-chun said yesterday, according to South Korean officials. Pak, making his international debut at the Asean Regional Forum here, said his country shut down its nuclear facilities at Yongbyon after months of delays because it saw progress in improving its relations with the United States, South Korean Foreign Minister Song Min-soon said. The North Korean diplomat's remarks came at a bilateral meeting with Song, the first since Pak took office in May.
• U.S.-N. Korea normalization talks likely in Southeast Asia
  The United States hopes to resume talks with North Korea on normalization of ties somewhere in Southeast Asia by the end of August, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said Thursday. Hill, Washington's chief negotiator in the normalization talks, said he and his North Korean counterpart Kim Kye-gwan have already discussed resuming the talks. "But we need to find a mutually acceptable place," Hill told reporters, adding the talks will likely be held "in the last week" of August. Hill and Kim, also chief negotiators in six-nation talks over North Korea's nuclear program, last held normalization talks in New York in March. The two last met in June during the U.S. nuclear envoy's two-day trip to Pyongyang, the first of its kind since the nuclear disarmament talks began 2003. The bilateral talks are to follow a series of working group meetings that are set to discuss ways to sequence benefits for the communist North with its denuclearization steps, which should include disabling its key nuclear facilities and a complete declaration of all its nuclear programs.
• North Korea Demands More Action From U.S., Allies
  By REUTERS Published: August 2, 2007 Filed at 3:21 a.m. ET MANILA (Reuters) - North Korea demanded on Thursday the United States remove it from a list of states that sponsor terrorism before further progress can be made on dismantling its nuclear program. North Korean Foreign Minister Pak Ui-chun, addressing Asia-Pacific foreign ministers in Manila, also said Pyongyang must be removed from the ambit of the U.S. Trading With the Enemy Act, diplomats said. Pak said North Korea had shut its nuclear operations at Yongbyon and opened them to IAEA inspections and now wanted to see reciprocal action. "All should be done based on action-to-action," Pak was quoted as telling the closed-door session of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum. "Therefore, five other countries, particularly the United States and Japan, must take action."
• Lying Ahead of Nuclear Talks
  By Tong Kim
  The six party talks have definitely picked up momentum after the constructive July meeting of their chief negotiators in Beijing. U.S. nuclear envoy Christopher Hill is still hopeful that the remainder of the February 13 agreement will be completed by the end of the year, an ambitious but not impossible goal.
• Nuclear Inspectors Say North Korea Cooperating
  By REUTERS Published: July 31, 2007 Filed at 12:08 a.m. ET Skip to next paragraph BEIJING (Reuters) - North Korea has been cooperating fully with nuclear inspectors monitoring the shutdown of its key atomic complex, the U.N. team said on Tuesday. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) staff arrived in North Korea on July 14 to monitor the Yongbyon nuclear complex, which the North closed as part of a disarmament pact reached in six-country talks in February. "In doing our actions we had complete cooperation from the DPRK authorities," the head of the IAEA group, Adel Tolba, told reporters at Beijing airport after arriving from Pyongyang, capital of North Korea, or the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

 
• N. Korea Reaffirms Nuclear Commitment
  By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: July 29, 2007 Filed at 4:36 a.m. ET MANILA, Philippines (AP) -- North Korea's new foreign minister reaffirmed his country's commitment to ending its nuclear weapons program, an official said Sunday. Pak Ui Chun, however, did not specify when North Korea would disable its nuclear facilities, Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman Claro Cristobal said.
• The Decision to Risk the Future: Harry Truman, the Atomic Bomb and the Apocalyptic Narrative
  Peter J. Kuznick
  In his personal narrative Atomic Quest, Nobel Prize-winning physicist Arthur Holly Compton, who directed atomic research at the University of Chicago’s Metallurgical Laboratory during the Second World War, tells of receiving an urgent visit from J. Robert Oppenheimer while vacationing in Michigan during the summer of 1942. Oppenheimer and the brain trust he assembled had just calculated the possibility that an atomic explosion could ignite all the hydrogen in the oceans or the nitrogen in the atmosphere. If such a possibility existed, Compton concluded, “these bombs must never be made.” As Compton said, “Better to accept the slavery of the Nazis than to run a chance of drawing the final curtain on mankind.”[1] Certainly, any reasonable human being could be expected to respond similarly.
  For over sixty years, historians and other analysts have struggled to make sense of Truman’s and his advisors’ actions and the relevance of his legacy for his successors in the Oval Office. In an incisive and influential essay, historian John Dower divides American interpretations of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki into two basic narratives--the “heroic” or “triumphal” and the “tragic.
• Six-party talks on N.K. energy aid expected to be held in Panmunjom
  Six-nation working-group talks on energy aid to North Korea slated for next month will likely be held at Panmunjom, a village on the inter-Korean border where U.N. command and North Korean officials occasionally meet to oversee the armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War, South Korean officials said Sunday.
• North Korea Wants End to Sanctions Before It Makes Nuclear Deal
  By Bradley K. Martin
  July 27 (Bloomberg) -- To make painkillers and antibiotics in his factory in Pyongyang, Swiss businessman Felix Abt needs reagents, chemicals used to test for toxic impurities. Abt can't get them now -- because the world refuses to sell North Korea a product that is also used to manufacture biological weapons. Such sanctions on trade with the regime of Kim Jong Il -- some dating back to the Korean War -- may be the next diplomatic battleground after North Korea bowed to pressure last week and shut down five nuclear facilities at Yongbyon. North Korea said July 16 that ending sanctions, and its removal from a U.S. list of countries that sponsor terrorism, are prerequisites for further progress in the negotiations to end its nuclear weapons program. The U.S., meanwhile, says the next step is for North Korea to disclose all its nuclear capabilities, followed by a permanent dismantling of Yongbyon. North Korea is playing a ``tactical game,'' said David Straub, a Korea specialist at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies in Washington. After shutting down Yongbyon and receiving a pledge of 950,000 tons of oil, the reclusive nation will try to ``force the U.S. and others to lift sanctions,'' Straub said in an e-mail exchange. [Sanctions]
• Officials now wonder: What will North Korea's atomic scientists do?
  Reuters Published: July 27, 2007
  BEIJING: North Korea's main atomic complex now stands dormant under international watch, but nations seeking to end its nuclear threat face the problem of what to do with the scientists who gave the poor state its budding arsenal. International monitors confirmed this month that North Korea had shut key facilities at its Yongbyon nuclear complex. More monitors arrived in Beijing on Friday, passing through to the site, which is the focus of a February disarmament pact. But for those steps to mature into lasting disarmament, negotiators must run a minefield of complexities, including the future of the North Korean atomic scientists, who could restart the push for weapons or sell secrets to other aspiring nuclear states. Officials and experts said they had been pondering that issue and it could come up soon in technical talks. "This becomes relevant at the dismantlement phase, not the current freeze phase, which will take us through the end of 2007, early 2008, assuming the best," said Peter Hayes of the Nautilus Institute, an organization in San Francisco that specializes in North Korea. "Yes, there are proliferation risks from footloose experts, defectors or refugees" from North Korea. "Yes, there are people worrying about this in the U.S. and other governments." Yongbyon, about 100 kilometers, or 60 miles, north of the capital, Pyongyang, has been estimated to employ roughly 2,000 scientists and staff of varying skill, intelligence sources say. Unlike the arms engineers of the former Soviet Union, the North Korean experts are far from the forefront of their field. But they have honed skills in old technology that could spread with relative ease. Washington and the North's neighbors worry they could follow the path of Abdul Qadeer Khan of Pakistan, who became a merchant of nuclear secrets to Libya, Iran and North Korea itself. A more immediate concern is that failing to assure the scientists' future could give Pyongyang another reason to resist disarmament. The chief U.S. envoy in the six-country disarmament talks, Christopher Hill, said that the topic had not come up in recent negotiations, but that the North was concerned. Foreign experts have been talking with North Korea about finding solutions. One proposal, inspired by U.S. aid to post-Cold War Russia, would set up a "dating service" to introduce scientists to peaceful commercial work, said Jon Wolfsthal of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. The North's neighbors, China and South Korea, also are eager to have a say in the scientists' future. A nuclear engineer at Seoul National University, Lee Un Chul, said South Korea would probably end up giving them jobs, "even if it means giving them a nice job at a factory."
  North Korea has said its nuclear scientists will work on the light-water reactors it has demanded in return for disarmament, said Hayes [LWR] [Terrorism]
• U.S. to Announce Nuclear Exception for India
  By DAVID E. SANGER Published: July 27, 2007 WASHINGTON, July 26 - Three years after President Bush urged global rules to stop additional nations from making nuclear fuel, the White House will announce on Friday that it is carving out an exception for India, in a last-ditch effort to seal a civilian nuclear deal between the countries.
  The scheduled announcement, described Thursday by senior American officials, follows more than a year of negotiations intended to keep an unusual arrangement between the countries from being defeated in New Delhi. Until the overall deal was approved by Congress last year, the United States was prohibited by federal law from selling civilian nuclear technology to India because it has refused to sign the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. [NPT] {Double standards]
• U.S. Development of New Type Nuclear Warheads Blasted
  Pyongyang, July 25 (KCNA) -- The development and production of smaller nuclear warheads are in full gear in the United States. The U.S. State Los Alamos Nuclear Institute has started the full-scale production of new type nuclear warheads recently in the wake of a ceremony of kicking off the production of plutonium detonating devices shortly after it began the development of those warheads. Rodong Sinmun Wednesday observes in a signed commentary in this regard: The U.S. moves to develop new type nuclear warheads mean, in essence, actively pushing forward the nuclear war strategy aimed at realizing its wild ambition for dominating the world through preemptive nuclear attack. The above-said U.S. moves are criminal acts to bring horrible nuclear disasters to humankind and acts against peace as they go against the trend of the present times toward peace. Entering the new century the United States readjusted its nuclear policy to achieve its aggressive objective by making limited strikes by use of smaller nuclear weapons with tremendous explosive and destructive power. By having smaller modern nukes in place the U.S. seeks to use them as conventional weapons in any wars.
• A Diplomat Gets His Due (1 Letter)
  Re "What Would a Diplomat Do?" (editorial, July 23): Finally, Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill is getting the recognition he deserves for the masterful diplomacy with which he has negotiated North Korea's decision to shut down its plutonium-producing nuclear reactor. We are so used to tales of diplomacy ignored or even scorned that it comes almost as a shock that a skilled, persistent and patient diplomat can achieve great things for our country and the world. [Bilateral]
• U.S. Pours Cold Water on N.Korea's Reactor Demand
  The U.S. has rejected North Korea's demand for a light-water reactor if Pyongyang is to dismantle its existing nuclear facilities. At a press conference on the recent six-nation nuclear talks held in Beijing, the U.S. chief negotiator Christopher Hill said, "We have explained that the appropriate time is when North Korea gets out of this dirty nuclear business that they've been in and returns" to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. Hill reiterated his government's position that the U.S. will discuss provision of a light-water reactor when North Korea returns to NPT and gives up all weapons of mass destruction. His North Korean counterpart Kim Kye-gwan had warmed up the long-standing demand before returning to Pyongyang. [Chutzpah] [Sequencing]
• North Korea Wants Light-Water Reactors
  Action for action needed on provision of the LWRs
  [Analysis] Lee Byong-chul (merrycow) Published 2007-07-25 07:37 (KST)   North Korea and the United States have different positions on the issue of light-water reactors (LWRs), as recently highlighted in public comments by nuclear negotiators for the two sides. The North considers the LWRs an issue for today, while the U.S. thinks of it as an issue for the future. This difference has led to some tension. An international consortium had been building two light-water reactors in North Korea (for power) under the 1994 Geneva Agreed Framework, at a cost of more than $5 billion, most of it financed by South Korea. The project was suddenly aborted in 2002, however, when the U.S. accused the North of operating a secret uranium enrichment program. Later, the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO), established under the Clinton administration to build the LWRs, was abandoned by the Bush administration, as was the 1994 Geneva Agreed Framework.
• US Brushes Aside NK Demands for New Reactors
  WASHINGTON -- The top U.S. nuclear envoy on Monday brushed aside North Korea's demand for a set of new reactors as a price for its denuclearization, reiterating Washington's conditions that the communist nation must prove it will "play by the rules." Christopher Hill, who returned from six-party talks last week in Beijing, said he still believes Pyongyang intends to abide by a Feb. 13 agreement under which it agreed to eventually give up its nuclear programs, Yonhap news agency reported. "They do want to get this done," he said at a press briefing. [LWR]
• U.S. Urged to Prove Its Intention not to Mount Nuclear Attack on DPRK
     Pyongyang, July 14 (KCNA) -- The U.S. should prove its confirmation made in the September 19 joint statement adopted at the six-party talks that it has no nuclear weapons in south Korea and that it has no intention to attack or invade the DPRK with nukes or conventional weapons in a verifiable manner to be quite understandable to others.     A spokesman for the Korean National Peace Committee said this in a statement released Saturday 50 years since the U.S. imperialist aggressor forces in south Korea declared their intention to introduce nuclear weapons into south Korea.     The U.S. moves to introduce nuclear weapons into south Korea started with its July 15, 1957 declaration that it would start introducing nuclear weapons into south Korea. Such moves continued even after the conclusion of an international convention banning the introduction of nuclear weapons to non-nuclear states and zones, the statement said, and went on:     The U.S. announced in July, 1992 that it had withdrawn all tactical nuclear weapons from south Korea. But it has professed the "NCND policy" which proves that it cannot but admit the fact that nuclear weapons exist in south Korea.     It is like a guilty party filing the suit first that the U.S. is raising a hue and cry over other's "nuclear issue" and "nuclear threat" while shelving its criminal introduction of nuclear weapons into south Korea.     The settlement of the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula entirely depends on the U.S. switchover in its policy toward the DPRK.     The U.S. should stop such a foolish act as threatening the Korean nation with nukes and quit south Korea taking with it its nuclear war hardware without delay.
• N.Korea Dusts Down Light-Water Reactor Demand
    North Korea's chief nuclear negotiator Kim Kye-gwan on Saturday warmed up his country's demand for a light-water reactor if it is to dismantle its existing nuclear facilities. Unlike the existing graphite reactor, a light-water reactor would make it more difficult to produce weapons-grade nuclear material [LWR]
• Accidents on Growing at Korea's Nuclear Reactors
  Last week's deadly earthquake in Japan shut down the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture, while here in Korea there has been a sharp increase in the number of accidents at nuclear plants. According to the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy and Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co. on Sunday, there were eight cases this year when operations were disrupted at Korea's 20 reactors, including the Kori, Yongkwang, Wolsong and Ulchin plants.
• DPRK Delegation Back from Beijing
  Pyongyang, July 21 (KCNA) -- The DPRK delegation headed by Kim Kye Gwan, vice-minister of Foreign Affairs, returned home today after participating in the DPRK-U.S. talks and the meeting of heads of delegations to the six-party talks. [Bilateral]
• North Korea Wants Light-Water Reactors for Dismantling Arms
  By Heejin Koo July 21 (Bloomberg) -- North Korea wants light-water reactors in return for dismantling its nuclear weapons program, the North's top nuclear negotiator told reporters in Beijing after three days of discussions. ``What we are discussing is the existing plan, shutting down disabling and ultimately dismantling the Yongbyon nuclear facility,'' Kim told reporters today before he boarded a plane back to Pyongyang. ``In order for that to happen, we would require light-water reactors.'' North Korea agreed with the U.S., South Korea, Russia, China and Japan on Feb. 13 to close its Yongbyon reactor, which produced weapons-grade plutonium, and to eventually declare and disable all of its atomic programs in exchange for 1 million tons of oil. The talks this week were aimed at setting a timetable to accomplish the goal. North Korea has been demanding two commercial light-water reactors since 2005, a project abandoned by the U.S. and its allies after North Korea acknowledged in 2002 it had reneged on an earlier promise and was secretly developing nuclear weapons. [LWR] [Admission] [Media]
• Six-Party Talks Fail to Agree Timeframe
    The chief nuclear negotiators in talks on North Korea's nuclear program failed to agree Thursday on a timeframe for the Stalinist country to report and disable its nuclear facilities. On the second day of fresh six-party talks, participants also failed to agree when the other five will send the rest of the heavy fuel oil the North stands to receive as a reward. A senior official close to the nuclear talks predicted they are unlikely to reach agreement in the current round given the complexity of the agendas. But he said the participants "completed important basic discussions and agreed to set a timetable for the actions in the next round of talks." Pyongyang demanded the remaining 950,000 tons of heavy fuel oil it has been promised at a rate of 50,000 tons every month due to a shortage in storage facilities. But it failed to say what it will do in return for the reward.
• No date set for North Korea to end nuclear work
  By Jamil Anderlini in Beijing and Anna Fifield in Seoul Published: July 21 2007 03:00 | Last updated: July 21 2007 03:00 Nuclear negotiators failed to persuade North Korea yesterday to commit itself to a dead-line for disabling its nuclear weapons program-mes. The failure followed three days of multilateral talks that underlined the difficulties of persuading Pyong---yang to make good on its pledge to disarm. Aiming to build on the momentum that led North Korea to switch off itsmain Yongbyon nuclear reactor last Saturday, the six parties to the talks returned to Beijing to agree on the steps for Pyongyang to move beyond a simple - and reversible - shutdown. But China, host of the talks involving the US, Japan, Russia and the two Koreas, said the parties had merely agreed to reconvene in early September. [Sequencing]
• N. Korea seeks light-water reactor in exchange for disablement
        North Korea's chief nuclear envoy said Saturday his country should be given a light-water reactor in return for the dismantlement of its nuclear facilities. "A light-water reactor should be brought in" if the North's nuclear facilities are to be dismantled, Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan told reporters at Beijing International Airport. He did not specify the number of reactors his country wanted, as he spoke in the Korean language that often leaves numbers ambiguous. Since 2005, the North has demanded two light-water reactors, which use materials such as reprocessed uranium to generate energy but are difficult to make nuclear weapons from. The United States halted its construction of a similar type of reactor in Shinpo, North Korea in 2002, claiming it breached a 1994 agreement by clandestinely continuing with its nuclear weapons programs. [LWR]
• U.S. sees progress in six-party talks, says deadline is of technical issue
  The United States said Friday there was progress in this week's six-party nuclear talks, despite the absence of a clear deadline for North Korea to declare and disable its nuclear programs. "I do think we made progress here," State Department spokesman Tom Casey said, calling the talks "very good and productive."
• Six-way talks end on a low note
  July 21, 2007 BEIJING ? Falling short of setting a firm deadline for North Korea to "declare and disable" all its nuclear programs, the six-party talks concluded yesterday with Pyongyang agreeing to hold working group meetings within the next month and another full session of the talks in September.
• DPRK-U.S. Talks and Meeting of Heads of Delegations to Six-Party Talks Held
  Beijing, July 20 (KCNA Correspondent) -- A series of rounds of talks between the DPRK and the U.S. and the meeting of heads of the delegations to the six-party talks were held in Beijing from July 17 to 20. Present there from the DPRK side was a delegation of the DPRK led by Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Kim Kye Gwan. In-depth discussions were held at the talks and meeting on various issues arising in implementing the September 19 joint statement and the February 13 agreement on denuclearizing the whole of the Korean Peninsula. The participating countries decided to continue fulfilling the commitments under the February 13 agreement according to the principle of "action for action."
• North Korean Envoy Demands Reactors
  By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: July 21, 2007 Filed at 4:48 a.m. ET BEIJING (AP) -- North Korea's nuclear envoy demanded Saturday that his country be given power-generating reactors as a reward for eventually dismantling its own atomic programs. The demand presents a future hurdle at talks aimed at ridding Pyongyang of its ability to make nuclear bombs. ''In order to ultimately dismantle (the nuclear programs), light-water reactors should be given'' to the North, Kim Kye Gwan told reporters before leaving Beijing, referring to a type of nuclear reactor that cannot be easily used to make bombs. [LWR]
• Analysis: Is North Korea Changing?
  By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: July 20, 2007 Filed at 12:25 p.m. ET BEIJING (AP) -- North Korea has relied on its trademark brinksmanship strategy in international negotiations on its nuclear program, often lacing its speeches with threats, accusations and unreasonable demands. But no more -- at least at the latest round. The communist nation has been unprecedentedly cooperative, U.S. and South Korean nuclear envoys have said this week in Beijing, raising hopes about charting its future disarmament course following the shutdown of its main nuclear reactor a week ago. U.S. chief nuclear envoy Christopher Hill repeatedly praised his counterpart from Pyongyang, Kim Kye Gwan, for his ''businesslike'' attitude and for not raising any irrelevant issues or demands that could scuttle the talks.
• N. Korea Talks Fizzle With No Disarmament Timetable
  By Edward Cody Washington Post Foreign Service Saturday, July 21, 2007; Page A08
  BEIJING, July 20 -- After three days of upbeat talks, negotiators from six nations announced Friday that they had failed to agree on a schedule for North Korea to take the next steps toward nuclear disarmament. They plan to meet again in September. The United States and other countries pressed North Korea to accept a year-end deadline for fully disclosing all its nuclear activities and permanently disabling its main reactor, key moves toward the goal of the eventual complete dismantlement of its nuclear program.   But the North Koreans insisted on tighter coordination for what they would get in return for such steps, including 950,000 tons more fuel oil and progress toward better diplomatic relations, according to the chief U.S. negotiator, Assistant Secretary of State Christopher R. Hill. [Sequencing]
• Nuclear pact with US in the offing
  Anne Davies Herald Correspondent in Washington 727 words 20 July 2007 The Sydney Morning Herald
  AUSTRALIA is negotiating a big nuclear energy plan with the US and is considering whether to join an exclusive American-led club of nations to control the distribution, reprocessing and storage of nuclear fuel worldwide. According to draft plans seen by the Herald, the ministers for foreign affairs and resources have urged John Howard to announce the joint plan during George Bush's Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation visit in September. "The proposed action plan would help to open the way for valuable nuclear energy co-operation with the United States," the briefing note says. "It would also be consistent with the Government's strategy for the nuclear industry in Australia. An action plan on nuclear energy would also have bilateral advantages further broadening our relationship with the United States. [Nuclear energy] [Double standards]
• North Korean negotiators confident
  BEIJING -- North Korean delegates appear unusually calm and confident at the new round of the six-party talks in Beijing this week. There were no "show-stoppers" throughout the first two days of intense discussions, to the surprise to many familiar with the North's brinkmanship negotiating style. The clearest example of that strategy of intransigence came during the first part of the sixth round of the negotiations this March, when North Korea refused to discuss anything unless a financial dispute involving its frozen accounts in Macau was resolved. That demand led to a near four-month suspension of the nuclear negotiations. Back in 2005, North Korea demanded that the United States first show its willingness to drop its "hostile policy" toward the North before reaching any type of agreement. Indeed, making a rhetorical or irrelevant demand at the beginning of negotiations in an attempt to gain an upper hand was considered a signature negotiating style of the communist state. "The North Korean delegation appeared much more confident and at ease this time, compared to previous rounds," a diplomatic source said on condition of anonymity. During prior talks, the North Koreans maintained a lower profile, this time they were much more outspoken, be it during the plenary session or while making light conversation about say, a lunch menu, sources said.
• N.Korea 'Willing to Disable Nuclear Facilities This Year'
  South Korea's chief nuclear negotiator Chun Yung-woo speaks to the media in Beijing on Wednesday. Chief negotiators will spend two days seeking to agree on a timetable for the next phase of North Korea's retreat from its nuclear weapons programme now that it has shut its Pyongyang nuclear reactor. /REUTERS
    North Korea is willing to declare and disable all its nuclear programs in the next five or six months, the South Korean chief nuclear negotiator said Wednesday.
• N. Korea agrees to abandon all nuclear programs within year
  North Korea has expressed its willingness to declare and disable all its nuclear programs before the end of this year, South Korea's chief nuclear negotiator said Wednesday. "North Korea has shown its willingness to declare (all its nuclear programs) and disable (its nuclear facilities) at the earliest date possible -- in five or six months or even within the year," the chief South Korean negotiator, Chun Yung-woo, said in a press briefing.
• . Korea aims to become leader in nuclear fusion technology power by 2021
  By Lee Joon-seung SEOUL, July 17 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will strive to become a global leader in nuclear fusion technology, which promises limitless, clean energy, the government said Tuesday. In a three-stage, 30-year plan, Seoul plans to allocate funds and personnel so technological self-sufficiency can be reached in nuclear fusion energy by 2011, the Ministry of Science and Technology said. [Nuclear energy]
• North Korea: Five wasted years
  Gwynne Dyer Editorial - Tuesday, July 17, 2007 @ 08:00
  North Korea has shut down its one nuclear reactor and the associated plutonium reprocessing plant, and a team of inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency has arrived in Yongbyon to seal the equipment and oversee the decommissioning process. Pyongyang has promised to deliver a list of all its other nuclear facilities within a few months, and then the real haggling will begin. Does North Korea really have a separate uranium mining and enrichment program, as the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency has alleged? What happens if North Korea's list doesn't include any information about that? How many bombs has North Korea built, apart from the one that it tested last October, and what happens to them now? The arguments can go on for years. The arguments will go on for years, because that suits Pyongyang's purposes, but we really didn't have to start the discussion from this far back. There didn't have to be any North Korean nuclear weapons at all. Indeed, there wouldn't be if arguments had not been replaced by threats and ultimatums five years ago. The main problem was the "mercurial" North Korean leader, Kim Jong-Il. Or rather, it was Kim's image in the West as an unpredictable, half-crazed megalomaniac whose dream was to rule the world or, failing that, to blow it up.
• U.S., N.Korean Nuclear Envoys Meet in Beijing
      U.S. chief nuclear negotiator Christopher Hill and his North Korean counterpart Kim Kye-gwan met three times on Tuesday, a day before six-nation talks on the North's nuclear program resumed in Beijing. First, a car carrying Kim arrived at the U.S. Embassy around 2 p.m. Korean standard time and the two talked for about five minutes in the compound. They then drove to a Sichuan-style restaurant near the China World Hotel, where they talked again over lunch for about an hour and a half. Emerging from the talks, Hill said, "The atmosphere was very businesslike." But he added, "There's some other things we want to talk about." Kim said, "We had productive talks. This is the beginning." Before leaving Pyongyang the same day, Kim told foreign reporters, "We've already implemented the first-stage measure. What we need now is the second-stage action. During the upcoming talks, we will discuss the goal of the second-stage action, and what duties each nation has and what action each should take." Around 4:40 p.m., no more than an hour after parting, the two met again at the North Korean Embassy. They met for the first time in 25 days since Hill's surprise visit to Pyongyang on June 21.
• Moving beyond the shutdown of the Yongbyon reactor
    By Selig S. Harrison, director of the Asia Program at the Center for International Policy
  Getting North Korea to suspend the operation of its Yongbyon reactor is the easy part of the nuclear negotiations with Pyongyang. Ever since the start of the six-party process in August 2003, North Korea has repeatedly offered another freeze, only to be consistently rebuffed until the Bush Administration reversed its position in the February 13 Beijing agreement. Now comes the hard part of the negotiations. Pyongyang is not likely to take any of the further denuclearization steps envisaged in the agreement unless the United States reciprocates with step-by-step moves toward the normalization of relations, starting with the removal of North Korea from the State Department's list of terrorist states. Removal from the terrorist list is the essential prerequisite for moving toward North Korea's membership in the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the Asian Development Bank. This would set the stage for the large-scale economic assistance needed to modernize the North Korean economic infrastructure. The United States is ready to take North Korea off the terrorist list, but Japan insists that the abductee issue must be settled first on Japanese terms. The Shinzo Abe government is in no hurry to see the nuclear issue resolved because demonizing North Korea helps to build support for a Japanese nuclear weapons program.       [Abductees] [Japanese remilitarisation] [Nuclearisation] [LWR] [Terrorism list]
• Top U.S. nuclear envoy makes rare trip to N.K. embassy for talks
  A U.S. Embassy vehicle on Tuesday entered the North Korean Embassy here where the chief nuclear negotiators of the countries continued a bilateral meeting that started earlier in the day at the U.S. Embassy. Christopher Hill's visit to the North Korean embassy came shortly after his talks with his North Korean counterpart Kim Kye-gwan at a Beijing restaurant, an official at the U.S. Embassy here confirmed. The Hill-Kim meeting, the first of its kind since the two met in Pyongyang during Hill's surprise two-day visit there late last month, started at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing where the two had "brief" discussions before going to lunch, according to the chief U.S. nuclear envoy. "We didn't have much of a discussion at lunch," Hill told reporters shortly after the lunch, adding he and Kim will continue the bilateral talks that came one day after International Atomic Energy Agency monitors in the North confirmed the shutdown of the North's plutonium-producing facilities at Yongbyon.
• DPRK Delegation Leaves
  Pyongyang, July 17 (KCNA) -- A delegation of the DPRK led by Kim Kye Gwan, vice-minister of Foreign Affairs, left here Tuesday to participate in the DPRK-U.S. talks and talks among heads of delegations to the six-party talks to be held in Beijing
• Five Years Later in North Korea
  Published: July 17, 2007 North Korea's decision to shut down its plutonium-producing reactor and admit international inspectors was only the first of several steps it needs to take under the deal it made with the United States and five other countries in February. But that initial progress, confirmed officially yesterday, shows that real nonproliferation diplomacy can produce real results.
  These two steps are also important in themselves, since they freeze North Korea's production of the plutonium it could use to build more bombs for itself or help another nation or terrorist group achieve nuclear weapons status.
  For more than four years, the Bush administration preferred empty, ideological posturing to pragmatic deal-making, with disastrous results. North Korea used the interval to extract enough plutonium to build six nuclear bombs, capped by a nuclear bomb test last October.
  Such an embarrassing outcome for the hard-line tactics favored by Vice President Dick Cheney created enough of an opening for Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill to negotiate the agreement that led to this weekend's shutdown.
  The next steps North Korea needs to take include permanently disabling the plutonium reactor and providing a complete inventory of all its remaining nuclear weapons.
  The February agreement also commits North Korea to eventually eliminate those nuclear assets, but a timetable for doing that still has not been negotiated.
  Those commitments go well beyond the requirement of the 1994 deal negotiated by the Clinton administration, inherited by Mr. Bush when he took office. That earlier agreement also froze plutonium production at the reactor and admitted inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency, the same two steps taken last weekend.
  But the Bush administration walked away from Mr. Clinton's deal in 2002, with sensational charges, from which it has since retreated, that North Korea was pursuing a second, secret bomb-making program based on uranium enrichment.
  The ground lost over the intervening years has now been largely recovered, except, of course for the six bombs' worth of nuclear fuel Pyongyang produced while Washington strutted and postured. [HEU] [Agreed Framework] [Partisan] [Bush policy]
• U.S., N. Korea hold bilateral discussions
  BEIJING - Top negotiators from the United States and North Korea held bilateral meetings upon their arrival in Beijing yesterday, eagerly renewing the process of the six-party talks which officially resume today. Christopher Hill of the United States and Kim Kye-gwan of North Korea were the first to hold the bilateral talks, barely an hour after they arrived in China's capital city. The two met at the U.S. Embassy, had lunch at a Chinese restaurant at the China World Hotel, and then continued with more in-depth discussions at the North Korean Embassy. It was perhaps the most extensive bilateral talks between the two key players to take place ahead of the formal opening of negotiations. While both diplomats refused to reveal the specifics of their four-hour-plus talks at press deadline, the meetings appeared aimed at keeping each other in check prior to the formal opening of negotiations today.
  Before leaving for Beijing, North Korea's top nuclear envoy Kim Kye-gwan was quoted as saying by China's Xinhua news agency, "The talks will focus on the sequence of the obligations and actions to be taken by the concerned parties in the second phase." [Bilateral] [Sequencing]
• U.S. Urged to Prove Its Intention not to Mount Nuclear Attack on DPRK
  Pyongyang, July 14 (KCNA) -- The U.S. should prove its confirmation made in the September 19 joint statement adopted at the six-party talks that it has no nuclear weapons in south Korea and that it has no intention to attack or invade the DPRK with nukes or conventional weapons in a verifiable manner to be quite understandable to others.
• Talks Were Productive; NK Envoy
  North Korean chief nuclear negotiator Kim Kye-kwan said Tuesday talks with his U.S. counterpart Christopher Hill over lunch were productive. "We had meals together and talked much in productive manner. Now is the time to start," Kim told reporters, leaving a restaurant at 2:45 p.m. They started lunch at 1:30 p.m. Hill also said that the lunch was good and they had good consultations, adding there was little to say right now. The U.S. assistant secretary of state for Asia and Pacific affairs said he would not have an additional bilateral talks with Kim as he would have to have bilateral talks with Russia and Japan. Hill and Kim talked at the American embassy and extended the talks over lunch at a hotel restaurant.
• Full Implementation of February 13 Agreement Depends on U.S. and Japan
  Pyongyang, July 15 (KCNA) -- Given the fact that the DPRK has fulfilled all its commitments, the full implementation of the February 13 agreement depends on how the other five participating countries of the six-party talks honor their commitments on the principle of "action for action" and on what practical measures the U.S. and Japan, in particular, will take to roll back their hostile policies toward the DPRK. A spokesman for the DPRK Foreign Ministry declared this in an answer given to the question put by KCNA Sunday as regards the DPRK's suspension of the operation of its nuclear facilities in Nyongbyon. He said: The DPRK suspended the operation of the above-said nuclear facilities on July 14, the day the first shipment of 50,000 tons of heavy oil arrived and allowed members of the International Atomic Energy Agency to monitor the facilities according to the agreement. Taking into consideration the fact that the DPRK was supposed to suspend the operation of its nuclear facilities from the time 50,000 tons of heavy oil has been provided according to the February 13 agreement, this means the DPRK's earlier fulfillment of its promise than scheduled and a manifestation of its good faith towards the agreement. The provision of substitute energy including heavy oil is by no means "aid" in the form of charity but compensation for the DPRK's suspension of its nuclear facilities and the activities of the IAEA in Nyongbyon are not "inspection" but limited to verification and monitoring.
• N. Korea Shutters Nuclear Facility
  Move Follows Delivery of Oil; U.N. Team to Verify Shutdown By Edward Cody Washington Post Foreign Service Sunday, July 15, 2007; Page A01 BEIJING, July 15 -- After four years of off-and-on negotiations, North Korea said it began closing down its main nuclear reactor Saturday, shortly after receiving a first boatload of fuel oil aid. The closure, if confirmed by U.N. inspectors, would mark the first concrete step in a carefully orchestrated denuclearization schedule that was agreed on in February, with the ultimate goal of dismantling North Korea's nuclear weapons program in exchange for fuel and other economic aid, and increased diplomatic recognition.
• N.Korea Shuts Down Reactor, but Problems Remain
      North Korea on Sunday said it shut down its nuclear reactor at Yongbyon. A senior government official in Seoul said, "Through a channel in New York on Sunday morning, North Korea said it kept its promise to shut down its nuclear facilities upon arrival of the first shipment of heavy fuel oil." In the U.S., State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said, "We were told today that North Korea shut down its nuclear facility at Yongbyon." The news came right after the first shipment of 6,200 tons of heavy oil arrived at Seonbong Port in North Korea in accordance with a Feb. 13 six-nation agreement.
  More demands from Pyongyang
  In an interview with AP right after the reactor was shut down, the deputy chief of North Korea's mission to the UN Kim Myong-gil set out the next conditions Pyongyang wants the U.S. to meet. Kim said the disablement of facilities would only come if Washington takes actions "in parallel." "After the shutdown, then we will discuss about the economic sanctions lifting and removing" of the North from a list of state sponsors of terrorism, Kim said.
  Washington planned to resolve the two questions as rewards for Pyongyang for disabling the facilities. The U.S. government does not expect either to win congressional approval easily. When the six-party talks resume in Beijing on Wednesday, Washington and Pyongyang will probably wrangle over the complete reporting of all nuclear programs Pyongyang is committed to. Washington alleges that North Korea has a uranium enrichment program, which was the direct cause of the second North Korean nuclear crisis in 2002, and must account for it. But Pyongyang has consistently denied having such a program.
  Then there is the perpetual issue of a light-water reactor Pyongyang wants [HEU] [Sequencing] [LWR] [Media]
• Paving the way for a smoother road ahead
  [Editorial] The process of closing and sealing the North Korean nuclear facility begins this weekend, meaning that the February 13 agreement has finally begun to be implemented. This is late in coming if you consider that April 13 had been the date by which the first phase of the agreement, closing down the Yongbyon facility, was to have been completed. It has also been close to three whole weeks since North Korea announced that the issue of its money in Macau's Banco Delta Asia had been resolved. It is time for all of the nations participating in the six-party talks to tie their shoes tight for the work ahead.
• NK Shuts Down Nuclear Facilities
  By Yoon Won-sup Staff Reporter North Korea has shut down its nuclear facilities in Yongbyon as part of a disarmament deal. North Korea's Foreign Ministry officially confirmed the shutdown of the nuclear reactor via its state-run news agency later Sunday. ``We shut down the nuclear facilities at Yongbyon after we received the first shipment of heavy oil,'' a ministry spokesman told the official (North) Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). North Korea ``has done what it should do. Now it's the time for other parties to abide by their obligations under the Feb. 13 agreement,'' Xinhua news agency quoted the spokesman as saying.
• N.Korea Returns to Square One
  North Korea has informed South Korea and the United States on Saturday that it has shut down operations at its Yongbyon nuclear reactor. The South Korean government said Sunday it welcomes the announcement and views it as a positive development in efforts to resolve the North Korean nuclear problem. [HEU] [Admission]
• Chief nuclear envoys of U.S., N. Korea to meet ahead of six-way talks
        The top U.S. negotiator in six-nation talks over North Korea's nuclear weapons program said Sunday that he will hold bilateral talks with his North Korean counterpart this week before the nuclear disarmament talks resume. Upon arrival here for a three-day visit, Christopher Hill told reporters that he anticipates having a bilateral meeting with his North Korean counterpart, most likely on Tuesday.
• N.K. demands U.S. remove nukes from S. Korea
  North Korea is raising the stakes ahead of this week's six-party negotiations to end its nuclear programs by calling for bilateral military talks with the United States and demanding evidence that Washington has no nuclear weapons on the peninsula. "The United States must prove the Sept. 19 affirmation in a verifiable and understandable manner that it has no nuclear weapons in South Joseon (South Korea) and it has no intention to attack or invade Joseon (North Korea) with its nuclear or conventional weapons," said a statement released by a spokesman for the North's Korean National Peace Committee. The demand echoed the North's proposal a day earlier for holding military talks with the United States to discuss "peace and security guarantees" on the Korean Peninsula
• N.Korea Tells U.S. It Has Shut Down Main Nuclear Reactor
  A U.S. State Department spokesman says North Korea has announced it has shut down its main nuclear reactor, just as United Nations inspectors have arrived in the country to monitor the process. In a statement Saturday, spokesman Sean McCormack said Washington welcomes Pyongyang's move to close its Yongbyon nuclear facility. He added that the U.S. is looking forward to having UN nuclear inspectors verify and monitor the shutdown. After arriving in Pyongyang today, the chief of the team of International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors Adel Tolba said the group was on its way to the Yongbyon reactor. North Korea's long-awaited move also follows the arrival today of a small shipment (6,200 tons) of fuel oil from South Korea. Pyongyang previously said that it would not shut down the facility until that shipment arrived. [Media]
• IAEA team arrives in N. Korea, help close down Yongbyon nuclear plant
  Inspectors from the international atomic energy watchdog arrived in North Korea Saturday to begin operations to close down and seal off the Yongbyon nuclear reactor and support facilities. The 10-person International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) team, led by Adel Tolba, landed in Pyongyang and headed for the nuclear facility located about 80 kilometers north of the capital city.
• N. Korea Shuts Down Yeongbyeon Reactor:US
  Adel Tolba, right on front, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) inspection team, loads equipment onto a truck with his team members, upon his arrival at Sunan International Airport on the outkirts of Pyongyang, capital of North Korea, Saturday. A 10-member team of U.N. inspectors flew in Pyongyang to verify and monitor the shutdown and sealing of the nuclear facilities in Yeongbyeon. By Chae Hee-mook Staff Reporter North Korea has shut down its nuclear reactor at Yeongbyeon, the U.S. Department of State reported Saturday. "The U.S. has been informed Saturday that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea shut down its nuclear facilities at Yeongbyeon," the department said. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is the official name of North Korea. "We welcome this development and look forward to the verification and monitoring of this shutdown by the International Atomic Energy Agency team that has arrived in DPRK," spokesman Sean McCormack said in a statement. North Korea has committed itself to its promise made on July 6 that it would consider suspending the operation of its nuclear facilities as soon as it receives the first shipment of heavy oil from the South under the Feb. 13 six-way deal for shutdown of the nuclear reactor in return for aid. A South Korean tanker with 6,200 tons of fuel oil arrived at the Port of Seonbong on the northeastern coast of the North early Saturday, the South Korean Unification Ministry said earlier that day.
• N. Korea Shutters Nuclear Facility
  Move Follows Delivery of Oil; U.N. Team to Verify Shutdown By Edward Cody Washington Post Foreign Service Sunday, July 15, 2007; Page A01 BEIJING, July 15 -- After four years of off-and-on negotiations, North Korea said it began closing down its main nuclear reactor Saturday, shortly after receiving a first boatload of fuel oil aid. The closure, if confirmed by U.N. inspectors, would mark the first concrete step in a carefully orchestrated denuclearization schedule that was agreed on in February, with the ultimate goal of dismantling North Korea's nuclear weapons program in exchange for fuel and other economic aid, and increased diplomatic recognition.
• Return of UN nuclear inspectors brings new hope to Korea's divided families
  Team to monitor shutdown of North's reactor in a move that could aid reunification David Hearst in Seoul Saturday July 14, 2007 The Guardian Five years is not such a long time for the armies that eyeball each other along the demilitarised zone cutting the Korean peninsula in half. Their guns have been on a hair trigger for more than five decades. In fact, the frozen battlelines are such a feature of the landscape that part of them is now a cold-war theme park.
• North Korean disarmament efforts quicken
  The Associated Press Published: July 13, 2007 NARITA, Japan: Efforts to dismantle North Korea's nuclear program gathered pace Friday, with the chief U.S. envoy saying he wants the North's reactor completely disabled by the end of the year and United Nations inspectors heading to Pyongyang to supervise the shutdown. "We'd like to get full declaration" of all nuclear facilities "in a few months and disabling of the reactor by the end of the year," the U.S. diplomat, Christopher Hill, said after arriving in Japan, where he was to prepare for talks next week on the North Korean disarmament. Both Hill and the UN experts sounded upbeat about the recent activity, which includes a South Korean shipment of promised fuel oil to the North. [HEU]
• N.Korea Shutdown to Be Complete in a Month: ElBaradei
    International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Mohamed ElBaradei on Thursday expressed optimism about North Korea's shutdown of its nuclear facilities but added a note of caution about its future disposal of nuclear waste. The shutdown, "along with installing cameras and other monitoring equipment, will be completed in about a month or so," the IAEA chief said at a press conference in Seoul. But he expressed optimism only about the first stage. The second stage, where all North Korean nuclear facilities, including as yet unreported ones, are identified and dismantled, "is going to be a long process, we should not delude ourselves... It will take time to get a comprehensive solution," he said. "How smoothly the rest of the operation will go very much depends on how progress will be made in the six-party talks."
• The Prospects for Institutionalizing the Six-Party Talks
  Keun-sik Kim, Professor in the Department of Political Diplomacy at Kyungnam University, writes, "It is hoped that the success of the Six-Party Talks and their development into an institution for multilateral security cooperation will serve to promote peace, security, and unity in Northeast Asia.
• IAEA head sees smooth shutdown in N Korea
  By Anna Fifield in Seoul Published: July 12 2007 08:41 | Last updated: July 12 2007 08:41 The shutdown of North Korea's main nuclear reactor should be a "smooth process" that will be completed within a month, provided that Pyongyang acts in a "transparent" manner, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said on Thursday.
• Six-Party Talks to Resume on July 18
  Six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear program will reopen in Beijing on July 18, four months after the previous round ended on March 22, host country China has told the other participants. The talks will take the form of a two-day meeting among chief negotiators from the six countries, who will discuss ways for North Korea to report and disable its nuclear program under a Feb. 13 agreement.
• UN Inspectors Expected in N. Korea Sat.
  By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: July 11, 2007 Filed at 3:46 a.m. ET SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- U.N. nuclear agency inspectors will return Saturday to North Korea to monitor the shutdown of its sole operating nuclear reactor, the agency head said Wednesday, a sign that Pyongyang is complying with its disarmament pledge.
• Six-Party Talks Slated for July 18
  China, host of six-nation talks on ending North Korea's nuclear ambition, has notified related countries of its intent to resume fresh round of talks from next Wednesday, Yonhap news agency reported in Beijing Tuesday. The new round will be a two-day meeting with a possible one-day extension, Yonhap quoted a diplomat here, speaking on condition of anonymity, as saying.
• Financial Sanctions and North Korea: In Search of the Evidence of Currency Counterfeiting and Money Laundering Part II
  John McGlynn
  This is the second article by John McGlynn in a series that meticulously dissects US charges of North Korean criminality, notably the forgery of US currency and money laundering, the significance of the legal instruments it has imposed on North Korea through Banco Delta Asia, and the significance of US actions for the resolution of the interrelated issues of North Korean nuclear weapons and the normalization of US-North Korean relations. Among the important conclusions that it reaches are the following: First, surveying the official record of charges of counterfeiting and money laundering since the early 1990s, it is difficult to understand why the US government ever identified the DPRK or Macau as currency counterfeiting concerns in the first place. Difficult to understand, that is, unless the charges are politically motivated and rest on no solid evidentiary basis. Second, ultimately, the US Treasury’s decision to impose the fifth special measure on Banco Delta Asia was not based on any regulatory, legislative or procedural shortcoming in Macau but on the "likelihood of recidivism" by BDA's owners and the "potential use of the bank for illicit purposes." Third, US policy toward North Korea has been and remains deeply divided between approaches favored by the State Department and the Treasury, the former looking to negotiations to eliminate the North Korean nuclear threat within the framework of the six-party talks, the latter directed toward regime change in the DPRK. [Counterfeiting] [Evidence]
• Treasury, Federal Reserve and Secret Service Issue Report on High Use, Low Counterfeiting of U.S. Currency Abroad
  October 25, 2006 HP-154The Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve Board and the U.S. Secret Service issued their third collaborative report today on the use and counterfeiting of U.S. currency abroad. The report revealed that while more than half of circulated U.S. banknotes are held in other countries, counterfeiting incidents remain low. [Counterfeiting]
• Squeeze on North Korea's money supply yields results
  By Josh Meyer, Times Staff Writer
  November 2, 2006
  WASHINGTON -- For three years, the Bush administration has waged a campaign to choke off North Korea's access to the world's financial system, where U.S. officials say the nation launders money from criminal enterprises to fuel its trade in missile technology and its efforts to build a nuclear arsenal.
  That effort has started to pay off. [Toolkit] [BDA]
• Envoy vows more pressure on N. Korea
  If regime keeps pursuing nuclear arms, financial scrutiny will toughen, U.S. negotiator warns.
  By Barbara Demick, Times Staff Writer April 14, 2006
  SEOUL -- North Korea should expect more pressure over alleged crimes such as counterfeiting and money laundering as long as it continues to pursue nuclear weapons, the top U.S. negotiator with the communist state warned Thursday. "They might have thought they were a small country that could get away with it ... but when you get involved with nuclear weapons, you get looked at," said Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, who was on his way home from an academic conference in Tokyo, where he briefly saw his North Korean counterpart. "They should not be surprised.... This is life in the fast lane." [Toolkit] [BDA]
• Just Nuclear Disarmament
  John Feffer, Marcus Raskin, Kevin Martin | June 28, 2007
  Some said Kim Jong Il was crazy. Others declared that he was canny. When the North Korean leader pushed his country through the door of the nuclear club in October 2006 with the explosion of a nuclear device of unknown size and technical capability, he certainly shook up the international community. Observers feared that the explosion would trigger a new arms race in East Asia. Japan could turn its plutonium stockpile and nuclear know-how into an arsenal in as little as six months. South Korea and Taiwan would follow suit, and China would enlarge its rather small supply of strategic weaponry. The regime established by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in the late 1960s, which discouraged but didn't entirely prevent new entrants to the nuclear club, would be dead—and Kim Jong Il's fingerprints would be all over the murder weapon. Given the realities of the post-Cold War nuclear age, however, Kim Jong Il's decision to test the bomb was not surprising.
  Disarmament seems to shimmer ever further off on the horizon. But this misconception of disarmament as a utopian or politically risky proposition—as well as the notions that nonproliferation applies only to "rogue states" and that international mechanisms for controlling nukes are ineffectual—are major conceptual barriers to reducing the threat of nuclear weapons and turning back the Nuclear Clock.
  Until we address these core misconceptions, workable alternatives cannot replace the current failed policies.
  Misconception: The United States is committed to reducing nuclear weapons. [NPT]
• UN nuclear monitoring agency to send team to North Korea
  By Christine Hauser Published: July 9, 2007 The United Nations nuclear monitoring agency agreed on Monday to send experts to North Korea as part of a process that is intended to lead to the eventual closure of the country's nuclear facility. The decision was made by the board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency, who met in a special session to discuss a report by the agency's director general on the monitoring and verification process in North Korea.
• IAEA to Approve $5.3 Mil. for N.Korea's Nuclear Inspec
  The UN nuclear watch-dog is expected to approve a multi-million dollar budget for inspection operations in North Korea in anticipation of Pyongyang's shut down of the Yongbyon nuclear facility. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will hold a special meeting on Monday to okay 3.9 million euros for monitoring and verification activities in North Korea. IAEA Directior General Mohamed Elbaradei reportedly requested 1.7 million euros in costs for the remainder of 2007 and 2.2 million euros for next year, according to the French AFP news agency.
• A war of nerves on NK missile tests
  [Analysis] Seoul, Washington and Tokyo all have differing views on the situation
    In connection with Pyongyang's recent test-firing of short-range missiles, Seoul, Washington and Tokyo have all taken different positions. They differ not only on the purpose of North Korea's missile tests, but also in the way they have judged and shared existing information. North Korea has reportedly tested three short-range missiles this year, on May 25, June 7 and 27.      
  Such views are somewhat different from those of the South Korean government. The Ministry of National Defense in Seoul said on June 28, ''The North's recent short-range missile tests are thought to be part of training activities, with the aim of improving its existing missiles.'' The military authorities think the latest missile fired by the North was a KN-02 ballistic missile, an improved version of the former Soviet Union's SS-21 ground-to-ground missile. According to South Korean military officials, North Korea had already completed basic reconstruction of the KN-02 missile in 2004 and has performed tests for its improvement every year since then.
  A source familiar with the military was said to have found no variables worsening the situation this year, saying that statements by Lawless and other U.S. personnel had been exaggerated. An official from a military research center also noted, ''The South Korean military has occasionally fired Hyeonmu and Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missiles, the maximum firing range of which are 250-270km. It is not necessary to overexaggerate the North's short-range missile tests.''
  Regarding the release of information on the North's firing of missiles, a war of nerves among the three nations also appears to be taking place. North Korea tested three short-range missiles this year, on May 25, June 7 and 27. The earlier two tests were made public through reports by the Japanese media. As for the June 27 test, a U.S. official announced that the missile fired had been a ballistic missile, following reports by the U.S. media. Conversely, Seoul has been reluctant to confirm the situation. This is reportedly because the U.S. objects whenever the South Korean government tries to confirm sensitive information. However, as sensitive information on the North's missile launches seems to have been leaked by Japan, South Korea has reportedly requested that the U.S. pressure Japan not to leak the intelligence in the future. Many analysts think that Washington and Tokyo have emphasized the threat of the North's short-range missiles because they want Seoul to take part in its Missile Defense (MD).       [Threat] [Military balance] [Missile defense]
• Rocky road ahead, and not a lot of time, for NK denuclearization
  [Column]   Ryu Jae Hoon, Washington Correspondant WASHINGTON-North Korea's foreign ministry has announced it will shut down its Yongbyon nuclear facility as soon as it gets its first shipment of an eventual total of 50,000 tons of heavy oil, which leaves only the timing unresolved ahead of the next round of six-party negotiations. Now that the hurdle of the initial implementation stage of the February 13 agreement is complete, the next task is overcoming the mountain that is the disabling of Pyongyang's nuclear program. But since U.S. assistant secretary of state Christopher Hill underestimated the issue of Pyongyang's frozen funds in Macau's Banco Delta Asia as ''procedural'' and ''technical,'' you cannot be 100 percent optimistic about the road ahead. As explained by key North Korean diplomat Han Song-ryol while visiting the United Kingdom on July 4, Pyongyang's position on a non-nuclear Korean peninsula has not changed. If anything that position is stronger in the wake of concessions by the United States. Han called for an end to the United States' hostile policy towards North Korea and the abolition of Pyongyang's nuclear program to happen simultaneously. In a recent interview with The Hankyoreh, North Korean deputy ambassador to the United Nations Kim Myong-kil said the second phase of implementation requires Pyongyang to submit a list of its nuclear inventory, after which the United States must remove North Korea from its list of terror-sponsoring nations and lift the sanctions against it. ''The second phase is not about reporting and disablement, but about the United States working together'' with his country. The United States wants to see a uranium enrichment program on that inventory list, but Kim has said it ''doesn't even have one'' and proposed that matters be resolved ''in the style of Kumchang-ri.'' In other words, if the United States wants to inspect for a uranium program, it can do so on the condition that Pyongyang is compensated for allowing it to do so, as was done when U.S. inspectors went to the suspected nuclear site at Kumchang-ri in 1999. [HEU]
• More Than Words: The Value of U.S. Non-Nuclear-Use Promises
  George Bunn and Jean du Preez
  Last year, for the first time, the United States voted in the UN General Assembly against a traditional resolution calling for negotiation of legally binding negative security assurances (NSAs) by nuclear-weapon states. These are promises not to use nuclear weapons against nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) states-parties that have promised not to acquire them. In the debate, the U.S. delegation explained that the United States “opposes a treaty on negative security assurances or any other binding instrument on security assurances.”[1] U.S. military officials have long opposed explicit promises not to use nuclear weapons against countries that do not have them. Prior to the current administration, however, the U.S. government had rarely been so clear in stating its opposition
  [negative security assurances] [NPT]
• N. Korean Nuclear Conflict Has Deep Roots
  50 Years of Threats and Broken Pacts Culminate in Apparent Atomic Test By Walter Pincus Washington Post Staff Writer Sunday, October 15, 2006; Page A16
  Democrats and Republicans have been quick to use North Korea's apparent nuclear test to benefit their own party in these final weeks of the congressional campaign, but a review of history shows that both sides have contributed to the current situation. There is more than 50 years of history to Pyongyang's attempt to gain a nuclear weapon, triggered in part by threats from Presidents Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower to end the Korean War.
  In 1950, when a reporter asked Truman whether he would use atomic bombs at a time when the war was going badly, the president said, "That includes every weapon we have."
  In November 2001, when the Bush administration was absorbed in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, intelligence analysts at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory completed a highly classified report that concluded North Korea had begun construction of a plant to enrich uranium. A National Intelligence Estimate of the North Korean program confirmed the Livermore report, providing evidence that Pyongyang was violating the agreement. Nonetheless, the Bush administration waited until October 2002 before confronting the North Koreans, who at one meeting confirmed they were following another path to a nuclear weapon using enriched uranium. Soon thereafter, the United States ended its participation in the 1994 agreement. [HEU] [Admission] {Agreed Framework] [Nuclear test] [US NK Policy]
• N. Korea says it will shut down Yongbyon upon arrival of first aid shipment
  North Korea on Friday vowed to shut down its nuclear facilities at Yongbyon as soon as it starts receiving 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil promised in a six-nation agreement sealed in February. A spokesman for the North's Foreign Ministry also made it clear that the country will not wait until it receives the entire 50,000 tons. "Prompted by the desire to facilitate the process of the six-party talks, the DPRK is now earnestly examining even the issue of suspending the operation of its nuclear facilities earlier than expected, that is, from the moment the first shipment of heavy oil equivalent to one-tenth of the total quantity is made," the unidentified spokesman was quoted as saying by his country's Korean Central News Agency.  
  The North Korean official's remarks are apparently a response to a recent call by Japan that the shipment of the promised energy aid should not take place before the communist nation first suspends its operations at Yongbyon. Yasuhisa Shiozaki, Japan's chief Cabinet secretary, said in a regular press conference Wednesday that the two should "take place simultaneously...not one before the other." The spokesman for the North Korean Foreign Ministry said there are forces displeased with the smooth implementation of the nuclear disarmament pact "still at work," adding such elements are now spreading misinformation about his country.
• When oil comes, North may close reactor
  July 07, 2007 North Korea is considering suspending operations at its nuclear facilities as soon as the first shipment of heavy fuel reaches its port under an aid-for-disarmament deal, its Foreign Ministry spokesman said yesterday. Under the Feb. 13 deal, North Korea agreed to shut down its Yongbyon nuclear reactor, the source of its weapons-grade plutonium, in return for 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil from South Korea. South Korea said yesterday the first shipment of 6,200 tons of oil would set sail on July 12. The voyage to a North Korean port on its northwestern shore is expected to take about two days.
• Spokesman for DPRK Foreign Ministry on Issue of Implementation of February 13 Agreement
  Pyongyang, July 6 (KCNA) -- A spokesman for the DPRK Foreign Ministry gave the following answer to the question put by KCNA Friday as regards the issue of the implementation of the February 13 Agreement:
  After the settlement of the issue of the remittance of the funds frozen in the Banco Delta Asia in Macao, the DPRK is implementing its commitments under the agreement much earlier than the promised time and order.
  It was agreed at the six-party talks that the DPRK would suspend the operation of its nuclear facilities within 30 days after the lifting of the financial sanction against it.
  The delayed remittance of the funds procrastinated on the start of implementation of the February 13 agreement but the DPRK allowed a delegation of the International Atomic Energy Agency to visit the DPRK just one day after the completion of the fund remittance proceeding from a goodwill stand to make up for the loss of time, substantially kicking off the process to suspend the operation of its nuclear facilities.
  The above-said agreement calls for providing 50,000 tons of heavy oil to the DPRK in the same period, but it was reported that the shipment of the total quantity is expected to be completed early in August.
  Prompted by the desire to facilitate the process of the six-party talks, the DPRK is now earnestly examining even the issue of suspending the operation of its nuclear facilities earlier than expected, that is from the moment the first shipment of heavy oil equivalent to one-tenth of the total quantity is made, without waiting for the total quantity of heavy oil to reach its port and making preparations for the job.
  The parties concerned have already been informed of this.
  Nevertheless, some elements are now spreading misinformation that the DPRK is raising a new demand as regards the implementation of the agreement. This indicates that the forces displeased with the smooth implementation of the agreement are still at work.
  The agreement should be honored not only by the DPRK but by all the countries participating in the six-party talks on the principle "action for action".
  Other participating countries are also obliged to hasten the preparations for honoring their commitments including energy aid amounting to 950,000 tons of heavy oil, the remaining quantity to be provided.
  It is a stark fact already known to the world through the agreement that the DPRK cannot unilaterally suspend the operation of its nuclear facilities unless other participating countries fulfil their commitments.
  The DPRK may not trust them if steps are not taken to make political and economic compensation as promised, even after it has taken to suspend the operation of its nuclear facilities. In that case, the resumption of its nuclear activity will assume legitimate nature.
• Macau tycoon wants his bank back
  By Tim Johnson | McClatchy Newspapers
  HONG KONG - It's been nearly two years since Stanley Au, a colorful gold trader with a long history of links to North Korea, lost control of his Macau bank in a swirl of U.S. government charges that it had laundered cash and bogus U.S. $100 notes for dictator Kim Jong Il's regime. Au now wants control of his bank back, even if it means confronting the U.S. Treasury Department, which asserts that he may still be in league with North Korea. He has the implicit backing of the Chinese government. Speaking from Macau, the gambling haven about an hour's ferry ride from here, Au said he wouldn't succumb to American pressure to sell his interest in Banco Delta Asia. "A definite 'no!' " Au said, in his first public remarks on the matter. "This is my family crown jewel. I committed no illicit activities. Why should I give up something that is built up by two generations of my family?" More is at stake in the deadlock over the future of Banco Delta Asia than whether Stanley Au once again sits in the director's chair at a bank that his father started 72 years ago. Au's challenge raises the question of whether the Bush administration operated arbitrarily as it turned an obscure banking provision into a potent financial weapon that it one day may desire to use elsewhere around the globe, perhaps against Iran. [BDA] [Toolkit]
• First 6,200-Ton Oil Shipment to N.Korea Off Next Week
      South Korea will ship 6,200 tons of heavy fuel oil to North Korea next week, as part of a promised 50,000 tons to be sent if the North disables its nuclear program under a February aid-for-denuclearization
• N Korea considers early shutdown
  The shutdown of Yongbyon is key to implementing February's deal North Korea says it is considering suspending operations at its Yongbyon nuclear reactor earlier than expected. In a statement, Pyongyang said it could act as soon as it received the first shipment of energy aid promised under an international disarmament deal. South Korea announced earlier that it would send the first shipment - 6,200 tons of heavy fuel oil - on 12 July. Under the deal, which was agreed in February, Pyongyang agreed to close its reactor for economic and energy aid. North Korea "is now earnestly examining even the issue of suspending the operation of its nuclear facilities earlier than expected - that is from the moment the first shipment of heavy oil... is made," the statement from the foreign ministry said. The delivery is expected to arrive in North Korea on 14 July.
• The Ripples of Punishing One Bank
  By STEVEN R. WEISMAN Published: July 3, 2007 WASHINGTON - When the United States blacklisted a tiny bank in Macao for its dealings with North Korea nearly two years ago, the goal was to isolate the bank from the world's financial system and squeeze the government in Pyongyang. Little did the Bush administration appreciate the fatefulness of that step. [BDA] [Intelligent design] [Toolkit] [Financial sanctions] [Dissension]  
• Pakistan Eases Curbs on Atomic Scientist
  By MUNIR AHMAD The Associated Press Monday, July 2, 2007; 1:49 PM ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- A.Q. Khan, the scientist who became a national hero for developing Pakistan's atomic bomb and went on to sell nuclear secrets abroad, can leave house arrest to meet with friends and relatives, officials said Monday. In his first public statement in years, Khan told The Associated Press in a telephone interview that he was recovering for treatment for prostate cancer.
  Khan confessed in 2004 to heading a network that supplied sensitive technology to Iran, North Korea and Libya. The ring had been in operation for nearly three decades.
• Seoul to Start Shipping Energy Aid to N.Korea
      South Korea will start shipping 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil promised to North Korea within two weeks to reward the Stalinist country for shutting down and sealing its nuclear facilities. South Korea will start shipping heavy fuel oil before Jul. 14 and complete shipments in late July or early August. The two Koreas reached the agreement in working-level talks in Kaesong on Friday and Saturday, the Unification Ministry said. With heavy oil costing about US$400 per ton, the total cost will exceed W20 billion (US$1=W938).
• Next steps in the North Korean nuclear issue
  In July, second IAEA visit and oil shipments expected to take place
    Starting in the second week of July, a series of initial steps to fulfill a February agreement to disarm North Korea's nuclear weapons program are expected to take place. Plans are to include a visit by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) delegation to shut down and seal the North's nuclear plant in Yongbyon and a shipment of 50,000 tons of heavy oil to North Korea. Based on the ''action-to-action'' principle, momentum is growing and a series of talks, including discussions among top negotiators for the six-party talks and working-level talks to normalize ties between North Korea and the United States, are likely to be set.
• Trip to North yields progress on shutdown
  July 02, 2007 "Fruitful" talks with North Korea and a visit to the Yongbyon nuclear reactor have led to an "understanding" about how to proceed toward the shut down of the plant, representatives of the UN nuclear watchdog agency said at the conclusion of a five-day visit to Pyongyang. "We have now reached an understanding on how we are going to monitor the sealing and shutting of the Yongbyon nuclear facility," said Olli Heinonen, deputy director general for safeguards at the International Atomic Energy Agency, Agence-France Press reported from Beijing.
• IAEA Working Delegation Leaves
  Pyongyang, June 30 (KCNA) -- The working delegation of the International Atomic Energy Agency headed by Deputy Director-General Olli Heinonen left here on Saturday.
• IAEA says deal reached with Pyongyang on nuclear disarmament steps
    A top U.N. nuclear inspector confirmed Saturday North Korea and his agency have agreed on how the nuclear facilities in the communist state will be shut down and monitored in line with the six-party agreement. "We have now reached an understanding on how we are going to monitor the sealing and shutting down of the Yongbyon nuclear facility," Olli Heinonen, deputy director of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told reporters in Beijing.

• Process of Denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula and the Challenges
  By An Song Nam
  June 29th, 2007
  An Song Nam, the Executive Director at the DPRK’s Institute of Disarmament and Peace in Pyongyang/,/ delivered this presentation at the annual Asia-Pacific Roundtable in Kuala Lumpur in early June, with only minor edits. While presented prior to the recent “breakthrough,” it still provides a useful North Korean perspective on the broader Korean Peninsula denuclearization issue and some of the challenges that may lie ahead.
  //*1. The nature and origin of the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula * The U.S. hostile policy against the DPRK, lasting more than half a century, is directly responsible for triggering the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula. The U.S. had planned to launch nuclear strikes several times targeting the DPRK during the Korean War and in the post-war period. It is a well-known fact that the U.S. has threatened and blackmailed the DPRK with tactical nuclear weapons which the U.S. massively deployed in South Korea after the Korean War, violating the Armistice Agreement. The nuclear issue between the DPRK and the U.S. was aggravated in early 1990’s when the U.S. intensified military attempts to stifle the DPRK under the pretext of the alleged “nuclear suspicion” which did not exist at all. Especially, since the advent of the Bush administration, the nuclear issue between to DPRK and U.S. took a more difficult and complicated dimension. [BDA] [Agreement070213] [NK US policy]
• Conservative Consternation on North Korea
  by Victor Cha
  Many Asian and American commentators have spoken critically of the Bush administration's recent policies toward to North Korea. The Washington Post's editorial page on June 24 described in disapproving terms, a "string of concessions" made by the United States while Pyongyang sits idle, not fulfilling its commitment to shut down the Yongbyon reactor facilities within 60 days of February 13. Conservatives in Washington are unhappy that the United States agreed not only to support the unfreezing of all DPRK frozen assets held at Banco Delta Asia, but also took the extraordinary step of facilitating the transfer of funds through the U.S. Federal Reserve to a North Korean Foreign Trade Bank account in Russia. Conservatives in Seoul are equally dissatisfied with the Administration's willingness to allow high-level U.S. officials to go to Pyongyang too early in the negotiation process, and are quietly concerned that the United States is moving too quickly down a path of normalization and even a peace treaty with the DPRK. All attribute this new found American flexibility to an administration that is weak, distracted by events in Iraq, and desperate for a foreign policy victory before the end of the administration. I think this view is wrong. I can understand why conservatives may be unhappy. I am a conservative despite the view expressed in some newspapers that I have gone from "hawk to dove" after my duties as deputy head of the U.S. delegation to the Six Party talks [US NK policy]
• IAEA Team Heads to Reactor Site
  Inspectors with the International Atomic Energy Agency, in North Korea to monitor the shutdown of the country's nuclear facilities, headed to the key nuclear reactor in Yongbyon on Thursday, China's Xinhua News Agency reported from Pyongyang. It is the nuclear energy watchdog's first trip to the facility since North Korea expelled IAEA monitors in Dec. 2002. The inspection team's head, IAEA Deputy Director-General Olli Heinonen, said that discussions with the North had been progressing smoothly. Talks would continue in more detail, he said before leaving for the site 130 km north of Pyonyang. The delegation will return to Pyongyang on Friday afternoon.
• IAEA to approve procedures for N. Korea's nuclear shutdown
    The U.N. nuclear watchdog is to approve monitoring procedures for North Korea's nuclear reactor shutdown early next month and send a delegation of its inspectors within several days of the decision, the IAEA spokesperson said Thursday. In an interview with the Voice of America, Melissa Fleming, spokesperson for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said a special board meeting will be convened on July 9 to approve procedures for monitoring and verifying the shutdown based on a report from IAEA inspectors currently in North Korea.
• North fires missiles as nuke watchdog visits
  June 29, 2007 A team from the UN nuclear watchdog was to pay its first visit since 2002 to North Korea's main nuclear facility yesterday, just a day after ballistic missiles were test-fired by the communist country, drawing condemnation from the United States and Japan. The firing of three short-range ballistic missiles into the waters east of the Korean Peninsula on Wednesday alarmed officials in the United States. "The United States is deeply troubled that North Korea has decided to launch these missiles during a delicate time in the six-party talks," Gordon Johndroe, a spokesman for the National Security Council, said in Washington. "The launches of these ballistic missiles are a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1718 which prohibits North Korea from engaging in all ballistic missile activities."
• IAEA to Start Procedures for Shutdown of NK Reactor
  By Yoon Won-sup Staff Reporter The U.N. nuclear watchdog said it will decide the procedures for the shutdown of North Korea's nuclear reactors early next month and send its inspectors within days of the decision. Melissa Fleming, spokesperson of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said in an interview with the Voice of America (VOA) Wednesday that a special board meeting will be held on July 9 to approve procedures for monitoring and verifying the shutdown. The procedures will be based on a report from IAEA officials currently in North Korea.
• IAEA team "satisfied" with N.Korea nuclear tour
  Reuters Friday, June 29, 2007; 4:17 AM TOKYO (Reuters) - The head of a U.N. nuclear watchdog delegation said on Friday it was "satisfied" with a tour of a North Korean reactor complex that the secretive state has promised to scrap under an aid-for-disarmament deal, Kyodo news agency said. The reactor at Yongbyon was still operating, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Nuclear Safeguards Director Olli Heinonen was also quoted as saying on his return to Pyongyang.
• N Korea 'Test-Fired Short-Range Missile Again'
  North Korea test-fired a short-range surface-to-ship missile with a range of 100 km into the East Sea on Wednesday morning, observers believe. Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities are closely looking at the evidence. A government source said North Korea fired the missile from the northeast coast in South Hamgyeong Province into the East Sea at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, following the launch of a missile from a missile base in Dancheon into the East Sea on May 25 and two missiles into the West Sea on June 7. If the launch is confirmed, the North has fired missiles on three occasions this year. The government source described the launch as part of routine military exercises in preparation for the summer drills.
• UN Nuclear Delegation Leaves for Yongbyon
  The 4-member delegation of the U.N. nuclear watchdog left Pyongyang Thursday to the nuclear reactor in Yongbyon, about 100 kilometers northeast of the capital, the Xinhua news agency reported in the capital of North Korea. "We are going to see the facilities and continue our discussion in more details," Xinhua quoted Olli Heinonen, the head of the delegation of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), as saying. Friday afternoon, they are to return to the North Korean capital, where they have been since Tuesday on their five-day trip.
• UN Monitors Head to NKorea Reactor Site
  The Associated Press Thursday, June 28, 2007; 1:50 AM PYONGYANG, North Korea -- U.N. inspectors headed to North Korea's key nuclear reactor Thursday for the first time since 2002 to discuss plans to shut the plutonium-producing facility under an international accord. The development came as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe criticized North Korea for conducting test firings of short-range missiles Wednesday, saying Tokyo would push for a "harsh response." A U.S. official also called them a provocation that could destabilize the region.
• N.Korea to Disable Nuclear Facilities This Year: Hill
  The chief U.S. nuclear envoy Christopher Hill on Monday said North Korea may disable its nuclear facilities under a Feb. 13 six-nation agreement. "If all goes well, we would hope that by the end of the calendar year '07 we will have the facility shut down and disabled," Hill said in a press conference on his recent trip to Pyongyang. "Once we get into the disabling phase... we could also do something that is called for in the September '05 agreement which is to begin a peace process on the Korean Peninsula."
• Hill says uranium next issue as inspectors arrive in North
  June 27, 2007 As the long-awaited mission of the International Atomic Energy Agency got underway in North Korea, Christopher Hill, Washington's chief envoy to the six-party talks said Monday in Washington that without Pyongyang coming clean on the issue of its alleged uranium enrichment program, no comprehensive deal can be realized. IAEA officials arrived in the North yesterday to begin a five-day visit intended to discuss the shutdown of the Yongbyon nuclear reactor. Director General Olli Heinonen told reporters in Pyongyang that the delegation would be "negotiating arrangements for verification of the shutdown and sealing" of the reactor. The plutonium-producing Yongbyon reactor is just the most visible sign of the North's atomic weapons program. Far more worrying, if it exists, would be a program to produce a hydrogen bomb using enriched uranium. Hill said in a press conference that he discussed the issue during his first visit to the North last week. "We are not going to end up with a denuclearization where the problem of highly enriched uranium purchases has somehow been pushed under the rug," he said. Pyongyang's stance on the issue has changed from the flat denials of the past, Hill said, adding that the North needs to settle the issue satisfactorily. "We are not reaching any deal unless this is resolved. We've got to get clarity on this," said Hill.   [HEU]
• IAEA Working Delegation Here
  Pyongyang, June 26 (KCNA) -- A working delegation of the International Atomic Energy Agency headed by Deputy Director-General Olli Heinonen arrived here by air on Tuesday.
• What Hill's Surprise Visit to N. Korea Has Left
  A U.S. version of the 'Sunshine Policy'?
  [Analysis] Lee Byong-chul (merrycow) Published 2007-06-27 11:12 (KST)   A surprise visit to North Korea by Christopher Hill, the U.S. chief negotiator on the six-party talks, was enough to make South Koreans -- both the conservatives and the progressives -- believe that the Bush administration is taking on a similar course the South Korean government did several years ago against North Korea. That is called a U.S. version of the "Sunshine Policy," since the Bush administration has until most recently addressed its policy of no direct talks with North Korea.
• The Incidental Tourist Visits North Korea
  By Al Kamen
  Wednesday, June 27, 2007; Page A17 Seems that everywhere U.S. nuclear negotiator Christopher Hill goes these days, the North Koreans are never far away. Suspicious types think this is no accident. In January, for example, Hill was giving a speech at the American Academy in Berlin, a cultural exchange center, and, wouldn't you know it, there was North Korea's lead negotiator, Kim Gye Gwan. The North Koreans had requested a meeting in Geneva -- Washington said no, since that was where the original Clinton-era "Agreed Framework" was hammered out, and it wouldn't look good. The North Koreans didn't want Beijing or the United Nations, we hear, so Berlin was agreed upon. But Hill needed plausible cover should the media spot him in Germany. He called his old boss, former U.N. ambassador and Bosnian peace deal negotiator Richard Holbrooke, and mentioned he'd be going to Berlin
  And this time, contrary to normal procedure, no one from the Pentagon or the National Security Council went with Hill. They are seen as much more hard-line -- or more realistic, they would say -- than State. Well, they won't miss the next Asia Society meeting. The IAEA, those blind chaps who somehow couldn't find Saddam Hussein's massive WMD stockpiles before the war, arrived in Pyongyang yesterday. [Bizarre] [WMD]  
• A complete fantasy
  Nuclear deterrence worked during the cold war, but replacing Trident is an expensive nonsense
  Roy Hattersley
  Monday December 4, 2006 The Guardian
  Strange that so many members of the cabinet who were passionate opponents of nuclear weapons when they were necessary to the country's security should support their retention with equal fervour now that they are irrelevant to Britain's defence. Thirty years ago - when, I will gladly gamble, Margaret Beckett and John Reid supported the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament - the deterrent really deterred. Had there not been what was graphically called "the balance of terror", there would certainly have been war over Berlin, probably over Czechoslovakia and possibly over Hungary. The way the deterrent worked was always too subtle for CND to understand. Its members could not understand that the nuclear arsenal existed to prevent a war rather than to win one. Enthusiasts for the replacement of Trident make the same mistake. They seem to believe that we might actually need to use our nuclear capability against a new threat to which they often refer but never define.
  Supposing that we are under threat from "rogue states" as well as "international terrorists", does anyone really imagine that either of those enemies will be deterred in the way that the Soviet Union once was? If Bin Laden or al-Qaida are the enemy, on whom are we to threaten to unleash the holocaust? If it is Iran and North Korea that concerns us, is it remotely possible that those countries will react to the balance of terror as the Soviet Union did in the 1950s and 1960s? Our complaint against them is that they do not behave as rational states behave. Why should they respond rationally to a nuclear threat? [Bizarre] [nuclear weapons]
• [News analysis] Getting N. Korea to admit to its HEU program
  It has been an open secret that North Korea has been running a clandestine highly-enriched uranium program since the middle of the 1990s. North Korea's reported acknowledgement of the program in 2002 was the primary cause of the breakdown of the 1994 Agreed Framework between the United States and the communist regime. But since then, the North has denied ever making such an admission. After five years, no progress, and one nuclear test, getting North Korea to admit to conducting an HEU program is likely to remain a tough negotiating task. Washington remains firm that without such an acknowledgement, any six-party talks' agreement would be in jeopardy. [HEU] [Admission] [Agreement070213]
• Foreign Ministry Spokesman on Solution to Issue of Frozen Funds
     Pyongyang, June 25 (KCNA) -- A spokesman for the DPRK Foreign Ministry gave the following answer to a question put by KCNA Monday as regards the settlement of the issue of the funds frozen in the Banco Delta Asia in Macao:
      The funds frozen at the above-said bank were finally wired as demanded by the DPRK side, thus settling the controversial issue of the frozen funds.
      It has thus become possible to use the de-frozen funds for improving the standard of people's living and humanitarian purposes, as planned.
      The DPRK took a serious view of the issue of de-freezing the funds not because of that amount of money but the action taken to freeze the funds was a vivid manifestation of the hostile policy toward the DPRK.
      This is also in line with the principle of "action for action" confirmed by the six parties. Now that the issue of de-freezing the funds has been settled, the DPRK, too, will start implementing the February 13 agreement on the principle of "action for action."
      As part of it, the DPRK will hold a discussion on the suspension of the operations of nuclear facilities, its verification and monitoring with the working delegation of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Pyongyang from June 26. [BDA] [Financial sanctions]
• North Korea Receives Funds and Says It Will Shut Down Its Main Nuclear Reactor
  By CHOE SANG-HUN Published: June 26, 2007 SEOUL, South Korea, June 25 — North Korea said Monday that its dispute with the United States over $25 million frozen in a bank in Macao had been resolved, and that it would begin to carry out its much-delayed promise to shut down its main nuclear plant. The first test of the North Korean commitment to stop and seal its main nuclear reactor in Yongbyon, south of Pyongyang, the capital, and an adjacent fuel-reprocessing plant, will come when officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency begin five days of negotiations on Tuesday in North Korea. The agency, the United Nations’ nuclear monitoring arm, and North Korean officials will discuss a timetable for shutting down the reactor and technical details of monitoring and verification. Ever since the first suspicion of a North Korean nuclear weapons program surfaced in the early 1990s, the agency and North Korea have bickered over how much access the agency should have to nuclear facilities and data in the isolated country. “As the funds that had been frozen at Macao’s Banco Delta Asia have been transferred as we demanded, the troublesome issue of the frozen funds is finally resolved,” the official North Korean KCNA press agency quoted a Foreign Ministry spokesman as saying. “We too will start implementing the Feb. 13 agreement on the principle of action for action.” [BDA] [Sequencing]
• N. Korea Says Funds Issue Is Resolved
  By Edward Cody
  Washington Post Foreign Service Tuesday, June 26, 2007; Page A15
  BEIJING, June 25 -- North Korea announced Monday that a prolonged dispute over $25 million frozen in Macau bank accounts has finally been resolved, opening the way for closure of its main nuclear reactor. The declaration, by a Foreign Ministry spokesman on the official Korean Central News Agency, said North Korea is now ready to carry out an agreement reached in Beijing on Feb. 13 to shut down the reactor and allow inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency to make sure it does not resume operation. Olli Heinonen, the International Atomic Energy Agency's deputy director general for safeguards talks to journalists after arriving the airport in Beijing Monday, June 25, 2007. Heinonen who is from the U.N. nuclear watchdog prepared Monday for a rare visit to North Korea for discussions on how the agency's inspectors would monitor and verify the shutdown of the Yongbyon nuclear reactor. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan) (Ng Han Guan - AP)
  Olli Heinonen, the agency's deputy director general for safeguards, was scheduled to arrive Tuesday in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, for discussions on closing the reactor, in nearby Yongbyon, and setting up regular inspections by IAEA experts.
• Foreign Ministry Spokesman on DPRK Visit by U.S. Assistant Secretary of State
  Pyongyang, June 23 (KCNA) -- A spokesman for the Foreign Ministry of the DPRK gave the following answer to a question raised by KCNA Saturday as regards the visit to the DPRK by the U.S. assistant secretary of State: Christopher Hill, U.S. assistant secretary of State, visited the DPRK from June 21 to 22.
  During his visit he met the DPRK foreign minister and had talks with a vice-minister of Foreign Affairs.
  At the meeting and the talks both sides discussed the ways of completely settling the issue of the de-frozen funds just as they had agreed in Berlin in January last and boosting cooperation in the field of financial transaction in the future.
  As for the issue of implementing the February 13 agreement, both sides shared the view that they would start implementing the agreement on the premise that the issue of the remittance of the funds is finally settled and had an in-depth exchange of views on the actions to be taken by each side in the next phase before agreeing to deepen contacts and consultations in the future.
  The discussions of issues were comprehensive and productive.
  Both sides agreed to examine the possibility of holding talks of the heads of the delegations to the six-party talks in the first half of July and opening a meeting of the foreign ministers of the six parties during the ministerial meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum slated to take place in Philippines early in August and cooperate with each other for their realization for the present. [BDA] [Financial sanctions] [Agreement070213]
• IAEA Officials to Visit Pyongyang on Tuesday
  The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency on Friday said IAEA representatives will visit North Korea on Tuesday. Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei said IAEA chief weapons inspector Olli Heinonen and three other delegates will stay in the North until June 30 and discuss in detail the shutdown of the nuclear facilities in Yongbyon.
• N.Korea Prepared to Disable Its Nuclear Programs: Hill
  The U.S. chief nuclear negotiator Christopher Hill talks to reporters prior to his departure from Pyongyang on Friday. Hill wrapped up a surprise trip to North Korea on Friday, expressing satisfaction about his talks with officials there on moving forward with international efforts to halt the country's nuclear program./AP   The U.S. chief nuclear negotiator Christopher Hill, who has returned from a surprise overnight visit to Pyongyang on Friday, said North Korea is "prepared promptly to shut down the Yongbyon facility." "They also said that they are prepared to disable the Yongbyon facility as called for in the February agreement," Hill said.  
• Hill Wraps Up Surprise Pyongyang Visit on Friday
    Chief U.S. nuclear negotiator Christopher Hill was in Pyongyang on Thursday and Friday. With the transfer of North Korea's money from a Macau Bank, the main obstacle to the North doing its part under a Feb. 13 denuclearization deal is out of the way; it remains to be seen whether Hill's surprise visit can speed up the shutdown of its nuclear facilities and normalization of ties between the U.S. and the North.
• Three Challenges for the Six-Party Talks
    North Korea's recently unfrozen funds in Macau's Banco Delta Asia are finally in the hands of North Korean authorities after a trip around the world. The funds were transferred from BDA to the Foreign Trade Bank of Korea, their final destination, by way of the U.S. Federal Reserve in New York, the Russian central bank in Moscow, and the Far East Commercial Bank in Vladivostok. Following the resolution of the BDA issue, North Korea will at long last shut down its nuclear facilities under a Feb. 13 denuclearization deal. In return, it will get 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil from South Korea, as well as 400,000 tons of rice that have been on hold. Once the six-party nuclear talks resume, they will focus on reporting to the IAEA and disablement of North Korea's nuclear program. A foreign ministers' meeting of the six nations will follow soon to discuss ways to establish peace on the Korean Peninsula. Many challenges lying ahead on the long road to the resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue. Three in particular will cause some headaches. The first is whether North Korea can engage in normal activities in the international financial system following the resolution of the BDA fund issue. North Korea could have withdrawn the US$25 million directly from BDA but obstinately insisted on having the money transferred out ? it wanted to regain the international credibility it had lost for crimes such as dollar counterfeiting and money laundering by taking advantage of the U.S. influence on the international financial system. [BDA] [Bizarre]
• U.S. envoy's N. Korea trip brings hope for denuclearization of N. Korea within year
    International negotiations on ending North Korea's nuclear ambition are expected to make rapid progress following the chief U.S. negotiator's surprise trip to the communist nation last week, while the countries involved in the six-way talks are hoping to gain further momentum with an unprecedented meeting of their foreign ministers.
• Six-party nuclear disarmament talks likely to resume in early July: N. Korea
    The United States and North Korea have agreed to work together to reopen the stalled six-party talks on the North's nuclear program in early July and a foreign ministerial meeting in early August, a North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman said Saturday. The U.S. and North Korea "agreed to consider the possibility of opening a meeting of six-party chief delegates in early July and a six-party foreign ministerial meeting on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum, which will be held in the Philippines in early August, and cooperate to achieve those goals," the unidentified spokesman said in a statement carried by the North's Korean Central News Agency.
• U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Here
  Pyongyang, June 21 (KCNA) -- Christopher Hill, U.S. assistant secretary of State, and his entourage arrived here by air today.
• U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Leaves
  Pyongyang, June 22 (KCNA) -- Christopher Hill, U.S. assistant secretary of State, and his entourage left here today.
• US, NK Set Timeline to Shut Nuclear Reactor
  By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter North Korea's denuclearization is picking up steam as the timelines for closing the North's plutonium-producing reactor and the fresh round of six-party nuclear talks have almost been set. Christopher Hill, the chief U.S. delegate at the six-party disarmament talks, said Saturday North Korea could shut down its main nuclear reactor in Yongbyon within three weeks after the U.N. nuclear inspectors and Pyongyang agree on how to monitor the process next week.
• North Korea says has funds, to move on nuclear deal
  Reuters Monday, June 25, 2007; 2:45 AM SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea said on Monday that the standoff over frozen funds had been resolved and it would now start implementing a nuclear disarmament deal struck in February. The first step would be to hold discussions in Pyongyang on Tuesday with officials of the U.N. nuclear watchdog on shutting down the country's nuclear facilities, North Korea's KCNA news agency quoted a Foreign Ministry spokesman as saying.
  "As the funds that had been frozen at Macau's Banco Delta Asia have been transferred as we demanded, the troublesome issue of the frozen funds is finally resolved," he said. He said there could now be "action for action": "As part of that, there will be discussions with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) delegates June 26 in Pyongyang on shutting down nuclear facilities and inspections and monitoring."
• N.Korea Invites Nuclear Watchdog
  North Korea has officially invited a working group from the International Atomic Energy Agency, and the two sides, will likely start talks this week on the shutdown of nuclear facilities in Yongbyon. The IAEA delegation will apparently visit Pyongyang this week to discuss which facilities will be shut down and how. North Korea and the IAEA have already reached agreement on shutting down the 5 MW nuclear reactor, a radiation chemistry lab, a nuclear fuel rod production facility, the Yongbyon 50 MW nuclear reactor, and the Taecheon 200 MW nuclear reactor. If talks go smoothly, the IAEA will report the outcome to a special executive commission, which will approve them and dispatch inspectors to North Korea.
• North's invitation to inspectors puts six-party talks back on track
  Visit would mean denuclearization a 'done deal': gov't official [Analysis]
  The denuclearization process that North Korea promised it would effect in a recent nuclear agreement has restarted after a four-month stall. As Pyongyang has invited a working-level delegation of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to the communist country - part of its requirements per the agreement made on February 13 at the six-party talks on its nuclear program - the move can be interpreted as its intention to fully cooperate with the global community to shut down its nuclear facilities.
• N. Korea plans to seal its nuclear reactor in late July: Interfax
  North Korea will be able to freeze and seal its main nuclear rector at Yongbyong north of Pyongyang in the second half of July, Russia's news agency reported Monday. Quoting an unidentified North Korean diplomatic source in Beijing, the Interfax news service said that the shutdown of the Yongbyon complex will take a month. "In the estimate of our experts, the reactor's technical freezing will take about a month, so we hope to seal it, as required by the agreements reached at the six-party talks, in the second half of July 2007," the North Korean diplomatic source said.
• IAEA Working-level Delegation Invited to Visit DPRK
  Pyongyang, June 16 (KCNA) -- Ri Je Son, director general of the General Department of Atomic Energy of the DPRK, Saturday sent a letter to the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as regards the discussion of the procedures of the IAEA's verification and monitoring of the suspension of the operations of nuclear facilities at Nyongbyon under the February 13 agreement.
  He in the letter noted that a working-level delegation of the IAEA has been invited to visit the DPRK as it is confirmed that the process of de-freezing the funds of the DPRK at the Banco Delta Asia in Macao has reached its final phase. [BDA] [Agreement070213]
• IAEA Inspectors Likely to Visit Pyongyang on June 20
  Inspectors of the international nuclear watchdog are likely to visit Pyongyang on Wednesday on the invitation of North Korea as the banking problem, a main stumbling block to a six-party talks on the North’s nuclear program, have been solved.
• Envoy Sees North Korea Progress
  By DAVID LAGUE Published: June 18, 2007 BEIJING, June 18 — North Korea could be ready to begin shutting its plutonium producing reactor within weeks as the first step toward disabling the unit by the end of this year, the top American negotiator on the North’s nuclear weapons program said here today. Christopher Hill, an assistant secretary of state, said stalled efforts to dismantle the North’s nuclear weapons program could move ahead after a pivotal weekend when Pyongyang invited inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency to visit for talks on verifying and monitoring a shutdown. ”This is an event we have been looking forward to for some time,” Mr. Hill said following talks with his Chinese counterpart, Wu Dawei.
• North Korea Opens Door to IAEA
  The Banco Delta Asia crisis is resolved, but can U.S. present a unified policy?
  [Analysis] Timothy Savage (yamanin)
  Published 2007-06-18 12:42 (KST) North Korea's announcement that it would invite officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to discuss the shutdown of its nuclear reactor at Yongbyon no doubt came as a welcome relief to Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill and his colleagues at Foggy Bottom, who have endured nearly constant attack over North Korea's delay in implementing the Feb. 13 agreement.
  In the wake of Pyongyang's decision, the six-party talks are expected to resume in early July, although Hill was quick to emphasize that they would not take place until the reactor has ceased operating.
  North Korea's linkage of the Feb. 13 agreement with the release of frozen funds at the Banco Delta Asia (BDA) in Macao has been cited by critics as evidence of Pyongyang's bad faith. From a moral standpoint, it's certainly true that North Korea should proceed with nuclear dismantlement without bringing in side issues.
  The more vital question as the six-party process continues is whether the United States government will finally be able to present a single, unified policy regarding engagement of North Korea. For most of the Bush administration, two opposing factions have been simultaneously carrying out two separate North Korea policies, usually in direct contradiction of each other.
  The Treasury Dept. slapped the sanctions on BDA exactly one day after Hill reached his first agreement with North Korea, on Sept. 19, 2005. Similarly, shortly after the Feb. 13 agreement, allies of former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton began making exaggerated claims of misuse of funds by the U.N. Development Programme in Pyongyang. Throughout all this, the man who calls himself "the decider," President George W. Bush, remains in the background, seemingly unwilling or unable to get his underlings to speak with one voice.
  The resolution of the BDA issue would appear, on the surface at least, to be a victory for the pro-engagement faction. But the way that the issue was finally solved reveals the success of the anti-engagement forces in their attempt to further isolate North Korea. Resolving the issue was delayed for several months as the U.S. could not find a bank anywhere willing to accept Pyongyang's cash, for fear of becoming the target of future U.S. action.
  In the end, the Russian bank that accepted the cash did so only after receiving a written guarantee that it would not run afoul of U.S. law. In the future as well, no bank will risk losing access to the U.S. banking system for the sake of handling the relatively small amount of cash in North Korean accounts. Treasury thus has effectively intimated the international banking community from dealing with North Korea at all.
  If Pyongyang's goal in the six-party talks is to normalize relations with the United States and pull itself out of isolation -- as most well-informed observers believe -- then Chris Hill's job has not gotten any easier. It's hard to see how North Korea can join the international community if it cannot access hard currency even for legitimate business, such as sales of gold and other minerals. Somehow, the U.S. will have to offer North Korea a way out of this dilemma if it expects Pyongyang to ultimately fulfill its commitment to denuclearization.
  In the meantime, the best we can hope for is halting progress and no major reversals in the six-party talks. And that if we're lucky, perhaps Kim Jong-il has a wise advisor whispering in his ear that North Korea needs to deal with the United States government "as it is, not as we would wish it to be."
  At least for the next 18 months. [Financial sanctions] [Dissension]
• IAEA Team to Visit N. Korea
  By KWANG-TAE KIM Associated Press Monday, June 18, 2007; 9:36 AM INCHEON, South Korea -- A stalled process to dismantle Pyongyang's nuclear programs could resume within weeks now that a dispute over the transfer of North Korean funds is over, U.S. nuclear envoy Christopher Hill said Monday. Also Monday, the International Atomic Energy Agency, U.N.'s nuclear watchdog, said it will send a team to North Korea next week to discuss how the agency's inspectors would
• U.S.: NKorea Nuke Issue Far From Over
  By SCOTT McDONALD The Associated Press Sunday, June 17, 2007; 12:46 PM BEIJING -- The chief U.S. envoy at North Korean nuclear talks warned Sunday that shutting down the communist regime's atomic program remains a far-off goal, but welcomed the country's decision to invite inspectors. The U.S. official, Christopher Hill, said he hopes inspectors from the U.N. nuclear watchdog can go to North Korea soon after the apparent resolution of a dispute over millions in frozen funds that had stalled disarmament. North Korea on Saturday invited International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors to visit as the transfer of the money to its accounts neared completion. In Vienna, IAEA spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said the invitation had been received and that the "next steps" would be discussed Monday. [Agreement070213]
• N.K. invites nuclear watchdog, says banking issue almost resolved
  North Korea invited officials from the U.N. nuclear watchdog Saturday, raising hopes for a breakthrough in the North's stalled denuclearization procedures, the North's state media reported. The communist North has been refusing to honor a Feb. 13 international agreement to dismantle its nuclear weapons programs unless its US$25 million at Macau's Banco Delta Asia (BDA) is released. "Ri Je-son, director general of the General Department of Atomic Energy of the DPRK, Saturday sent a letter to the International Atomic Energy Agency regarding the discussion of the procedures of ...the suspension of the operation of nuclear facilities at Yongbyon under the Feb. 13 agreement," the North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the North's official name. The invitation noted that a working-level delegation of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been invited to visit North Korea, as the process of releasing the funds has reached its final phase, the KCNA added. [BDA]
• Move by North Korea to Allow Inspectors Is Welcomed
  By CHOE SANG-HUN Published: June 17, 2007 SEOUL, June 17 - Officials in South Korea and the United States today welcomed a move by North Korea to invite the United Nations nuclear watchdog back to the Communist state for the first time in four and a half years to discuss shutting down the North’s main nuclear complex. In an announcement carried by its official press media, North Korea said late Saturday that it had sent the invitation to the International Atomic Energy Agency because a banking dispute with Washington that had been blocking progress toward the North’s nuclear disarmament ”has reached its final phase.”
• With restart of six-party process, what is North's next move?
  Observers wonder how and when February 13 agreement will be fulfilled
  As the matter regarding the transfer of North Korean funds tied up at Macao's Banco Delta Asia (BDA) has been settled, with Russia agreeing to help in the transfer, South Korea and the United States reportedly agreed to resume the six-party talks after implementing initial steps of the February 13 agreement. Under the agreement, North Korea should close its Yongbyon nuclear facilities in exchange for 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil aid. [BDA]
• The next step is yours, world tells Pyongyang
  Transfer means North must act on reactor June 16, 2007 With North Korea’s renegade millions now on the long and winding road from Macao to a Russian bank, the nations involved in the six-party nuclear talks can get back to the business at hand. Parties to the talks expect the North to take steps to shut down its Yongbyon nuclear reactor under the terms of a Feb. 13 deal that has been stalled due to the banking dispute. In addition, the North is committed to invite inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency back into the country for verification purposes and to discuss all of its nuclear programs at the talks. [BDA] [Media]
• Technical Problems Hinder Transfer of NK Funds in Final Stage
  06-16-2007 09:38 The transfer of the North Korean funds frozen at a Macau bank to its account has faced technical hurdles in Moscow in the final stage, news reports said.
  The money has reached Moscow from a Macau bank and was awaiting deposit in North Korean accounts, a South Korean official said on condition of anonymity due to the subject's sensitivity.
  But currently, no Russian bank has publicly acknowledged receiving the funds or even an official request to do so, and a Russian state-run news agency also suggested their transfer was not a done deal, according to reports.
  "Consultations among specialists from the interested sides have not yet been completed, as certain technical questions require clarification," ITAR-Tass News Agency quoted an unidentified government official as saying in Moscow. "The technical problems could continue to remain till Monday as working hours of financial institutions in Moscow have come nearer to the close and this leads to weekend," Yonhap News Agency quoted a source who requested not to be identified as saying.
  It is reported that some US$20 million of the total US$25 million at Banco Delta Asia (DBA) is to be deposited into a North Korean idle account at a Russian private bank in the Far Eastern area via the Russian central bank, once the money is transferred from a Macau bank to the U.S. central bank, Federal Reserve, in New York. On the other hand, five of the six countries involved in the North Korea's denuclearization talks have wondered why the North Korea has no reaction to the recent development of funds transfer. [BDA] [Media]
• Russians Stall Nuclear Deal With N. Korea
  By Glenn Kessler Washington Post Staff Writer Saturday, June 16, 2007; Page A11
  The Russian central bank has not transferred about $23 million in previously frozen North Korean funds to a Russian commercial bank, yet another delay holding up a nuclear deal with Pyongyang.
  Officials in the United States and Macau had indicated Thursday that the money had been transferred from a bank in Macau via the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to a Russian commercial bank near the border with North Korea. Pyongyang has refused to shut down a nuclear reactor until it receives the money, which had been frozen because of a Treasury Department investigation into North Korean money laundering.
  But the money was held at the Russian central bank as Russian officials sought revised assurances that Treasury would not take regulatory action against the Russian bank, sources said last night. Treasury officials thought those assurances had been provided, but Russia wanted those assurances in a different form. The transfer is now expected to take place Monday. Until the transfer is made to the Russian commercial bank, where North Korea holds an account, Pyongyang will not have possession of the funds.
  Under a nuclear deal in February between North Korea and five other countries, North Korea was to have shut down the reactor April 14. [BDA] [Media] [Blame]
• N.Korea’s Money Transferred Out of Macau
  The biggest stumbling block to North Korea’s implementation of a Feb. 13 denuclearization agreement is out of the way at last after Pyongyang’s money in Macau’s Banco Delta Asia was transferred out on Thursday. Francis Tam, Macau's secretary of economy and finance, confirmed the news on Thursday evening, saying, "Banco Delta Asia transferred more than US$20 million out of the bank this afternoon in accordance with the client's instruction." Kyodo News predicted the rest of the money will be transferred later, but Tam said, "There probably won’t be another transfer." A BDA staffer said the Macau Monetary Authority took over the North Korean funds from the bank and transferred them to the United States via Banco Nacional Ultramarino telegraphic transfer.
• US$20 million from North Korean transferred: reports
  More than US$20 million from North Korean accounts frozen in a Macau bank has been transferred out, raising hopes for a breakthrough in the North's stalled denuclearization procedures, media reports said Thursday.
• Pyongyang moves frozen Macao money
  Disputed funds ready to be thawed out in Russian bank June 15, 2007 MACAO ? North Korea’s funds in Macao have finally left Banco Delta Asia and begun a complex and long-awaited transfer into Pyongyang’s hands, the Macao finance secretary said yesterday. “All the North Korean funds that were in its BDA accounts have left the bank as of June 14,” Tam Pak Yuen, Macao’s secretary for economy and finance, told reporters late yesterday. The funds will now take a circuitous route via the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank to a private Russian bank with the assistance of the Russian central bank in a deal that has taken weeks to work out. [BDA]
• NK Urged to Take Denuclearization Steps
  South Korea and the United States have urged North Korea to implement its side of pledged actions on denuclearization as a banking dispute is nearly resolved.
• $20 Mil From N. Korean Accounts Transferred: Reports
  More than $20 million from North Korean accounts frozen in a Macau bank has been transferred out, raising hopes for a breakthrough in the North's stalled denuclearization procedures, media reports said Thursday. [BDA]
• North Korean deposits moved from Macau bank
  By Tim Johnson McClatchy Newspapers HONG KONG - A financial dispute that's stalled a nuclear disarmament deal with North Korea showed signs of easing Thursday as authorities in the gambling haven of Macau began returning funds to the North that were frozen for nearly two years at Washington's demand. Macau's financial secretary, Francis Tam, said the bulk of North Korea's frozen funds at Banco Delta Asia, a Macau bank that's blacklisted by the U.S. Treasury Department, had been moved out of the country. [BDA]
• Hong Kong: North Korean Funds Transferred
  By DONALD GREENLEES Published: June 15, 2007 Banking authorities in the United States and Macao began transferring millions of dollars to North Korea to end a dispute that has stalled an agreement to dismantle the North’s nuclear programs, Macao government officials said. The money was transferred from Banco Delta Asia, a small family-owned bank in Macao, in the first step to return the money to the original account holders, the officials said. Under pressure from the United States, the Macao government in September 2005 ordered that about $25 million belonging to either North Korean state agencies or businesses with links to North Korea be frozen in the Macao bank. Diplomats working on putting into effect the agreement reached in February among North Korea, the United States, China, Japan, Russia and South Korea hope the transfer will at last revive stalled attempts to get the North to shut its nuclear facilities. [BDA]
• North Korea Gets $25 Million Frozen by U.S. Probe
  By Glenn Kessler Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, June 15, 2007; Page A17 North Korea took possession yesterday of about $25 million in funds previously frozen by a Treasury Department investigation, potentially clearing the way for Pyongyang to fulfill its commitment to shut down an aging nuclear reactor. An impasse over transferring the money had stalled an agreement announced in February that the Bush administration had hailed as a first step toward ending North Korea's nuclear activities.
  The Treasury Department had targeted Banco Delta Asia, in the Chinese special administrative region Macau, alleging it was involved in money-laundering for North Korea. But the Treasury's action had wider repercussions, essentially convincing banks around the world not to do business with North Korean firms. Though the Treasury Department agreed to allow the return of money tainted by illicit activities, no bank was willing to transfer the money without explicit assurances that the Treasury would take no regulatory action. North Korea could have withdrawn the money in cash, but many experts suspected Pyongyang demanded a wire transfer to signal to financial institutions that it was once again part of the financial system. [BDA]
• S. Korea, U.S. Discuss Next Move on N.Korean Funds
  South Korea's chief negotiator in six-party nuclear talks Chun Yung-woo met with his U.S. counterpart Christopher Hill in Washington on Monday. The two exchanged views on North Korea's implementation of a Feb. 13 denuclearization agreement, including a visit by Hill to Pyongyang once North Korea’s money is finally transferred from a Macau bank. "They also discussed holding a foreign ministers’ meeting of participating nations in the six-party talks in July," a diplomatic source in Washington said. "We hope the North Korean funds [in Banco Delta Asia] will be transferred via the New York Federal Reserve Bank as early as this week.” Another source was also optimistic, saying there was "a 90 percent chance” of the epically delayed issue being resolved. North Korea has refused to implement its part of the agreement until it has the money in hand. [BDA]
• N.K. banking issue in final stage of solution: S. Korean
  Foreign Minister Song Min-soon said Wednesday a banking dispute over North Korean funds at a Macau bank is in the "final stage of solution," implying an imminent breakthrough in the standoff over the North's nuclear dismantlement. "But it's too early to say exactly when it will be resolved. It is part of a long journey to our ultimate goal of achieving the North's nuclear dismantlement," Song said in a press briefing. [BDA]
• Congressmen ask whether U.S. involvement in N.K. funds transfer is legal
  A group of Republican congressmen sought on Tuesday an evaluation of the legality of reported U.S. efforts to help transfer North Korean funds linked to illicit sources. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Florida), ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and five other Republicans signed a letter asking the Government Accountability Office (GAO) for the evaluation. GAO is an independent, non-partisan investigative arm of the Congress. The letter follows a series of reports that the U.S. is working with Russian authorities to facilitate the transfer of some US$25 million out of Banco Delta Asia (BDA). [BDA] [Dissension]
• Macao funds mess enters ‘final stage’ of resolution
  June 14, 2007 A banking dispute that has stalled North Korean nuclear negotiations for months is in the final stages of being resolved, Foreign Minister Song Min-soon told reporters yesterday. “Including North Korea, I could say that we are at a stage in which a final decision is going to be made,” said Song, without elaborating. [BDA]
• U.S. Official Hints at Deal With N.Korea
  By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: June 13, 2007 Filed at 3:31 p.m. ET WASHINGTON (AP) -- The top U.S. envoy in nuclear talks with North Korea hinted Wednesday that negotiators were nearing a breakthrough on a banking dispute that has held up Pyongyang's pledge to shut down its nuclear reactor. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said that officials from the five countries negotiating with North Korea had held intensive talks in recent days to find a way to satisfy Pyongyang's insistence on access to $25 million in previously frozen funds. ''I can go out on a limb and say I am hopeful that we will have some news for you very soon on this,'' Hill told reporters.
• Lawmakers Question Deal With North Korea
  By DESMOND BUTLER The Associated Press Tuesday, June 12, 2007; 7:35 PM WASHINGTON -- Republican lawmakers on Tuesday asked investigators to examine whether Bush administration efforts to transfer $25 million from a North Korean account would violate money laundering and counterfeit laws. Six members of Congress, including the ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, asked that the Government Accountability Office investigate whether moves by the State and Treasury departments to facilitate the transfer broke the law. [BDA] [Dissension]
• Russia in Breakthrough Over N.Korea’s Money
  The U.S. and Russia have apparently agreed to use a Russian commercial bank for the epically delayed transfer of North Korean assets from a Macau bank. The U.S. government is hoping that its chief negotiator Christopher Hill will therefore be able to fly to Beijing and resume stalled six-nation talks on the North’s nuclear program this week, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday. North Korea has refused to return to the negotiating table until the transfer of the unfrozen assets from Banco Delta Asia is complete. According to the U.S. daily, Washington and Moscow agreed to let Pyongyang transfer the US$25 million from BDA to its accounts with Russia’s Far East Commercial Bank this week. U.S. and Russian government already discussed the transfer; Russian financial authorities wanted the U.S. to guarantee that FECB will not face financial sanctions from the U.S. if it receives the North Korean funds, which remain designated illicit gains. The money will therefore likely be transferred via the New York Federal Reserve and Russia's central bank. [BDA]
• U.S. working with Russia, Macau to resolve N. Korean banking dispute
  The U.S. Treasury confirmed Monday that the United States was working with Russia to resolve a North Korean banking dispute, a development expected to move forward a denuclearization deal whose implementation is overdue. South Korean and U.S. officials are scheduled to meet in the coming days to discuss follow-up steps once the issue is solved.
  In March, the Treasury issued a ruling prohibiting American banks from doing business with the BDA, but agreed to the money being returned to North Korea. But in what appears to be an attempt to remove the stigma, North Korea has insisted on transferring the money to a third country through a U.S. bank, an arrangement restricted by the Treasury Department's ruling. [BDA]
• Long road to release of frozen dollars
  “The president was never about regime collapse in the North. The military option is a non-starter.” June 13, 2007
  News that Russia is willing to help the United States transfer North Korean funds stuck in a Macao bank has been greeted with cautious optimism by countries involved in the six-party nuclear talks with Pyongyang, but the dispute remains enormously complex, according to a former Bush White House official deeply involved in talks with North Korea. Apart from the difficulties of dealing with North Korea itself, banks handling the money need to be guaranteed that they won’t land in legal hot water in the future, the former official said in an interview on Friday. “Banks are going to want a blanket commitment that in the future they would be absolved from any money laundering concerns,” said Victor Cha, until last month the director of Asian affairs at the National Security Council in Washington. “Legal waivers could be issued to a bank transferring the funds,” Cha pointed out, “but the problem then is if we ever detect in the future that they [North Korea] are doing counterfeiting or [nuclear] proliferation financing out of that bank that’s very difficult for us.”
  Cha also said that North Korea’s misunderstanding of its own finances had contributed to the delay. “They didn’t know what bank accounts they wanted this stuff moved to,” he said. “They didn’t have the necessary information. They didn’t have the release forms. They had no understanding of the financial details.”
  Cha also cautioned North Korea not to read too much into Bush’s recent remarks calling Pyongyang a dictatorship. “He feels very strongly about human rights and that is why he says things like that. But he understands that we have to find a pragmatic solution,” Cha said of his former boss. “The president was never about regime collapse in the North. The military option is a non-starter.” [BDA] [Financial sanctions] [Victor Cha]
• U.S. Close to Deal to Release Frozen North Korean Funds
  By STEVEN R. WEISMAN Published: June 12, 2007 WASHINGTON, June 11 — The United States appears to be close to reaching a deal to transfer $25 million in frozen funds to North Korea, with Russia and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York acting as intermediaries, in hopes of getting North Korea to begin to dismantle its nuclear arms program, American officials said Monday.
  The Wall Street Journal reported details of the proposed deal on Monday. American officials said because the Federal Reserve Bank of New York was not a private bank, but part of the Federal Reserve system, it was not subject to American laws barring commercial transactions involving illicit funds. The system is independent of the government but run by presidential appointees. [BDA]
• Banco Delta Asia, North Korea’s Frozen Funds and US Undermining of the Six-Party Talks: Obstacles to a Solution
  John McGlynn The standard US government position on Banco Delta Asia (BDA), explained almost daily by the US State Department's spokesperson, is that "the whole issue related to BDA [is] a lot more complicated than anybody could have possibly anticipated. The rules, regulations and traditional behaviors in the international financial system make this sort of resolution very complicated." Ultimately, the matter "is one between North Korea and its bankers."[1]
  This is incorrect in two respects. First, until the US stepped in, the DPRK (North Korea) had no apparent trouble with its bankers. Second, now that trouble exists, BDA has been willing for quite some time to transmit DPRK-related funds to any other bank willing to accept them. But any bank accepting those funds risks incurring Washington's wrath. Thus, the last portion of the above statement should more accurately say: "It is a matter between the US government and banks willing but too afraid to do business with North Korea."
  The BDA affair is essentially a political matter that concerns the DPRK and the United States (and perhaps China). [BDA] [Dissension]
• Ken on the offensive
  Labour's deputy leadership contenders are 'spineless' and spout 'vacuous waffle', while the US ambassador is a 'venal crook'. In short, the London mayor is in fine form
  John Harris Saturday June 9, 2007 The Guardian
  In the Labour deputy leadership contest, Livingstone is backing the backbench outsider Jon Cruddas. "I'm not prepared to vote for anyone who wants to spend £76bn on another generation of nuclear weapons," he says, alluding to Cruddas's role in the Commons rebellion against the replacement of Trident. "I've spent the last seven years begging the government to give us £10bn to build [the east-west rail link] Crossrail - so that's the equivalent of seven new train lines running under London. And I've heard the most vacuous waffle from some of the other deputy leadership candidates, trying to persuade me that the threat from North Korea requires this. It's just ridiculous. [Threat] [Nuclear weapons]
• Top S. Korean envoy heads to U.S. amid nuclear stalemate
  South Korea's top nuclear negotiator headed for Washington Monday to meet with his U.S. counterpart on ways to resolve an impasse in the North Korean nuclear negotiations caused by the delayed release of North Korean funds frozen in a Macau bank. Chun Yung-woo will hold talks with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill shortly after arriving there Monday (Washington time), Foreign Ministry officials said. "The two will delve into the issue" of the release of the funds in the Banco Delta Asia (BDA) in Macau, an official said. [BDA] [Dilemma]
• Time for North Korea to engage in flexible politics
  [Column] By Lee Byeong-cheol, Senior Researcher at Institute of Peace and Cooperation Several cold fronts are forming: one between North and South Korea over rice, and one between North Korea and the United States over the issue of Pyongyang's money in Macao's Banco Delta Asia. Nothing has happened in the way of implementation of the February 13 agreement since it was signed by South Korea and the other countries participating in the six-party talks. The situation has continued already for more than four months.
  It is the United States that is the most caught off guard by this. It is no longer a secret that the U.S. state and treasury departments are arm-wrestling over what to do with North Korea's money in Macao. Currently, it is highly likely the treasury is going to "win by decision." Subsequently, the time it will take for North Korea to get its money back because of domestic U.S. law is going to be longer than what the state department expected, which will naturally mean it takes longer for North Korea to carry out its first-phase obligations pursuant to the February 13 agreement.
  Pyongyang would actually do itself good right now to take this opportunity to win the confidence of the international community by exerting its own so-called "big politics" which it has been proud of - namely, a flexible, less rigid version. One would like to see North Korea show that it can loosen the knot before it comes to extreme methods like taking a knife to cut a rope that has become extremely taut. It is Pyongyang that provided the cause for the current stalemate, and it should actively show that it wants to resolve the nuclear issue. [Victim] [BDA] [Dissension]
• Russia to transfer N.K. funds to help settle nuclear standoff: S. Korean sources
  Russia has accepted a U.S. request to help facilitate the transfer of US$25 million in "tainted" North Korean funds to resolve a banking dispute that has stalemated the North's nuclear disarmament procedures, South Korean sources said Sunday. In February, North Korea agreed to dismantle its nuclear facilities in return for aid, but hasn't taken any initial steps, citing the stalled release of its funds in a Macau bank blacklisted by the United States. The U.S. recently proposed that a Russian bank with a North Korean account accept the funds via an American financial institution before sending them back to the communist country, and Russia accepted the plan, said a South Korean government source privy to the banking issue. The proposal was made after top officials of the U.S., Russia, South Korea and China agreed on a solution which "all concerned parties can accede to," the source said on condition of anonymity. To carry out the international money transactions, the U.S. is expected to temporarily bend its rules banning American banks from dealing with Banco Delta Asia, the Macau lender, said another South Korean government source, also speaking anonymously. A U.S. bank will play an "intermediary role," but its name will not be disclosed so the process can be conducted smoothly, the source said, adding it would not be Wachovia Corp., the fourth-largest American bank that once considered helping with the fund transactions.
  According to press reports, Pyongyang wants to get the money back through a U.S. institution, believing that would enable it to have continued access to the international financial system, although the North could withdraw the money in cash and ship it home. Several foreign banks were also asked to help process the transfer but were reluctant to do so as they were worried about tarnishing their images and getting cut off from the U.S. financial system, the reports said.
• Russia may help in transferring N.K. bank funds
  The relevant countries are working toward using an American bank to transfer the North Korean funds tied up at a Macau bank to a bank in Russia, sources said over the weekend. A successful execution of the latest idea will hopefully wrap up the protracted financial quagmire over Banco Delta Asia that has been hindering the denuclearization process for over two months, they said. "I don't want to say too much about it, because we're really in the middle of these discussions. I mean, we have tried to be helpful in this process. And I think other members of the six-party process are trying to be helpful, namely, the Russians," chief U.S. nuclear negotiator Christopher Hill said in an interview with U.S. broadcaster C-SPAN. Yonhap News quoted multiple sources from the Foreign Ministry as saying that last-minute preparations are being made to use an unidentified U.S. bank as a corresponding bank to transfer $25 million of N.K. funds to North Korean accounts at a Russian bank, also unidentified. [BDA]
• Report: Russia Aids U.S. on N. Korea
  By KWANG-TAE KIM The Associated Press Sunday, June 10, 2007; 4:34 AM SEOUL, South Korea -- Russia has accepted a U.S. request that a Russian bank help end a stalemate over frozen North Korean funds that has halted progress in the North's nuclear disarmament, a news report said Sunday. Moscow agreed to a U.S. request that a Russian bank accept the North Korean funds via a U.S. financial institution before they are moved to North Korea, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported, citing an unidentified South Korean government official. North Korea has refused to move on its pledge to shut down its nuclear reactor until it receives $25 million in funds that were frozen in a Macau bank. The money has been freed for release, but North Korea has not withdrawn it, apparently seeking to prove the funds are now clean by receiving them through an electronic bank transfer. [BDA] [Financial sanctions]
• North Korea Fires Missiles Off Coast
  By BO-MI LIM The Associated Press Thursday, June 7, 2007; 10:55 AM SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korea fired short-range missiles off its western coast in an apparent test Thursday, South Korea's Defense Ministry said, amid a deadlock in international negotiations over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program. The United States immediately denounced the launch, saying the activity was "not constructive."
  A South Korean Defense Ministry official said it had intelligence that North Korea launched the short-range missiles into the sea off its western coast.
  The missiles were either land-to-ship or ship-to-ship models with a range of less than 62 miles, and fell into North Korea's territorial waters, the report said. [double standards]
• North Korea test fires missiles into west sea
  June 08, 2007 North Korea is believed to have fired two short-range missiles Thursday into the waters of the Yellow Sea in an apparent test-launch, South Korean intelligence officials said. “I believe North Korea launched two missiles into the West [Yellow] Sea today ? one in the morning and the other in the afternoon,” a South Korean intelligence official said, on condition of anonymity. Both missiles are believed to have landed in the North’s territorial waters, the official said, adding that the rockets the communist country fired were either surface-to-ship type or ship-to-ship type, both with a range of less than 100 km. “North Korea conducts this kind of missile test several times a year,” the official said. “We saw the test as part of a routine military exercise.”
• UN Chief Could Join Six-Party Talks
  UN Secretary-General Ban Kim-moon is mulling a direct role in six-nation nuclear talks with North Korea and appointing a UN Korean Peninsula coordinator. According to an internal report entitled “Korean Peninsula: United Nations Policy and Strategy”, the UN is hoping to get Ban and the world body involved in tackling the North Korean nuclear problem. It aims to supplement weak points in the six-nation setup and overcome obstacles in its aid projects to North Korea. The report was written by the UN Department of Political Affairs in the form of recommendations to Ban. It urges proactive measures to boost UN activities on the Korean Peninsula and stresses the need to promote the six-party talks and start political dialogue with Pyongyang to make the Korean Peninsula nuclear-free.
• Japan, U.S. Want G8 to Put More Pressure on North Korea
  U.S. President Bush (r)accompanied by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, make remarks after their meeting at the start of the G8 Summit in Heiligendamm, Germany Japan and the U.S. want the world's leading industrialized nations to put more pressure on North Korea to comply with an international agreement aimed at ending its nuclear weapons program. In Germany, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.S. President George Bush met to discuss the matter ahead of the start of the G8 summit. [Chutzpah]
• N.K. funds transfer problem continues to stymie denuclearization process
  Amid criticism from hard-liners, U.S. losing ground on diplomatic stance: sources
  The difficult issue of transferring North Korean funds held at Macau’s Banco Delta Asia (BDA) back to Pyongyang - a situation which has prompted the North to miss a deadline to honor a nuclear disarmament agreement reached at the six-party talks - continues to be prolonged with no end in sight. At the onset of the issue, South Korean and U.S. officials said the technical and procedural issue would be resolved ‘within a couple of days.’ However, another month has passed. Thus, pessimism is heightening over the North’s plans to implement the February 13 agreement on ending the North’s nuclear program. [Financial sanctions]
• China’s proliferation to North Korea and Iran, and its role in addressing the nuclear and missile situations in both nations
  U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, US Congress
  14 September 2006
  STATEMENT OF PROFESSOR AARON L. FRIEDBERG PROFESSOR OF POLITICS AND INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY, PRINCETON, N.J. Recent American moves against parts of North Korea's illicit financial network appear to have gotten Pyongyang's attention, and I think they've also caused some concern in China as well. If the United States continues down this path, bringing legal action against more banks, businesses, and individuals involved in funneling money to Kim Jong Il, it could end up causing serious embarrassment or worse in China.
  STATEMENT OF DAVID L. ASHER, Ph.D. INSTITUTE FOR DEFENSE ANALYSES, ALEXANDRIA, VA There even may be some in the Chinese military who feel that their North Korean ally, by possessing nuclear weapons and delivery systems, can serve as a proxy to intimidate Japan, impair our alliance with the ROK, and indeed put pressure on the United States directly
  Efforts to get North Korea back to the table have been placed ahead of what North Korea does at the table, as well as what others are willing to do to North Korea if it doesn't change its behavior. The talks also have served to hamper us from taking certain defensive 108 measures that we should have taken long ago, but didn't do so because of a fear of disrupting the talks. They probably also have hindered what could have been a meaningful independent dialogue with elements in the North Korean power structure outside of the foreign ministry buffers we'd be wise to have contact with, especially as we turn up the heat, or if indeed we are serious about testing the DPRK's willingness to set a new course.
  There are even public reports that North Korea is counterfeiting the renminbi. Given North Korea's flagrant disregard of Chinese law, I always hoped China would want to be an active partner in the Illicit Activities Initiative. However, in my time, at least, PRC authorities offered little cooperation, especially compared to those in other countries. China's
  For example, from early on in our time at the State Department, we repeatedly raised the issue of rampant DPRK money-laundering crime and proliferation activity in Macau with our PRC counterparts. The response to suggestions in Beijing or even in Macau that they crack down was typically met with comments such as that's the first I've ever heard of it, but we'll look into it, or we find no evidence that this suspicious activity is going on.
  First, China must join the PSI. The PSI now has some serious legs. In the past, it was more talk than action. Now, I think it's much more action than talk. I'm very impressed by what Under Secretary Joseph is doing. It's exactly the right thing, and the proliferation of WMD offers the surest way to undo the stability regionally and globally that China relies on for its prosperity as a trading state. It's in China's interest to be a partner rather than a free rider in the global counter proliferation arena. HEARING COCHAIR REINSCH: Are we coming to an end soon? DR. ASHER: That's right. I am. HEARING COCHAIR REINSCH: Good. DR. ASHER: They also should join the Illicit Activities Initiative, and China, I think, needs to police the trade that North Korea conducts through its borders and inside China much more effectively. [Toolkit] [PSI] [Myopia]
• Behind the Blacklisting of Banco Delta Asia
  Ronda Hauben, researcher, writer and freelance journalist, who has spent the past 14 years studying, writing and participating in online media, writes, "The purpose of the action against the BDA appears not only to have been to target North Korea and its access to the international banking system, but also to send a message to China." [BDA] [China confrontation]
• India-U.S. Nuclear Deal Sputters
  Upcoming U.S. election may put an agreement on the backburner
  M.G. Srinath (srinath) Email Article Print Article Published 2007-06-06 07:02 (KST) The much-heralded but controversial two-year old India-U.S. civilian nuclear deal was supposed to benchmark the growing bonhomie between the two most vibrant democracies in the world. But it is just sputtering along the diplomatic labyrinth with the final post still a distance away. The harsh world of realpolitik and self-interest of both nations have replaced initial niceties like "nearly there," "fusion of ideas" and a promise to "square the circle" to realistic words like "U.S. frustrated," "some hard work still needs to be done," "still have some distance to travel" and "both sides must compromise in order to close the gaps."
• North Korea's nuclear identity on display in parade
  By Choe Sang-Hun Published: April 25, 2007 SEOUL: Columns of soldiers accompanied by missiles and rockets marched through Pyongyang on Wednesday under the eyes of the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Il, in a bold display of defiance for a country that has been engaged in a nuclear standoff with the United States. [media]
• China: U.S. Envoy in Talks About North Korea
  By DAVID LAGUE Published: May 31, 2007 Assistant Secretary of State Christopher R. Hill arrived in Beijing to work with Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei on reviving the stalled agreement under which North Korea would begin to dismantle its nuclear program. Mr. Hill maintained that the impasse was a technical matter and that North Korea remained committed to the deal. He declined to give any details of the talks.
• N. Korea Reactor Work Was Suspended
  By JAE-SOON CHANGThe Associated Press Sunday, June 3, 2007; 11:09 PM SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korea's sole nuclear reactor for making radioactive material for bombs recently restarted operations after a suspension of some 10 days, an official said Monday. News reports said the halt was due to technical problems at the facility. The communist state stopped work at its Yongbyon nuclear reactor for about 10 days last month but reactivated it recently, a South Korean intelligence official said on condition of anonymity, citing the issue's sensitivity. The official gave no more details. [BDA]
• Bush Admits U.S. ‘Screwed Up’ Over N.Korea’s Money
  U.S. President George W. Bush has admitted to Washington’s failure to understand North Korea in dealing with a delay in the transfer of North Korea’s assets from a Macau bank, saying that the U.S. “screwed it up.” Japan’s Kyodo News Agency on Thursday quoted sources as saying Bush expressed his discontent in a summit with visiting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the Camp David presidential retreat near Washington on April 27. It was the first time Bush acknowledged that Washington has made mistakes in tackling the money transfer impasse, the sources said [BDA] [Financial sanctions]

• U.S. 'to Let American Bank Handle N.Korea's Money'
  North Korea's immediate banking troubles will likely be resolved this week, as chances are high that the U.S. will accept the North's demand to transfer its assets in Macau to a third country via a U.S. bank. Diplomatic sources on Wednesday said the U.S. is inclined to allow a U.S. bank to play an intermediary role in transferring the recently unfrozen US$25 million. Quoting a U.S. official, AP reported the U.S. Treasury was expected to make a decision by as early as Thursday. The official told the news agency, "The North Koreans want to use an American bank because they think the transaction would help secure their continued access to the global financial system." [Financial sanctions]
• U.S. Officials 'Set Little Store by Full Denuclearization'
  According to some Korea specialists in the U.S. State Department and Congress, the Bush administration does not aim at the complete disablement of North Korean nuclear capabilities, Grand National Party lawmaker Park Jin said Wednesday. Park met several during a visit to Washington this month. One North Korea specialist in Congress, according to Park, expressed a view that Washington's North Korea policy following a Feb. 13 denuclearization agreement, does not aim at completely disabling the North's nuclear capabilities but is moving in the direction of restricting the number of nuclear weapons. Park quoted the specialist as saying progress in the denuclearization accord indicates a victory for Kim Jong-il. [Agreement070213]
• Abductions no bar to U.S. delisting of North
  05/14/2007 THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
  In recent summit talks with the United States, Washington informed Japan that resolving the abduction issue would not be a precondition to drop North Korea from its list of states that sponsor terrorism. The policy stance was conveyed to Japan by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice last month. Although Prime Minister Shinzo Abe likely felt encouraged by U.S. President George W. Bush's show of support in resolving the abduction issue during their meeting on April 27, other officials said the summit also showed Washington is not always in lockstep with Tokyo on the matter. The mixed signals from the United States are leading some officials to worry that they could be left out of the picture during negotiations dealing with North Korea's nuclear weapons program. Government sources confirmed that during the Abe and Bush summit at Camp David, Maryland, Rice made it clear that a resolution of the abduction issue would not be a precondition to deleting North Korea from the terrorism list. If progress on the nuclear weapons issue were to lead to Pyongyang's removal, then Japan would have little leverage to exert pressure on North Korea over the abductions. Rice stated her position after Abe asked that a resolution of the abduction issue be a precondition to delisting North Korea. Rice outlined U.S. laws that determine which nation is added or removed from the roster. According to the sources, Rice said a resolution of the abduction issue would not be a precondition because no U.S. citizens have been abducted by Pyongyang. [Strategic incoherence] [Agreement070213] [Dissension]
• Russia Doubts N.Korea Will Give Up Nuke Development
  Russia does not expect North Korea to give up on nuclear development unless relations between Pyongyang and Washington are normalized, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service said Sunday. The NIS said in a report presented to the parliamentary Intelligence Committee that Russia thinks despite a Feb. 13 six-nation denuclearization agreement, the North will go ahead with nuclear development unless its ties with the U.S. are restored or neighboring countries change their hostile policies toward Pyongyang.
  From Russia’s point of view, it said, Washington drove Pyongyang into further nuclear development by calling the North part of an “axis of evil.” However, the report says the Russian military doesn’t believe that North Korea has the technology to develop nuclear warheads that can be affixed to missiles or nuclear weapons good enough to produce warheads. [Media] [NK US policy]
• Lessons from the BDA Issue
  By Keun-sik Kim May 24th, 2007
  Keun-sik Kim, Professor at the Institute for Far Eastern Studies at Kyungnam University, writes, "Considering that the role of third parties has been severely limited in breaking the stalemate, one lesson to be learned from the BDA issue is that bilateral frameworks must be in sync with the multilateral framework. Not only DPRK-U.S. negotiations but also simultaneous, active discussion between the U.S. and China, North Korea and China, and the two Koreas can serve as a buffer to help resolve issues."
  North Korea seeks a restoration of normal transactions with the international financial community, which naturally became stricter after financial sanctions were imposed against the BDA. The DPRK insists that the more important issue is not the release of the $25 million but rather the normalization of unfettered financial transactions with third-party banks. In spite of this insistence, through the process Pyongyang may have come to terms with the reality that it is difficult for Washington to formally guarantee any such normalization. Although the U.S. has in good faith endeavored to accommodate North Korea's demands, the government cannot intervene to resolve the issue of remittances and transfers. [BDA] [Financial sanctions]
• North Korean Criminality Examined: the US Case. Part I
  John McGlynn
  At the Beijing talks in February this year, the Bush administration reversed its North Korea policy, opting for a comprehensive deal – denuclearization and normalization, over confrontation and regime change. However, implementation of the new policy has proved difficult. The Administration remains divided. While the State Department pursues its normalization agenda, Treasury (and the Vice-President) cling to the former policy and appeal to the national security provisions of the Patriot Act. The campaign launched late in 2005 to insist that North Korea is unworthy and unreliable, in effect no more than a criminal gang, is not easily set aside. Because North Korea has no friends and no advocates, least of all in the United States, the case against it as a “soprano” or criminal regime has rarely been scrutinized. (For a brief outline, see Gavan McCormack, “Criminal States: Soprano vs. Baritone – North Korea and the United States,”) In the following multi-part series, Tokyo-based analyst John McGlynn scrutinizes the case so far as can be known from publicly available materials. In part one, below, he addresses the allegation of North Korean cooperation with Irish terrorism in the global distribution of US “Supernotes.” In subsequent parts, to follow, he deals with the US Treasury’s campaign to strangle North Korea financially based on allegations of counterfeiting and money-laundering against a small Macao Bank, Banco Delta Asia. (Japan Focus) [Counterfeiting] [IAI]
• U.S. strikes hopeful note on North Korea stalemate
  Reuters Friday, May 25, 2007; 7:02 AM MANILA (Reuters) - Washington expects North Korea will meet a commitment to shut down its nuclear facilities this month after it has received funds still frozen in a Macau bank, U.S. envoy Christopher Hill said on Friday. "I do believe the DPRK (North Korea) continues to signal to us privately and publicly, and most recently last night, that as soon as the banking matter is resolved, they will move quickly to implement their part of the deal," Hill told reporters in Manila.
  A senior North Korean official, also in Manila for preparatory meetings for a summit of Asia's largest security bloc, the 26-member ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), said Pyongyang would take action when the funds were transferred. "If they do this, we will go forward. We are awaiting America's action," Jong Song-il told reporters. [BDA] [Financial sanctions]
• S.Korea: Banking Dispute Progressing
  By BO-MI LIM The Associated Press Wednesday, May 23, 2007; 7:28 AM SEOUL, South Korea -- A banking dispute that has long blocked international efforts to halt North Korea's production of nuclear weapons will be resolved satisfactorily, but not quickly, South Korea said Wednesday. North Korea has refused to shut down its main nuclear reactor _ as agreed with the United States and four other regional powers _ until it receives funds from an account at a bank in the Chinese territory of Macau that was frozen when the U.S. blacklisted the bank in 2005. South Korean Foreign Minister Song Min-soon said the financial dispute "will be resolved in a way that we desire." "But I believe it is too soon to determine a timeline on when it will be resolved," Song told reporters. North Korea's $25 million at Macau's Banco Delta Asia _ which the U.S. alleged was tied to money laundering and counterfeiting by the North _ was freed earlier this year. North Korea has not withdrawn the money, apparently seeking to receive it through a bank wire transfer to prove the funds are now clean and to secure its access to the global financial system. However, the transfer has been held up, apparently because other banks have been reluctant to touch the tainted funds. Last week, U.S. bank Wachovia Corp. said it was considering a U.S. government request that it help with the transfer [BDA] [Financial sanctions]
• Bank Has Request to Move NKorean Funds
  By KELLY OLSEN The Associated Press Friday, May 18, 2007; 12:59 AM SEOUL, South Korea -- Wachovia Bank said Thursday that it was considering a U.S. government request to help transfer $25 million to North Korea, a move aimed at paving the way for the communist country to shut down its nuclear program. Charlotte, N.C.-based Wachovia was asked "by the U.S. State Department to help them process an interbank transfer of funds held at other banks, which are the subject of negotiations with North Korea," bank spokeswoman Christy Phillips-Brown said. "We have agreed to consider this request and our discussions with various government officials are continuing," she said. An official familiar with the long-running dispute over the North Korean money said this month that the communist government had asked for permission to use an American bank to transfer the funds from a lender in the Chinese territory of Macau. The North Koreans wanted to use an American bank because they think the transaction would help secure their continued access to the global financial system, the official told The Associated Press. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak on the record to the media. [BDA] [Financial sanctions]
• Transfer of N. Korea Money Sought
  Wachovia Bank Considering State Department Request
  By Glenn Kessler Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, May 17, 2007; Page A14
  Wachovia Corp. said yesterday that it is considering a request from the State Department to transfer tainted money tied to North Korea from an overseas bank blacklisted earlier this year by the Treasury Department. The State Department has scrambled to persuade banks around the world -- including U.S. banks -- to transfer the money, but financial institutions have been unwilling to shoulder the risk, because they do not want to run afoul of the Treasury Department. The failure to find a willing bank has left in limbo a deal inked in February that the Bush administration had called a breakthrough in the impasse over North Korea's nuclear ambitions.
  U.S. government officials first disclosed the request made to Wachovia. Treasury officials declined to comment, but sources said that many officials are dismayed that the administration is now asking a major U.S. bank to work around an order issued two months ago. Some White House officials have also objected to using a U.S. bank, but Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice supports the possible deal with Wachovia.
  The Treasury Department has not been involved in the effort to find a financial institution to handle the money, leaving the search to the State Department. But Treasury would need to grant significant waivers, such as special permission for a U.S. bank to deal with Banco Delta Asia. One senior U.S. official said that it is not clear "what universe of waivers" would be needed to ease the bank's concerns that it would not be putting its reputation at risk. Deputy Russian Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov told the RIA Novosti news agency yesterday that Russian banks had refused to handle the transfer. "Until the U.S. Treasury lifts restrictions on operations with Banco Delta Asia, no sensible banks will deal with transfers of North Korean funds," he said. [BDA] [Financial sanctions] [Dissension]  
• Swiss authorities question U.S. counterfeiting charges against North Korea
  By Kevin G. Hall
  McClatchy Newspapers WASHINGTON - Swiss police who closely monitor the circulation of counterfeit currency have challenged the Bush administration's assertions that North Korea is manufacturing fake American $100 bills. [BDA] [IAI]
• Macao banker defends role in N Korea
  By Tom Mitchell in Hong Kong Published: May 8 2007 03:00 | Last updated: May 8 2007 03:00 The chairman of the bank at the centre of a continuing debacle over North Korean funds says US officials were supportive of the bank's financial dealings with the country's companies as recently as the mid-1990s. Stanley Au, whose family founded Banco Delta Asia in 1935, has been redoubling his efforts to save the small bank since March, when the Treasury Department order-ed all US financial institutions to sever ties. Washington formally designated BDA a "primary money-laundering concern" 18 months ago and launched an investigation into the bank's links with North Korea. The two actions made a pariah of BDA in the international financial community.
  In a statement supporting BDA's appeal against the Treasury ruling, Mr Au confirmed that in 1994 some $160,000 in counterfeit US currency had been deposited in North Korean accounts at BDA. He said the bank reported the incident to Macao police and was contacted by "agents of the US government" whose names and affiliations he no longer recalls. "I cordially answered the [US agents'] questions and asked if their preference was that we should desist from doing business with North Korean entities," Mr Au said. "They said that they would like us to continue to deal with [North Korea], as it was better that we conducted this business rather than another financial entity that may not be so co-operative with the US." [BDA] [Counterfeiting]
• U.S. Treasury holds key to resolving N.K. banking dispute
  The U.S. Treasury holds the key to resolving a North Korean banking dispute, an unexpected stumbling block to implementing a denuclearization deal that would remove nuclear weapons and programs from the communist nation, officials here said Tuesday. The Associated Press reported from Hong Kong that Pyongyang last week specifically asked an American bank to transfer US$25 million out of Macau to another country. The Treasury was expected to make a decision by as early as Thursday, it said. At the State Department, spokesman Sean McCormack said the North Koreans were still working with their bankers on finding a solution. "We have not been informed that they have found the solution. We will stay tuned," he told reporters. The spokesman added the final decision rests with the Treasury. "Any decisions with respect to how the solution intersects or does not intersect with the rules of the financial system are going to be made by the Department of Treasury," he said. [Financial sanctions]
• NK Fund Dispute
  Pyongyang Should Start Denuclearization Process
  North Korea has refused to implement a Feb. 13 denuclearization agreement because of problems over the transfer of its money from a Macau bank which the United States unfroze in March to facilitate the disarmament process. It is disappointing that the implementation has hit a snag over such a technical problem. It is necessary for Pyongyang to show its sincerity to the world in discarding its nuclear ambitions in accordance with the six-party deal. [BDA]
• Wrestling Nuclear Genies Back Into the Bottle, or at Least a Can
  By CARLA ANNE ROBBINS Published: May 9, 2007 It has been more than three weeks since North Korea missed the deadline to shut down its nuclear reactor at Yongbyon, but we've heard only mild protests from the White House. President Bush, who once declared that he loathed North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-il, isn't eager for another fight these days. Still, the North Koreans have a way of making even patient people apoplectic. In 1994, when Pyongyang first threatened to start churning out plutonium, Brent Scowcroft - the realpolitik-minded national security adviser for the first President Bush and a vocal opponent of this Iraq war - shocked the foreign policy establishment by calling for a strike on Yongbyon. President Clinton's advisers also began talking privately about sending in the bombers, and what it would take to evacuate thousands of Americans from Seoul. The issue became moot after former President Jimmy Carter freelanced a compromise that helped freeze all activity at Yongbyon for nearly a decade. That is, until Mr. Bush decided that he could get more from the North Koreans for less. [US NK policy]
• N. Korea Wants U.S. Bank to Handle Funds
    By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: May 8, 2007 Filed at 4:21 a.m. ET HONG KONG (AP) -- North Korea has asked for permission to use an American bank to transfer its funds out of a blacklisted Macau lender accused of helping the North launder money and handle counterfeit currency, an official said Tuesday. The North Koreans want to use an American bank because they think the transaction would help secure their continued access to the global financial system, the official, who is familiar with the matter, told The Associated Press. ''The North Koreans' real intentions are finally coming to the surface,'' said the official, who asked not to be named because he wasn't authorized to speak on the record to the media. Pyongyang made the request in the middle of last week, and the U.S. Treasury Department was expected to make a decision as early as Thursday, the official said. [Financial sanctions]
• Waiting on North Korea
  The regime promised to take the first steps toward nuclear disarmament by April 14. It has not moved.
  Tuesday, May 8, 2007; Page A24 ON FEB. 13, the North Korean government formally pledged to shut down in 60 days the nuclear reactor it has been using to produce plutonium for nuclear weapons, to accept the return of international inspectors to monitor the facility and to "discuss a list of all its nuclear programs" with the United States and the four other participants in the six-party talks. The agreement set up a concrete test of whether the regime of Kim Jong Il was prepared to give up its nuclear weapons program in exchange for economic aid and security guarantees. Eighty-four days have passed since then -- and North Korea has fulfilled none of its pledges. In response, the Bush administration has remained largely silent, nursing the hope that Pyongyang will in the end comply. State Department officials say they still expect the Yongbyon reactor to be shut down, and we hope they're right. Still, it would be foolish for North Korea's negotiating partners not to take notice of how its behavior since Feb. 13 compares with the commitments it made. [Agreement070213] [Blame] [Media] [Financial sanctions]  
• S.Korea's Exim Bank Could Handle Kim Jong-il's Money
  The South Korean government is considering letting the state-run Export-Import Bank of Korea handle North Korea's recently unfrozen US$25 million from a Macau bank before they go to a third country. That would put Seoul in an awkward position since handling the funds could be seen as helping North Korea launder money from illicit activities ? the reason global banks have been squeamish about touching the money despite the lift of the freeze. Cheong Wa Dae reportedly discussed the idea in a meeting on Thursday chaired by presidential chief secretary for foreign policy Baek Jong-chun on ways to speed up the stalled transfer of North Korea's assets in the Banco Delta Asia. Due to delay of the transfer, North Korea missed a deadline to implement its part of a Feb. 13 six-nation agreement. Besides unification and security-related ministers plus Presidential Chief of Staff Moon Jae-in, the meeting was attended by the finance and justice ministers. Foreign minister Song Min-soon, who is currently overseas, was not in the meeting. [Financial Sanctions] [Dilemma] [Personalisation]
• NKorea: Reactor Can Be Shut Down Quickly
  The Associated Press Monday, May 7, 2007; 3:38 AM PYONGYANG, North Korea -- North Korea is ready to quickly shut down its nuclear reactor as soon as it receives funds that had been frozen in a banking dispute, the Foreign Ministry said Monday. "The shutdown is something that can be done immediately and it won't take long," Ri Kyong Son, vice spokesman at the ministry, told APTN in an interview in Pyongyang.
  North Korea missed an April deadline to close the Yongbyon nuclear reactor under a February agreement with the United States and four neighboring countries, but has said its commitment to the deal remains unchanged. The North's key precondition to move on disarmament is the release of some $25 million frozen after Washington blacklisted a Macau bank where the North Korean regime held accounts. Washington helped unfreeze the funds to win the North's promise to start dismantling its nuclear weapons programs, but technical issues have stalled the transfer. Ri said Monday he could not predict when North Korea would access the money. "The U.S. has made the announcement but only when we receive the funds can the sanctions be said to have been lifted," Ri told APTN. "Making the announcement itself does not settle the unfreezing of the funds." [Financial sanctions]
• Hill Urges Patience With North Korea
  By FOSTER KLUGThe Associated Press Friday, May 4, 2007; 8:54 PM WASHINGTON -- The chief U.S. negotiator at North Korean nuclear talks said Friday he does not believe Pyongyang is stalling on a pledge to abandon its nuclear weapons, even though three weeks have passed since it missed a crucial deadline. North Korea has refused to act until it receives $25 million in money previously frozen because of alleged links to money laundering and counterfeiting. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said the process of getting the North its money has proven extraordinarily complex. [BDA] [Agreement070213] [Spin]
• Why N.Korea Won't Give Up Its Nuclear Weapons
  Andrei Lankov
  Is there any chance that the North Korean regime will give up its nuclear weapons? The question is perhaps more frequently heard than any other in recent days. But regrettably, the answer is almost certainly no. Pyongyang stands to lose much and gain almost nothing if it does. Since the 1970s when it started nuclear development, Pyongyang has been pursuing two goals at the same time. For the North Korean leadership, nuclear weapons are not only a means to extract concessions and aid from the international community but also a deterrent against a foreign invasion. Depending on the changing domestic and international situation, Pyongyang has sometimes regarded its nuclear program as a deterrent and at other times as a means to get concessions.
• N.Korea to Transfer Funds 'Within Days'
  Half of North Korea's recently unfrozen assets in the Banco Delta Asia will likely be transferred to Russian and Italian banks in a few days, the Macao Daily reported Thursday. The receiver banks have not been identified, nor has their willingness to handle the North Korean funds been confirmed. Quoting sources, the newspaper said the parties concerned are working to transfer US$13 million out of the $25 million in North Korean assets to Russian and Italian banks. Assets in U.S. dollars will be sent to Russia and funds in euro will go to Italy. If all goes smoothly, the Foreign Trade Bank of North Korea will receive the assets by this weekend, the daily reported. The transfer is expected to be complete by mid-May, even if the funds are not sent this week. It remains to be seen what will happen to the other half of the money, the newspaper added [BDA]
• North Korea still to recover frozen $25m
  By Demetri Sevastopulo in Washington and Anna Fifield in Seoul Published: May 4 2007 03:00 | Last updated: May 4 2007 03:00 North Korea is still having trouble recovering $25m (€18m, £12.5m) in previously frozen assets that are crucial to implementing the six-party deal towards denuclearising the Korean peninsula. Almost three weeks since the agreed deadline for North Korea to shut down its Yongbyon nuclear reactor, Pyongyang is facing hurdles in obtaining the money from Macao's Banco Delta Asia, which North Korea insisted be released as part of the nuclear accord reached in February. A senior US official said Pyongyang had encountered several problems in consolidating all its accounts at BDA. In addition to not realising how many accounts it held at the bank, the official said North Korea appeared to be having difficulty getting the necessary signatures needed to release the funds. Once Pyongyang has succeeded in consolidating its accounts, officials say it could withdraw the money. South Korean and US officials confirmed that North Korea wanted to transfer the money to Italian and Russian bank accounts.
  North Korea appears to believe that transferring the funds through the global banking system would signal it was acceptable to do business with Kim Jong-il's regime again. Banks have been unwilling to process North Korean money transfers since the US accused BDA of facilitating alleged North Korean counterfeiting activities. [BDA] [Financial sanctions]
• U.S. calls on N. Korea to immediately implement denuclearization deal
    North Korea should immediately take the steps toward denuclearization it promised at the six-nation talks, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday. "We agreed that we must continue to expect North Korea to immediately fulfill its initial action agreement," she said after joint talks with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and their Japanese counterparts. "We don't have endless patience," she told reporters.
  Pyongyang, however, has refused to carry out the initial actions, demanding first a full resolution of a banking issue surrounding US$25 million a Macanese bank previously froze but agreed last month to release. North Korea issued statements and wrote to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, saying it will implement the Feb. 13 deal as soon as the banking dispute is settled. Rice said the six-party members "do recognize" these statements. [Ageement070213]
• State Sponsors of Terrorism
  Pyongyang Faces Good Chance for Dropping From List
  Despite Pyongyang's ardent plea, Washington has recently decided to retain North Korea on the list of countries that sponsor terrorism. In its annual report called "Patterns of Global Terrorism," the United States stipulated North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism, along with Iran, Cuba, Syria and Sudan. However, the U.S. State Department has considerably reduced and revised the grounds for designating it as a terrorism-sponsoring state, opening the way for dropping Pyongyang from it. In other words, Washington is hinting if the North shows sincerity in abiding by the Feb. 13 agreement on denuclearization, it could de-listing Pyongyang from the list. The latest U.S. decision to keep the North on the list appears to reflect Washington's judgment that actual situations in the Stalinist country have not changed much, although Pyongyang has persistently called for its exclusion from the list since the landmark agreement. Everyone knows now the frozen funds at the Banco Delta Asia have obstructed the implementation of the Feb. 13 agreement [Agreement070213] [Blame]
• Japan PM: More N. Korea Sanctions May Be Needed
  By REUTERS Published: May 2, 2007 Filed at 10:30 a.m. ET
  CAIRO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Wednesday that more sanctions against North Korea may be needed if Pyongyang does not soon meet its initial obligations under a six-nation disarmament pact. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Tuesday, two weeks after the North missed a deadline for shutting down its main nuclear reactor, that the United States and Japan do not have endless patience with North Korea. ``If North Korea doesn't carry out what it has promised, the situation that they are in -- economically, food-wise -- will not improve, and they have to understand that if anything, things will get worse,'' Abe told a news conference in Cairo, where he had talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. ``North Korea still hasn't done what it should for the initial steps. So keeping this in mind, depending on the circumstances, we may have to think of additional measures.'' [Agreement070213] [Blame] [Japanese remilitarisation]
• The U.S. Treasury Department's Economic Campaign Against North Korea
  April 18, 2007 Gold Digging By CHINA HAND
  Reality-based reporting is making a comeback on the matter of Banco Delta Asia -- fgthe little Macau bank with the frozen North Korean accounts that has held up execution of the Six Party Agreement for almost two months. McClatchy's Kevin Hall is one of the few journalists who has followed this issue closely and critically. He recently posted two important articles on BDA. As a result, a clearer picture is emerging of a concerted U.S. effort to exceed the scope and intent of U.N. sanctions by exploiting the domestic exigencies of the Patriot Act Section 311 anti-money laundering powers as a pretext for pursuing a worldwide economic blockade against North Korea.
  But the true story is not one of confusion, contradiction, and mixed messages in U.S. policy. The story is one of American shortsightedness. If North Korea wants to be insulated from the international financial community, all it needs to do is hide behind China's coattails. But that's not what it wants. North Korea wants to achieve international legitimacy and access to world financial markets. It wants to export directly, attract foreign investment, raise capital on the international financial markets, and sell its gold on the world exchanges. North Korea doesn't want to grovel to the Chinese and sell energy, resources, and gold to Beijing at below-market prices. Quite the opposite. Returning from North Korea, Bill Richardson noted: Interestingly, North Korea sees themselves eventually as an ally of the United States; in other words, as an ally against China. They see themselves as playing a strategic role as a buffer between the United States and China. Every American comes back from North Korea with the same message. North Korea wants to break free of Chinese domination and align itself with the United States. And what do we do? Every time the North Korean dog sticks its head out of its Chinese kennel, we beat it on the snout with a stick-and force it back to the heel of its Chinese master. And we persist with the policy even when it runs counter to our current diplomatic efforts and security strategy for the region. It's a policy that's blind, self-defeating, and futile. And now that the U.S. has abandoned a policy of confrontation with North Korea, it's also become ridiculous [BDA] [China NK relations]
• U.S. report retains N. Korea on terrorism list but makes notable changes
  The United States retained North Korea on the list of terrorism-sponsoring nations but made notable changes in its annual report to encourage the communist regime to change its behavior. The North Korea segment in the Country Reports on Terrorism was nearly halved in the 2006 version released Monday, deleting much from the Japanese abduction issue. Also removed were references to South Korean civilians being held since the 1950-1953 Korean War. The report added that Washington and Pyongyang agreed in a six-party pact in February to start the process of removing the North from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism. [Abductees] [Agreement070213] [Dilemma]
• U.S. keeps North on terrorism list for now, at least
  May 02, 2007 While Washington left North Korea on its list of state sponsors of terrorism in its latest report, released Monday, it noted that the process of removing the reclusive nation from the list has started. Government officials said that the report won't cast a negative light on current nuclear talks with Pyongyang. "In the February 13, 2007 Initial Actions Agreement, the United States agreed to 'begin the process of removing the designation of the DPRK as a state-sponsor of terrorism,'" the report stated. Pyongyang committed itself in February to take initial measures to denuclearize. The broader outlines of its denuclearization are derived from a deal struck in September of 2005, which aims also to normalize ties between the North and the United States. A government official said that Seoul had inquired in advance whether Pyongyang would be included in the list but that no consultation took place with Washington regarding the contents of the report.     [Abductees] [Agreement070213] [Dilemma] [Media]
• Tenet Details Pakistan-North Korea Connection
  Memoirs of former CIA chief discloses details of meeting with Musharraf
  Published 2007-05-02 11:15 (KST) George Tenet, former Central Intelligence Agency [CIA] chief disclosed the details of his secret meeting with Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, where Tenet presented shocking documentary evidence about connections of the officially disgraced father of the Pakistani atomic bomb, Dr. A. Q. Khan, with North Korea. Tenet narrated the dramatic details of his meeting with General Musharraf in his autobiography, At the Center of the Storm: My Years at the CIA. He met with Musharraf on Sept. 24 2003 in a New York hotel during the president's visit for attending a U.N. General Assembly meeting.
    "It was a 'four eyes' meeting -- just the two of us. No handlers, no note takers," writes Tenet, who paints a gloomy picture of the high-profile meeting that changed that entire spectrum of Pakistan's atomic program. That ultimately led to lifetime house arrest/detention of Dr. A.Q. Khan and the arrest of dozens of the other atomic scientists related to the Pakistan atomic program. Musharraf already confused in his own autobiography In the Line of Fire about the smuggling of at least two dozen centrifuges to North Korea by Khan's Network. Tenet admired Musharraf as a man of strong nerves. Tenet suddenly presented top-secret blueprints of Pakistani centrifuges to him. "Khan has stolen your nuclear weapons secrets. We know this, because, we stole them from him." Musharraf was totally composed and showed no reaction or emotions, although in his own book he declared that meeting the most embarrassing moment of his life.[Espionage]  
• Where Does North Korea Nuclear Crisis Lead?
  [Analysis] Ultimate goal should be reunification of the peninsula
    Kang Hyo-jung (jesbean)
  Published 2007-05-02 14:55 (KST)   North Korea's nuclear program is reaching its fifth decade. Just recently, North Korea missed the 60 day deadline to shut down its nuclear reactor, which was agreed to on Feb. 13, 2007, demanding that the Banco Delta Asia deposits be released before they carry out their obligation. The U.S. agreed to free the US$25 million from the BDA, but North Korea for some reason has not withdrawn the money and may want more access to the international banking system. With the recent change in the Bush administration's attitude towards North Korea, and North Korea appearing to comply with ongoing negotiations, the nuclear crisis finally seemed to be reaching a settlement. However, the "sequencing issue" -- the U.S. wanting North Korea to dismantle their nuclear weapons before anything else, while North Korea asks for economic concessions to be carried out beforehand -- has again risen to the surface. Throughout the past this "sequencing issue" has been the major obstacle in negotiations, with each side reluctant to take the first step.  
• Why N.Korea Is Still on the Terror Sponsors List
  N.Korea Remains on U.S. List of Terror Sponsors Who Will Think of South Korea’s Abduction Victims? The U.S. once again included North Korea among state sponsors of terrorism in the “2006 Country Reports on Terrorism” released Monday. Being taken off the list is expected to be one of the rewards if the Stalinist country shuts down its nuclear facilities under a Feb. 13 six-nation agreement. But the North has not yet started implementing its part of the deal, and it remains to be seen how it will react to Monday’s slap on the wrist. [Agreement070213] [Terrorism]
• N.Korea Remains on U.S. List of Terror Sponsors
  The U.S. State Department named North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism in its "Country Reports" for 2006 published Monday. The Stalinist country is one of five alleged state sponsors of terrorism along with Cuba, Iran, Syria and Sudan. Under a Feb.13 six-nation agreement, the U.S. examined if it should eliminate North Korea from the list, but it seems to feel Pyongyang has not done enough to fulfill its part of the deal. Japan also apparently urged Washington to keep the North on the list due to the unresolved issue of Japanese nationals abducted by the North Korean regime. The U.S. administration bans arms sales and economic support to state sponsors of terrorism and puts up resistance when such countries apply for loans from international financial organizations. North Korea was first included in 1988, after the bombing of Korean Air 858 jet in 1987. There were, however, some changes in this year's report, including a shortening of the section on North Korea's bizarre abduction policy. There are fewer words on Japanese abductees, but a part on Japanese Red Army members' remaining in North Korea after a jet hijacking in 1970 is kept intact. [Agreement070213] [Terrorism] [Blame]
• N.Korea 'Asks BDA to Send Money to Europe'
    North Korea has asked the Banco Delta Asia to transfer its assets in the Macau bank to Italian and Russian banks, the Japanese press quoted Chinese chief nuclear negotiator Wu Dawei as saying. The Chinese vice foreign minister made the announcement in a meeting with a visiting delegation of Japanese lawmakers on Sunday. Wu said North Korea in a meeting on Saturday asked Macanese authorities to remit the recently unfrozen funds in U.S. dollars or euro to its accounts with the Italian and Russian banks. Macau is reviewing the request to see if the transfer is technically possible. Transferring the money in U.S. dollars seems difficult due to a U.S. Treasury Department ban on transactions between U.S. financial institutions and BDA. Wu could give no indication when the matter, which has delayed North Korea's implementation of its part of a Feb. 13 denuclearization agreement, will finally be settled. [BDA] [Financial sanctions]
• N. Korea asks for funds via Italy, Russia
    North Korea has asked Macao's Banco Delta Asia to accounts in Italy and Russia, Japan's Kyodo News Service reported Monday, quoting deputy Chinese foreign minister Wu Dawei, who spoke with Japanese lawmakers visiting Beijing, including the Liberal Democratic Party official Masahiko Komura. Wu is quoted as saying that authorities from Macao and North Korea met on on April 28, when the North Koreans asked that its funds be transfered in either dollars or Euros. Wu said authorities are "studying whether that is technically possible." Korea's Yonhap News Agency quoted a Banco Delta Asia official said on April 29 that Macao financial supervisory authorities have told the bank to make the necessary preparations for transferring North Korea's money. Yonhap also quotes the official as saying North Korea's choices for third country wire routing are Singapore, Vietnam, and Mongolia, and that the funds may go through all or any one of those countries. [BDA] [Financial sanctions]
• North seeks Russian or Italian home for its funds
  May 01, 2007 Still seeking access to the international financial system, Pyongyang has asked Macao authorities to transfer $25 million in funds to unnamed banks in Russia and Italy, signaling some progress in the deadlock over money held in a Macao bank. Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Wu Dawei told Japanese lawmakers visiting Beijing that North Korea broached the idea, the Kyodo News Agency reported. Wu said that Macao authorities are trying to determine whether the move is possible.
  A source said that Pyongyang had also asked banks in Singapore, Vietnam and Mongolia to agree to a transfer but was rebuffed. Washington has endorsed measures to unfreeze the funds, but it has not withdrawn its designation of Banco Delta Asia as a confirmed money launderer. [BDA] [Financial sanctions]
• North Korea displays new missile that can reach Guam, report says
  The Associated Press Published: April 29, 2007
  SEOUL: North Korea has displayed a new ballistic missile that can reach the U.S. territory of Guam, a South Korean newspaper report over the weekend. A military parade in Pyongyang on Wednesday featured three new models, including a medium-range missile that can travel 2,500 to 4,000 kilometers, or 1,500 to 2,500 miles, the paper, Chosun Ilbo, reported Saturday. The parade showcased 52 missiles and was reviewed by the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Il. The report cited an unidentified South Korean government official familiar with an analysis of U.S. satellite images. The South Korean Defense Ministry said it had no comment. "All three models are ground-to-ground missiles," the official was quoted as saying. "Of them, the medium-range ballistic missile is noteworthy" because, the official added, it "has Guam in its range." North Korea test-fired a series of missiles in July 2006, including its latest long-range model, the Taepodong-2, which experts say they believe could reach parts of the United States. In October, North Korea conducted its first test of a nuclear device. South Korean experts say they believe that North Korea does not have a bomb design advanced enough to be placed on a missile. Kim Tae Woo, a missile expert at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, said North Korea was suspected of developing a new missile, separate from its Nodong or Taepodong missile series. "Personally, I was thinking that it was about the time for the North to show it off," Kim said. "By disclosing its newest missiles in large numbers this time, North Korea showed off that its strategic weapons are centered on nuclear weapons and their means of delivery," Chosun Ilbo quoted a military official as saying. [Missiles]
• N.Korea Heads for the ATM
    North Korea is apparently getting ready to withdraw its recently unfrozen funds from the Banco Delta Asia in Macau and transfer them to another bank. A senior official in Macau said North Korea "asked the Macau Financial Bureau on Friday for cooperation in transferring its funds. As a result, the Financial Bureau has instructed BDA to make the necessary preparations." The U.S. government on April 11 cleared the US$25 million for withdrawal, after Macanese authorities in September 2005 froze them when the U.S. designated the bank a "primary money-laundering concern." But freeing the funds proved harder than expected since no other bank would touch the money, and the delay held up North Korea's implementation of a Feb. 13 six-nation agreement to shut down its nuclear facilities. The Macau official said Pyongyang will apparently transfer the money into accounts in Singapore, Vietnam and Mongolia. After pooling the funds from a bevy of BDA accounts in one or two accounts at the Macau bank, it is expected to transfer them to a third-country bank or banks and thence to North Korea. The banks are United Overseas Bank (UOB) in Singapore, the Vietnam Bank for Foreign Trade (Vietcombank), and Golomt Bank of Mongolia, where Pyongyang opened accounts after the BDA accounts were frozen. The $25 million are in eight currencies, including U.S. and Hong Kong dollars, Japanese yen, euro and Swiss francs. [BDA]
• Pyongyang Showcases New Ballistic Missile
    By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter North Korea displayed a newly developed medium-range ballistic missile capable of reaching the U.S. territory of Guam during a massive military parade last week, a news report said Saturday. The parade held in Pyongyang on Wednesday marking the 75th anniversary of the Stalinist regime's military featured three new models, including a medium-range missile with a range of at least 2,500 kilometers and a Rodong missile with a range of 1,300 kilometers, the Chosun Ilbo reported. ``All three (new) models are ground-to-ground missiles,'' an unidentified South Korean defense source with access to an analysis of a U.S. satellite image was quoted as saying. ``Of them, the medium-range ballistic missile has Guam in its range.'' ``By disclosing its newest missiles, the regime showed off that it has strategic weapons capable of delivering its nuclear weapons,'' he added. [Military balance][ Missiles]
• Reports: N.Korea Requests Fund Transfer
  By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: April 29, 2007 Filed at 10:58 p.m. ET TOKYO (AP) -- North Korea has asked authorities in the Chinese territory of Macau to transfer its funds being held there to Russia and Italy, possibly clearing the way for Pyongyang to fulfill its nuclear disarmament obligations, Japanese media said Monday. [BDA]
• Iran, N.Korea cast shadow on nuclear treaty meeting
  By Mark Heinrich and Karin Strohecker Reuters Sunday, April 29, 2007; 8:26 AM VIENNA (Reuters) - Haunted by the specters of Iran and North Korea and divided along rich and poor lines, members of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty gather on Monday to mull ways of preventing the pact from unraveling. With memories strong of deadlock at the last NPT Review Conference in 2005, 188 nations will hold a Preparatory Committee session in Vienna to May 11 to help pave the way to the next full conference in 2010. [NPT][Blame]

• DPRK to Move Only When Lifting of Financial Sanction Proved to Be Reality
      Pyongyang, April 13 (KCNA) -- A spokesman for the DPRK Foreign Ministry Friday gave the following answer to a question put by KCNA as regards the U.S. and Macao administrative authorities' announcement of the de-freezing of the fund of the DPRK:
      The DPRK took note of the announcement made by the U.S. Department of Treasury and the Macao administrative authorities on April 10 that they took a measure of de-freezing the fund of the DPRK deposited in Banco Delta Asia in Macao.
      A DPRK financial institution concerned will confirm soon whether the measure is valid.
      The DPRK remains unchanged in its will to implement the Feb. 13 agreement and will also move when the lifting of the sanction is proved to be a reality.
• Key step forward on North Korea
  Agreement on funds frozen by US paves way for North Korean shutdown of its nuclear program.
  By Howard LaFranchi | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor and Donald Kirk | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor
  WASHINGTON AND SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - This week's settlement of a dispute between the United States and North Korea over $25 million in tainted cash held in a Macao bank may be remembered as the key to full dismantlement of Pyongyang's nuclear program. Or it may be recalled as a retreat by a White House beset by one too many foreign fire and as a signal to troublemaker regimes, including Iran, that world powers can be forced down from tough sanctions and uncompromising positions. Many Democrats and foreign-policy experts are joining the Bush administration in hailing an agreement Wednesday that gave North Korea immediate access to deposits the US froze in 2005 as part of a crackdown on counterfeiting in Pyongyang. The settlement paves the way for the North to shut down its Yongbyon nuclear power plant – a first step toward dismantlement of its nuclear program, to which the North agreed in February with the US and four other countries. But hard-liners are calling the accord a bad precedent for dealing with regimes that threatenglobal stability, particularly with nuclear development. Either way, the lesser-evil-for-greater-good agreement is emblematic of the kind of diplomatic compromise President Bush eschewed in his first term but appears more prone to accept in his second. "Is this deal going to leave a bad taste in a lot of mouths? You bet," says Jon Wolfsthal, a nonproliferation expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington. "But we have yet to determine if North Korea is really ready to give up its nuclear arms program, and if we had to jump this hurdle to find that out, it's worth the risk." [BDA] [Media] [Blame]
• Analysis: N. Korea Might Want Even More
  By ANNE GEARAN The Associated Press Saturday, April 28, 2007; 11:49 AM
  WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration caved to North Korea's escalating demands that threatened a nuclear disarmament accord. But there are still the communist nation is angling for a better deal. Washington largely kept quiet as the North missed a deadline to begin shutting down a reactor and seemed to delay responding to U.S. overtures on a banking investigation.
  North Korea, however, may want a clean bill of health for the bank along with U.S. help improving its financial image [BDA] [Financial sanctions] [Media]
• U.S. will not remove N. Korea from list of terror-sponsoring states: official
  The United States will not remove North Korea from its list of state sponsors of terrorism until progress is made on the North's kidnapping of Japanese citizens decades ago, a White House official said Thursday. Dennis Wilder, a senior director for Asian affairs at the National Security Council, said President George W. Bush will reaffirm such a position while meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe this week. The Japanese prime minister arrived here early Thursday for a two-day visit, his first trip to the U.S. since coming into office in September. "We aren't going to de-link the abductee issue from the state sponsor of terrorism issue," Wilder told reporters.
  The decision renders great support to Japan's pursuit to learn the whereabouts of its citizens believed to have been taken to the communist nation over three decades ago, but may create obstacles to, if not jeopardize, international talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons program. [Abductees] [Terrorism] [Ageement070213]
• BDA funds not wired to N. Korea: pro-Pyongyang paper
  North Korean funds frozen at a Macau-based bank have not been transferred to the communist country so far, holding up progress in a landmark agreement over the North's denuclearization, a pro-Pyongyang newspaper based in Japan said Friday. "For North Korea, it does not matter whether it can withdraw the money or not. Unless normalization of financial transactions by international standards is realized, it cannot be said that its demand has been met," said the Choson Sinbo, a Korean-language newspaper published by the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan. The paper has been reflecting the opinions of the North Korean government. The report reconfirms the North's position that it will not implement the first 60-day denuclearization measures unless the funds are transferred to another bank, so the North can confirm the free transfer of its funds in the international financial system, upon which the U.S. Treasury Department has a strong influence. North Korea has said that it will take the first steps toward nuclear dismantlement as soon as it confirms the release of its funds, which have been frozen at Banco Delta Asia since September 2005. [BDA] [Financial sanctions]
• Bush: Patience with N.Korea "Not Unlimited"
  By REUTERS Published: April 27, 2007 Filed at 11:31 a.m. ET Skip to next paragraph CAMP DAVID, Maryland (Reuters) - The United States and its allies are willing to allow North Korea some leeway in meeting its commitments on nuclear disarmament, President George W. Bush said on Friday, but he warned patience would eventually run out. ``Our partners in the six-party talks are patient but our patience is not unlimited,'' Bush said after talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Under a deal reached in February, North Korea pledged to start shutting its Yongbyon nuclear reactor by April 14 in return for energy aid and security assurances. But that deadline passed without implementation of the deal. [Agreement070213] [Media]{Chutzpah]
• U.S., Japan Reiterate Warning to N. Korea
  Also, Bush Says He Will Stand Firm on Democratic-Led War Funding Bill
  By Michael Abramowitz Washington Post Staff Writer Saturday, April 28, 2007; Page A03
  CAMP DAVID, April 27 -- President Bush and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe threatened North Korea on Friday with the possibility of new sanctions unless Pyongyang abides by its promise to shut down its nuclear program, while Bush invited senior lawmakers to the White House next week to discuss how to break the stalemate over Iraq war funding. "We're hoping that the North Korea leader continues to make the right choice for his country," Bush said at a joint news conference with Abe at the presidential retreat here. "But if he should choose not to, we've got a strategy to make sure that the pressure we've initially applied is even greater. That's our plan."
• Overview of North Korea Bank Dispute
  By ANNE GEARAN The Associated Press Saturday, April 28, 2007; 3:27 AM
  WASHINGTON -- An obscure banking inquiry has hijacked a landmark nuclear disarmament deal with North Korea, to the surprise and dismay of U.S. and some foreign officials who have tried for months to resolve the mess. To try to salvage the nuclear pact, Washington first truncated and then throttled back a Treasury Department inquiry related to alleged money-laundering sanctioned by the North Korean government. Ultimately, the Bush administration agreed to help hand over money it had earlier identified as tainted. [BDA] [Media]
• BDA Issue May be Resolved Next Week, Officials Say
  North Korea is reportedly moving to withdraw its US$25 million from Macao's Banco Delta Asia and transfer it to a bank in a third country next week, it emerged on Thursday. According to government officials, North Korea is working with Banco Delta Asia on finding ways to transfer the funds and the U.S. is preparing to help. [BDA]
• Storm Brewing in Washington on NK Delays
  [Column]   Ryu Jae Hoon, Washinton Correspondent The bigger the expectation the bigger the disappointment. There are sure signs of a storm brewing in Washington now that the sixty-day deadline for implementing the first stage of the February 13 agreement, the one that came out of the last round of six party talks, has come and gone without Pyongyang doing its part. It is not a tornado yet, but you cannot be sure it will not become one. U.S. assistant state secretary Christopher Hill, who had negotiated so ambitiously while testing the limits of his authority, has been hard to get a glimpse of since returning on April 16 from a visit to Korea, China, and Japan. Hill tends to be media-friendly, so this is evidence that he finds himself in a corner. As recently as early January Hill would repeatedly say that the U.S. Treasury Department's investigation into Macao's Banco Delta Asia was a "law enforcement issue" that was not a matter for the State Department. It was he who, after the talks in Berlin, achieved a huge turnaround when he got president George W. Bush to make a tough political decision and get the Treasury Department to cooperate when it did not want to lift its freeze on North Korea's money in Macao. Until the very end, the Treasury Department insisted it would only release funds that were legal. Hill convinced everyone that Pyongyang would carry through with the agreement if the U.S. let go of all the money, even the illegal funds that were going to be a problem. At this point, however, his argument has gone flat. People in the State Department who believe in negotiating with North Korea say they find themselves embarrassed. Hill appears to have believed North Korean deputy foreign minister Kim Kye-gwan when he said things would change when the Pyongyang had its money in hand. North Korea says the promise it received at the Berlin talks about getting its frozen funds back was an assurance that financial sanctions were lifted. People who have been part of the six party talks say at first the North demanded just what was legal about the US$25 million, then its demands grew to include all of it. Now it wants more than just being able to do international wire transfers; it wants an end to all financial sanctions, including international financial transactions.       [Financial sanctions] [media] [BDA] [Intelligent design]  
• N. Korean banking dispute likely to be resolved in near future: nuclear envoy
  The dispute over North Korea's frozen funds at a bank in Macau may be resolved in the near future, allowing the communist nation to take steps toward denuclearization, South Korea's top nuclear negotiator said Thursday.
• U.S. showing 'unusual patience' in waiting for North Korea: NSC official
  The United States is showing "unusual American patience" in waiting for North Korea to implement its part of a denuclearization agreement and has not given up, a White House official said Wednesday. "This agreement is a great agreement. We want to see it implemented," Dennis Wilder, senior Asia director at the National Security Council (NSC), told foreign journalists about the deal signed by six governments in February. "We are prepared to be a little bit patient," he said, but added, "Patience isn't endless." [Ageement070213] [BDA]
• S.Korea: N.Korea May Allow Inspectors
  By JAE-SOON CHANGThe Associated Press Thursday, April 26, 2007; 4:21 AM
  SEOUL, South Korea -- Recent activity at North Korea's main nuclear reactor could indicate preparations to invite U.N. inspectors to discuss shutting down the bomb-making complex, South Korea's spy agency said Thursday. North Korea has built a small building near the Yongbyon reactor and repaired a road leading to it, the National Intelligence Service said in a report to the South Korean parliament's intelligence committee.
• Wrangling Over N.Korea's Money Drags On
    Foreign Minister Song Min-soon on Wednesday said the matter of North Korean funds stuck in a Macau bank "is now reaching a final stage of resolution." Pyongyang is close to two weeks over a deadline to shut down and seal its nuclear facilities under a Feb. 13 six-nation agreement because of protracted wrangling to free the US$25 million in the Banco Delta Asia. The United States and North Korea have started publicly expressing their impatience with each other. In an interview with Yonhap News Tuesday, the acting chief of North Korea's UN mission reiterated the money should not only be released but the entire sum transferred to another bank - an issue that has proved unexpectedly difficult since no international bank wants to touch the funds. "When we said we wanted the money in our hands, we meant that there has to be transfer of the money," Kim said in an interview with the Yonhap news agency. He was the first North Korean official to make it explicit that the transfer to a bank where the North can access the money is the U.S.' responsibility. The move seems aimed at pressuring Washington to permit North Korea free foreign exchange transactions, which U.S. Treasury sanctions have effectively stopped.
  But even if the U.S. guarantees the transfer of money, international banks mindful of the fate of BDA, which seems about to wind up business, are unlikely to accept the North Korean funds. Observers predict the matter could drag on much longer than expected. [BDA] [Financial sanctions]
• N.Korea Leaves BDA Money Untouched
  North Korea has left untouched US$25 million unfrozen in a Macau bank and offered no statement Monday after missing a Saturday deadline to shut down its nuclear facilities under a Feb. 13 six-nation agreement. Experts differ about the reason for Pyongyang's reticence. Some pundits expect the North to demand a foreign currency transaction account, which it is effectively denied under U.S. financial sanctions.
  Then there is the conspiracy theory. It says North Korea is trying to please China, deliberately procrastinating because Beijing is miffed that the U.S. in September 2005 publicly fingered the Chinese bank as a money launderer. Sensing China's displeasure, the theory goes, North Korea intentionally complicated the situation. Meanwhile, the battered bank on Monday filed a lawsuit against the U.S. designation as a money launderer. In a statement, BDA's legal advisor, the New York law firm Heller Ehrman LLP, said the Treasury's accusation "lacked specific facts" and "was politically motivated because it was based on disputes between the United States and North Korea." A senior source in Macao said North Korea submitted the documents necessary to withdraw the money last week and can take back the funds anytime. But Macanese authorities, with the understanding of the North, have been calling on the U.S. to lift all sanctions on the bank. [BDA] [Financial sanctions] NK_US_China] [China confrontation]
• The Feb. 13 Agreement Is Creaking
      The Feb. 13 agreement to resolve the North Korean nuclear crisis has already started creaking. Within 60 days of the accord, the U.S. was to release North Korean funds frozen at Macao's bank Banco Delta Asia, and North Korea to shut down and seal its nuclear reactor at Yongbyon and have it verified by International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors. During the same period, South Korea was to supply to the North 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil and the parties to six-nation talks were to put in motion working groups discussing a wide range of issues. The deadline came and went. North Korea did not shut down and seal its reactor at Yongbyon. All other schedules were cancelled and the U.S. State Department issued a shameful statement saying the early deadline was postponed. What went wrong? Needless to say, North Korea is the guiltiest party. The U.S. did everything it could to resolve the BDA question, a precondition North Korea raised. The U.S. Treasury Department released all the US$25 million frozen at the bank, both legal and illegal funds. Going a step further, the department took all the necessary technical steps so that Pyongyang could withdraw them any time it wants to. But the North insisted that the situation be restored to what it was before the BDA affair flared up. It demands not only the release of the $25 million but the normalization of all its overseas financial transactions. This is impossible unless the alleged illegal actions that provoked the financial sanctions stop. If the North sticks to the demand, the Feb.13 accord won't move forward by one inch. [BDA] [Spin] [Agreement070213]
• Dispute Over Frozen NK Funds Nearing End
  By Lee Jin-woo Staff Reporter A top government official said Wednesday that months of dispute over North Korea's frozen funds at a Macau bank have been almost resolved. Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Song Min-soon urged Pyongyang to take initial steps to shut down and seal its nuclear weapons facilities as agreed on Feb. 13. ``There are still some procedural problems with the issue over North Korean funds at Banco Delta Asia (BDA),'' Song said in a weekly press briefing at the ministry. ``The countries involved have cooperated to resolve the problems as soon as possible and I believe the issue is reaching a final resolution.'' ``As all the countries involved in the six-party talks are expressing a clear determination to implement the Feb. 13 agreement, we will continue to consult with them to overcome these procedural problems at an early date," he said. Song said North Korea will also be able to transfer its funds _ approximately $25 million _ from BDA to different accounts in the near future. The minister said the issue would drag on for some time, saying that procedural glitches had caused some unexpected problems. Song, however, did not elaborate on the North's demand to be included in the international banking system. The North has urged the United States to let it freely use regular banking systems on international financial markets. [BDA] [Financial sanctions]
• Bush Adviser Urges North Koreans to Act
  By FOSTER KLUG The Associated Press Tuesday, April 24, 2007; 10:48 PM WASHINGTON -- A top White House adviser has personally delivered a pointed message to North Korean officials, urging them to act on a nuclear disarmament pledge and telling them that U.S. patience is limited, a U.S. official said. Victor Cha, President Bush's top adviser on North Korea, told North Korean officials in New York City on Tuesday that frustration is rising 10 days after the North missed a deadline to shut down its main nuclear reactor, according to a senior U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
  The North Koreans said they would convey the message to officials in Pyongyang, the U.S. official said.
  The North has refused to act until it receives $25 million in cash frozen after a Macau bank was blacklisted by the United States for allegedly helping the North with money laundering and counterfeiting. The funds have been freed for withdrawal, but for unknown reasons the North has not yet acted to recover the money. In Seoul, meanwhile, South Korean Foreign Minister Song Min-soon said the dispute over the funds was nearing a resolution. [BDA]
• More N.Korea nuclear tests said likely if talks fail
  By Paul Eckert, Asia Correspondent Reuters Tuesday, April 24, 2007; 4:57 PM WASHINGTON (Reuters) - North Korea is likely to conduct more nuclear tests if six-nation diplomacy to disarm the communist state does not succeed, the commander of the U.S. military in South Korea told a Senate hearing on Tuesday. "If the six-party talks do not produce a lasting settlement, the North Koreans will likely conduct a second and potentially additional nuclear tests when they see it as serving their purposes," said General B.B. Bell.
  North Korea missed an April 14 deadline to start closing its Soviet-era nuclear reactor and source of plutonium for bombs as required by a deal it reached in February with South Korea, China, Japan, Russia and the United States. That February 13 disarmament deal is languishing amid arguments over the return of North Korean money once frozen in a Macau bank account, although the North said last week it remains committed to the pact and will move once it gets the money. [BDA]
• Ex-PM Calls for 4-Way Summit on Nukes
  By Lee Jin-woo Staff Reporter Former Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan yesterday stressed the need to hold a summit involving four nations _ the two Koreas, the United States and China _ on a regular basis to resolve issues over North Korea's nuclear weapons program. In a forum on peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula at the National Assembly in Seoul, Lee said the four-way summit would play a crucial role in facilitating efforts made by the six-party nuclear disarmament talks. ``The ongoing efforts made by the six-party talks should be sustained, but it should be backed up by leaders of the four nations,'' Lee said.
  ' Lee expected the uneasy relationship between North Korea and Japan would take more time to be normalized than the restoration of relations between Pyongyang and Washington. ``With regard to the issue, the Japanese government is concerned about its domestic politics and public opinion,'' Lee said. ``North Korea has focused more on normalizing its diplomatic relationship with the United States.'' [NK-Japan}
• Director of DPRK GDAE Sends Message to Director-General of IAEA
  Pyongyang, April 20 (KCNA) -- Ri Je Son, director of the General Department of Atomic Energy of the DPRK, on April 20 sent a message to Mohamed el-Baradei, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, in connection with the fact that on April 17 the IAEA made a request for the DPRK visit of its working delegation.
  Noting that when the director-general of the IAEA visited Pyongyang in March there was a preliminary understanding that the DPRK would invite the working delegation of the IAEA at an appropriate time, the message said:
  The DPRK decided to suspend the operation of the nuclear facility in Nyongbyon within 60 days after the publication of the Feb. 13 agreement on the premise that the U.S. side should defreeze the DPRK's fund in Banco Delta Asia in Macao within 30 days after its publication.
  The DPRK still remains unchanged in its will to implement the Feb. 13 agreement, but what matters is that it cannot move as the issue of frozen fund has not yet been completely settled.
  Working negotiations are now brisk between a DPRK bank and the above-said bank to settle the issue.
  The DPRK is ready to invite the above-said delegation of the IAEA the moment the actual defreezing of the frozen fund in the bank has been confirmed and discuss the issues of suspending the operation of the nuclear facility in Nyongbyon and verifying and monitoring procedures of it according to the Feb. 13 agreement. [BDA]
• DPRK starts to transfer $25m funds: Japan media
  Updated: 2007-04-20 07:08 The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has begun transferring some of its funds from Macao to an unnamed bank in Southeast Asia, a major Japanese newspaper reported yesterday, potentially clearing the way for Pyongyang to fulfill its obligations for nuclear disarmament. Pyongyang missed a Saturday deadline to shut down its main reactor, as agreed under a February deal with the US and four other countries, citing the failure to release its funds at Macao-based Banco Delta Asia (BDA). The DPRK had made shutting down the reactor contingent on the release of the money, which was frozen after the US blacklisted BDA where the DPRK had 52 accounts allegedly linked to money laundering and counterfeiting. The transfer is the first since the $25 million was freed for withdrawal last week, the Yomiuri newspaper reported. A transfer of some of the DPRK funds from the Macao bank "to a Southeast Asian bank" has begun, but it would take more than a month for the transfer of all 52 accounts to be completed, the Yomiuri said, quoting unidentified officials related to DPRK banks named as BDA account holders. The paper did not give the name of the bank or the country in Southeast Asia.
• U.S. Centrifuge Work Revived in Updated Form
  By Dan Charles Special to The Washington Post Monday, April 23, 2007; Page A06
  PIKETON, Ohio -- Inside a enormous structure here, shielded by heavy security, a U.S. company is hard at work constructing tall, slender, uranium-enriching centrifuges designed to obtain uranium-235 for nuclear fuel -- the very technology that is provoking a standoff between the United States and Iran. USEC Inc., which took over the government's uranium enrichment operations in 1993, is building the centrifuges at the Portsmouth Reservation, a Department of Energy property near Piketon. Within five years, if USEC can come up with the money, the building will hold 11,500 centrifuges and sell enriched uranium to nuclear plants around the world.
  USEC's machines are technical marvels, much larger than those of Iran or other nations in the international centrifuge club, which includes Russia, Germany, Britain, the Netherlands, Pakistan and Brazil.
  A Pakistani employee at one of Urenco's contractors, Abdul Qadeer Khan, carried centrifuge designs back to his homeland in the 1970s and rose to fame as the father of Pakistan's nuclear bomb. According to Western investigators, Pakistan then provided technology to other nuclear aspirants, including Iran, Libya and North Korea. [Double standards][HEU]
• The North obsesses over a small thing, the U.S. a big one; both stumble
  [Column]   By Kim Ji-seok, editorial writer When it comes to the North Korean nuclear issue, the biggest question is whether Pyongyang has decided or will decide to make the "strategic decision" to give up its nuclear weapons or not. Those who think the main reason it developed nuclear weapons was for the political and military goal of preserving its government tend to think it won't make this decision, and those who think it developed its program as leverage in negotiations with the United States tend to think it will. Those working on the six-party talks refrain from making any judgment about what Pyongyang has decided at the moment, but believe that it will ultimately give up its nuclear program if negotiations go well, making them positive about what will happen regarding certain current conditions. North Korea continues to fail to live up to its pledge to implement the first stage of action on closing its nuclear facility as outlined in the agreement that came out of the six-party talks on February 13. Its stated reason is that there hasn't been resolution to the issue of its money previously frozen at Banco Delta Asia. What more has North Korea gotten from obsessing with that money since the U.S. and the North arrived at an agreement on the issue on March 19? All it got was an April 10 announcement from the U.S. Treasury Department saying the freeze was being lifted. The international finance industry, however, still doesn't want to touch Pyongyang's money. Surely the North has acutely felt how the treatment it gets in the international community changes depending on how it behaves, and not on the Americans.       [Bizarre] [BDA]
• U.S. says latest P'yang statement positive but calls for immediate action
  North Korea's latest statement on its intent to invite back nuclear inspectors is positive, but the Pyongyang government needs to act quickly, the U.S. State Department said Friday.
• Seoul Envoy in Snap China Visit Over Nuclear Delay
  South Korea's deputy nuclear envoy Lim Sung-nam made an unexpected visit to Beijing on Thursday. Observers say Lim's visit is aimed at breaking through the stagnation of North Korean denuclearization, caused by a hiccup in attempts to free the North's assets in Macau's Banco Delta Asia [BDA]
• S. Korea, US to Give More Time to N. Korea
  By Ryu Jin Staff Reporter South Korea and the United States agreed to give North Korea a few more days to shut down its nuclear facilities as agreed to in a six-nation nuclear disarmament deal last February, top diplomats of the allied powers said yesterday. In a telephone dialogue, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Song Min-soon and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice also stressed the need for the two sides to continue close cooperation for the denuclearization process, according to South Korean officials.
  However, complications over North Korean funds frozen at Banco Delta Asia (BDA) since September 2005 delayed this as the cash-strapped Stalinist state refused to move forward with shutting down the reactor until it had access to its $25 million at the Macau bank. After weeks of delay, Washington said recently that the funds at the Banco Delta Asia (BDA) were now available for withdrawal. But the North has yet to make any known attempts to withdraw or transfer the money. ``The two ministers reaffirmed that the door to the solution of the BDA issue is clearly open to North Korea, and agreed to continue working with the involved nations to resolve the issue,'' said the statement issued by the South Korean ministry. [BDA] [Dilemma]
• North Korea Sends Letter to IAEA's ElBaradei
  By REUTERS Published: April 20, 2007 Filed at 3:12 a.m. ET SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea told the IAEA international nuclear watchdog it would invite nuclear inspectors as soon as its funds at a Macau bank have actually been unfrozen, North Korea's official KCNA news agency said on Friday. North Korea sent a letter to International Atomic Energy Agency head Mohamed ElBaradei saying that it still intended to act on its pledge to close its nuclear reactor but had yet to confirm its accounts at Banco Delta Asia have been unfrozen [BDA]
• North Korea Restates Disarmament Plan
  By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: April 20, 2007 Filed at 11:17 a.m. ET SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- North Korea restated its commitment to a landmark nuclear disarmament deal Friday, saying it would invite U.N. atomic inspectors and discuss shutting down its bomb-making atomic reactor as soon as it confirmed the release of its funds frozen in a banking dispute. The statement appeared aimed at quelling concern that the unpredictable regime -- which has a track record of reaching agreements and then scrapping them -- may be dragging its feet after missing an April 14 deadline to shut down the reactor. The North's atomic agency chief, Ri Je Son, sent a message to the International Atomic Energy Agency to say that the country remained committed to the Feb. 13 agreement that set the deadline, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency. North Korea is ready to invite the IAEA, ''the moment the actual defreezing of the frozen fund in the bank has been confirmed,'' Ri said, according to KCNA, adding that discussion of a shutdown of the North's nuclear facility at Yongbyon could also then begin. The comment echoes the North's long-standing position that the resolution of the bank dispute is a precondition to its disarmament. [Media] [DBA]
• N. Korea Says It Is Still Negotiating Over Frozen Funds
  By Edward Cody Washington Post Foreign Service Friday, April 20, 2007; 4:46 PM BEIJING, April 20 -- Despite assurances from U.S. and Macau officials, North Korea said Friday it is still negotiating over possession of $25 million in North Korean accounts frozen by Macau banking authorities for the last 21 months. U.S. officials have repeatedly declared the complicated financial dispute resolved, but it has persisted in preventing implementation of an agreement Feb. 13 under which North Korea pledged to close its main nuclear reactor and allow verification by inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency.
  That accord was hailed as a breakthrough in nearly four years of on-again, off-again multinational talks aimed at dismantling North Korea's nuclear weapons program. Under its terms, the U.S. Treasury was to free the blocked funds within 30 days and North Korea was to stop operations at the Yongbyon reactor within 60 days. But both deadlines were missed, leaving the six-nation nuclear talks stalled yet again.
  But the official Korean Central News Agency on Friday released a letter from Ri Je Son, head of the North Korean Atomic Energy Department, saying "brisk" negotiations are still under way on what to do about the money. The Macau Monetary Authority refused to explain why North Korea would say talks are continuing. In Washington, a senior State Department official said that North Korean officials have informed the United States that they are working to transfer the money. "My understanding is that it is going okay and they have not encountered any problems," he said, "but I don't know if they have succeeded in transferring anything." The official, who requested anonymity in order to speak more freely, said the North Koreans are a "very suspicious lot" and wanted to be sure they have the cash in hand before fulfilling their obligation to shut down their reactor. But he remained confident North Korea would freeze the reactor once it has the money, pointing to the statement issued Friday as a sign of good faith. "We have to wait until it actually happens," he said. [BDA]
• N.Korea's Bank Likely to Wind Up Business
  After epic wrangling to release North Korea’s funds in the Macau-based Banco Delta Asia, the U.S. treasury’s designation of the bank as a “primary money laundering concern” went into effect on Wednesday after all. That makes it impossible for BDA to function as an international bank because it can no longer settle U.S. dollars and is reduced to transactions in the territory’s pataca currency. After a U.S. Treasury investigation concluded on March 18 that the bank had been laundering North Korea’s ill-gotten gains, BDA in effect suspended foreign exchange buying and selling and all but stopped fund management as well. BDA is also deprived of a means of handling Hong Kong dollars and shares because HSBC, which settles BDA's equity transactions, discontinued the service on April 13. As a consequence, business sources in Macau say, BDA is will either go into liquidation or sell.
  Meanwhile, North Korea has apparently not touched the unfrozen US$25 million. “I believe no money had been taken away from the bank yet because they cannot transfer the money out," Au told AP on Tuesday. "There are no banks accepting the so-called black money. The only thing they can do at the moment is to take the money in bank notes out of the bank."
  President Roh Moo-hyun on Wednesday referred to the BDA question in a joint press conference with visiting Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi. "The matter has been delayed because of technical barriers that arose unexpectedly,” Roh said. “But the problem is all but resolved." All eyes are on North Korea and the question if it will now shut down its nuclear reactor at Yongbyon under the Feb. 13 denuclearization accord if and when the BDA question is solved, [BDA] [Dilemma]
• Official Worried About N. Korean Funds
  By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: April 19, 2007 Filed at 2:02 a.m. ET WASHINGTON (AP) -- A senior Treasury official acknowledged Wednesday that the United States still harbors misgivings about North Korean account holders who could receive previously frozen money from a blacklisted Macau bank as part of nuclear disarmament efforts. The Bush administration has come under criticism from conservatives for seeming to drop its hard-line stance against alleged North Korean financial crimes in order to expedite a solution to a nuclear standoff with the North. Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif., challenged the administration's decision to support the return of $25 million in what he called ''ill-gotten'' North Korean money. During a House hearing he called it a concession to a hostile regime in Pyongyang. Daniel Glaser, deputy assistant Treasury secretary for financial crimes, said there were concerns about several customers of Banco Delta Asia, which the United States has accused of helping North Korea launder money and handling counterfeit U.S. currency. ''In the end, it's not a question of whether I'm happy about the resolution, whether I'm comfortable with the resolution,'' Glaser said at a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing. ''It was never our intention that these funds be frozen indefinitely. In the end, the workable resolution was that the funds be returned to the account holders.''
  The United States announced last month that the bank would be blocked from doing business with American banks, but it also has said it supports letting the North receive its money. It is unclear why the money has yet to be released, although many believe it is because other banks do not want to deal with the tainted funds. U.S. officials testified Wednesday that the financial restrictions leveled against the Macau bank have served as a warning to the world about a dangerous financial hazard. ''In the banking world, North Korea is now a pariah,'' Adam Szubin, director of Treasury's office of foreign assets control, told lawmakers. In joint prepared testimony, Szubin and Glaser said Banco Delta Asia's abuses included helping several North Korean front companies that may have laundered hundreds of millions of dollars through the bank. [BDA] [Counterfeiting] [Evidence]
• US doubts N Korea reactor reports
  North Korea has missed a deadline to shut down its main reactor The US has said it has no confirmation that North Korea is starting to shut down its main nuclear reactor. Comments by State Department spokesman Sean McCormack follow media reports in South Korea that Pyongyang may have begun dismantling the Yongbyon reactor. Satellite images detected unusual activity there, the Dong-a Ilbo newspaper and Yonhap news agency said. The media reports raised hope that North Korea still intended to comply with an international deal. Pyongyang has already missed the first deadline agreed as part of the deal. It was meant to have "shut down and sealed" its Yongbyon reactor by Saturday - 60 days after the deal was reached. But complications over North Korean funds, frozen in a Macau bank, delayed proceedings. On Tuesday, Mr McCormack said Washington was willing to give North Korea "a little bit more time" to honour its pledge. Pyongyang linked progress on the agreement to the return of the money, refusing to move forward with shutting down the reactor until it had access to the $25m (£13m). [BDA] [Media]
• Macao Bank Challenges U.S. Ban as Politically Based
  By DAVID LAGUE Published: April 17, 2007 SHANGHAI, April 16 — The Macao bank that was a stumbling block to international efforts to dismantle the North Korean nuclear weapons program challenged on Monday a United States Treasury Department ruling that bars the bank from access to the American financial system. Banco Delta Asia, a family-owned bank that the United States has accused of committing financial crimes on behalf of North Korea, said in a statement that the March 14 ruling was “politically motivated” because it was based on disputes between the United States and North Korea. In its filing with the Treasury Department, the bank also called for the decision to be revoked on the grounds that it was made without supporting evidence, ignored remedial measures the bank had taken and denied the bank the opportunity to respond to fresh accusations, the statement said. [BDA] [Evidence] [Toolkit]
• Analysis: N Korea passes without show
  Last Updated: Saturday, 14 April 2007, 18:59 GMT 19:59 UK
  A deadline for North Korea to shut its reactor has come and gone As North Korea misses a key deadline to shut down and seal its Yongbyon nuclear reactor, Korea expert Aidan Foster-Carter explains why Pyongyang's prevarication has not provoked a stronger reaction. Two months ago, hitherto comatose six-nation talks - both Koreas, China, the US, Japan and Russia - on the North Korean nuclear issue suddenly sprang to life.
  The BDA affair is a puzzle all round. North Korea had long been suspected of crimes like money laundering and even counterfeiting. Yet for the US to prioritise this when it did - just as the six-party talks had arduously reached an agreement on principles - looked like a neo-con bid to torpedo engagement. It certainly had that effect, causing a hiatus of over a year. Pyongyang steadfastly refused to discuss nukes until it got its money back. Oddly too, despite a long investigation the US treasury department never published its evidence. [BDA] [Evidence] [Toolkit]
• China hopes for early settlement of DPRK issue
  By Le Tian (China Daily) Updated: 2007-04-18 07:10 China hopes the dispute over the frozen funds of Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) would be resolved soon to promote the process of denuclearizing on the Korean Peninsula. The foreign ministry yesterday said the views of related countries on the technical issue of the DPRK funds are "coming closer". But there are still some specifics that need to be clarified further. At a regular press briefing, ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said: "We hope such a process is reached soon." Liu's remarks came two days after Pyongyang missed a deadline to shut down its nuclear reactor. In a statement issued on Friday, the DPRK said it was waiting to confirm that its $25-million fund had been released from a Macao bank before making a move, although Washington and the Macao authorities had said last week that the amount was free to be withdrawn. [BDA]  
• Banks shun Korea fund
  By Robin Kwong in Hong Kong Published: April 18 2007 03:00 | Last updated: April 18 2007 03:00 Previously frozen North Korean funds at Macao's Banco Delta Asia have not been moved because no other bank has been willing to accept the money, the bank said in a filing appealing against sanctions imposed by the US Treasury. The fate of the $25m (£12.5m, €18.4m) at BDA has played a key role in the process of North Korea's nuclear disarmament, with the reclusive state insisting on the return of the funds as a pre-requisite to meeting the terms of a February 13 deal. But BDA's April 13 filing was the first public confirmation that the bank was having problems transferring the money, despite the Macau Monetary Authority unfreezing the funds last week. It is unclear whether the money has moved since then. BDA declined to comment yesterday. Other banks were unwilling "to accept money tainted by [the US Treasury's] allegations" that BDA was a primary money laundering concern, according to the filing, which seeks to revoke the Treasury's order that US banks sever ties with it. The Treasury first proposed the order against BDA in September 2005 and made a final ruling last month. The bank's filing revealed that the initial proposal had led to a run on the bank that reduced its deposits by one-third to 2.1bn patacas ($263.6m). The Treasury's actions have cut BDA and its Hong Kong subsidiary off from the international financial system. United Overseas Bank, Deutsche Bank and HSBC have terminated BDA's correspondent accounts. [BDA] [Financial sanctions]
• U.S. needs to recognize role in denuclearization of N.K., Iran
  [Column]   By Selig S. Harrison, director of the Asia Program at the Center for International Policy
  Getting North Korea to denuclearize completely will not be easy. By demanding its money back before shutting down the Yongbyon reactor, Pyongyang has served notice that it will insist on closely-synchronized reciprocity in carrying out every step of the February 13 agreement. But there is still a much better chance to roll back the North Korean nuclear program than to stop Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapons option - and thus a much greater danger of a military explosion in the Persian Gulf than in Northeast Asia, touched off by Israeli or U.S. air strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. There are two major reasons why a nuclear-armed Iran ten years from now is more likely than a North Korea with operationally-deployed nuclear weapons. First, Iran has petroleum riches, so it doesn't need a deal for economic reasons. Economic incentives will buy much more significant concessions in Pyongyang than in Teheran.
• North Korea Signals Atomic Shut Down
  By BO-MI LIM The Associated Press Tuesday, April 17, 2007; 12:35 PM SEOUL, South Korea -- Intelligence officials reported increased activity Tuesday around North Korea's main nuclear reactor, indicating the country may be preparing to uphold its agreement to shut down the plant. North Korea missed last Saturday's deadline for shuttering the reactor because of a dispute over $25 million in North Korean deposits frozen in a bank blacklisted by Washington. The funds were allegedly linked to money laundering and counterfeiting
• Activity seen near N.Korea nuclear reactor
  By Jessica Kim Reuters Wednesday, April 18, 2007; 2:22 AM SEOUL (Reuters) - A South Korean intelligence official said on Wednesday that increased activity had been spotted at North Korea's nuclear reactor, which local media has said could suggest it is being closed down. The comment contradicted a U.S. official who said earlier that Washington had not seen any sign North Korea had begun mothballing its Yongbyon nuclear plant -- source of weapons-grade plutonium -- as required under a February 13 disarmament agreement.
      "We have seen unusual activity around the nuclear reactor so we are currently following and analyzing this," said a National Intelligence Service official, who asked not to be named.
• [Interview] ‘Give Pyongyang 10 years to fulfull promises’: N.K. expert
  Returning from visit to North Korea, U.S. scholar says North will expect more from U.S.
  Park Han-sik, professor at University of Georgia in the United States and well-known North Korean expert, just returned from a March 17-20 visit to Pyongyang. Park provided a glimpse into what the North is thinking, especially after its agreement last month to dismantle its nuclear facilities in return for energy aid. In a telephone interview with the Hankyoreh, the 67-year-old professor cautioned against a hasty optimism that the North will immediately fulfill its promise as stated in the February 13 agreement. "It will take at least 10 years for the North to deliver upon the agreement as promised," Park said. The following are excerpts from the telephone interview with Professor Park. Question: What would be the reason behind your pessimism? Answer: There is no short-term solution to the nuclear issue. The North will dismantle its nuclear facilities only when it receives light-water reactors in return. Also, there is no mention of nuclear weapons per se in the February 13 agreement. Considering nuclear arms are not just a matter of weapons but a crucial underlying part of the North’s "military-first" policy, I think that on the North’s part, it will not give up its nuclear weapons merely for a security guarantee. I think the United States will take a step backward from the red line, from a "non-nuclearization" stance to one of "non-proliferation." Q: What does the North really want? A: The North wants to normalize its diplomatic relations with the U.S., thus removing itself from trade and economic sanctions imposed by Washington. The Banco Delta Asia issue was not the most important one. A more serious issue was the fact that the U.S. Treasury Department banned world banks from making transactions with the North. Even a Chinese bank was reluctant to take North Korea’s money. U.N. sanctions made things worse for the communist state. [NK policy] [Financial sanctions]
• 'Released' funds still snagged in Macau bank
  Failing to find an alternative, the members of the six-party talks continued to wait for North Korea to confirm the release of funds in accounts at a Macau bank in order to move forward on steps toward denuclearization. "When we say that we are waiting, we mean that we are waiting for North Korea to confirm the issue of BDA (Banco Delta Asia) one way or the other," a high-ranking government source told The Korea Herald yesterday on condition of anonymity.
  North Korea, in the meantime, has refrained from any activity since its Friday announcement that it will start shutting down the reactor after confirming that the BDA issue is fully resolved. A full resolution for North Korea would involve the ability to withdraw or transfer the $25 million in BDA accounts that has been frozen by Washington based on charges the bank assisted North Korea in laundering and circulating counterfeit U.S. dollars. Some observers suggested North Korea's delay could be caused by internal discussions on whether the U.S.-proposed resolution on BDA is acceptable. The bank yesterday protested Washington's sanctioning measure and said it would challenge the decision, which as of today bars it from doing business with U.S. banks. Another local daily, the JoongAng Ilbo, reported that the HSBC has halted transactions with the BDA as of this week, meaning that North Korea will not be able to use the Macau branch of the Hong Kong bank to transfer funds out of the BDA. North Korea previously requested the United States to arrange for funds to be transferred to a third bank in bulk to gain access to the "released" funds. With the access to HSBC cut off, North Korea will only have the Bank of China to use as a channel to move the funds, the newspaper said. There are a total of 27 banks operating in China-controlled Macau, but all of them, excluding the Bank of China and HSBC, are too small to handle the large sums of these accounts, it said. In related news, Washington yesterday rejected Russia's criticism that it was the United States' fault for lengthening the delay in North Korea's shutdown of the facilities. Russia accused the United States of failing to fully tackle the BDA issue that had required a full release of the funds. [BDA]
• Russia Blames U.S. for Delay on DPRK Fund Issue
      2007-04-16 21:53:22     Xinhua Russia on Monday accused the United States of deferring the settlement of financial disputes with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and hindering progress of the multinational nuclear talks. "The U.S. Department of Treasury has not dropped objections to the use of the money and this is creating problems. We won't be able to proceed before the North Korea says that it has received the money," Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying. Losyukov will visit Japan soon and discuss the issue with the Japanese top negotiator to the talks, which also involves the DPRK, the United States, China and the Republic of Korea. The six-nation talks, which aimed at achieving a denuclearized Korean Peninsula, have been in recess since March 22 due to difficulties in solving the financial dispute between the DPRK and the U.S.. [BDA]
• Apr 16 2007 1:10PM Russia blames U.S. for delay in resumption of six-nation talks on N. Korea
  MOSCOW. April 16 (Interfax) - The inability of the U.S. side to stand by its financial obligations to North Korea is the main obstacle to the resumption of six-nation talks on Pyongyang's nuclear program, Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov said. "The U.S. Department of the Treasury has not dropped objections to the use of the money and this is creating problems. We won't be able to proceed before the North Korean side says that it has received the money," Losyukov told the Russian press in Moscow on Monday.
• Reports: Russian diplomat blames U.S. for stalemate on North Korea's nuclear bid
  The Associated Press Published: April 16, 2007
  MOSCOW: The U.S. failure to fulfill its financial obligations to North Korea had blocked an agreement on shutting down Pyongyang's nuclear program, a senior Russian diplomat said Monday, according to news reports. "There won't be any progress until the North Korean side says that it has received the money," Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov was quoted as saying by Interfax, ITAR-Tass and RIA Novosti news agencies. Russia has been involved in six-nation talks aimed at persuading Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons programs. Under a February agreement, Pyongyang agreed to shut down its nuclear reactor in return for energy aid and political concessions North Korea had until Saturday to shut down its reactor, but failed to do so because of a delay in the release of its funds in a Macau bank, which was blacklisted by the United States for allegedly assisting the communist regime in money-laundering and counterfeiting. The North has said it will not take steps to disarm until all the funds are released.
  The United States said it believed the financial dispute was resolved. But Losyukov said that Pyongyang would not shut down the reactor until it gets the money. "We must be talking now not about deadlines, but the fulfillment of all agreements," he said. [BDA] [Agreement070213]
• Gold sales may have spurred Macau bank's blacklisting
  By Kevin G. Hall McClatchy Newspapers WASHINGTON - An independent audit of the finances of a tiny bank in Macau shows that the U.S. Treasury Department may have had an unstated motive - blocking vital gold sales - in trying to blacklist Banco Delta Asia for its financial ties to North Korea's communist dictatorship. The audit by international accountant Ernst & Young, obtained by McClatchy Newspapers, reveals that one of the most important activities Banco Delta Asia performed for North Korean entities was shepherding that nation's gold into the international marketplace. Historically, there's never been a prohibition on the purchase of gold from North Korea despite its unsavory rulers. But by threatening to blacklist the tiny family-owned bank, its chief facilitator in Macau, Treasury appears to have choked off a vital source of foreign exchange earnings for North Korea. Gold increasingly became an economic lifeline for Kim Jong-il after President Bush sought to isolate North Korea's economy in 2001 as part of the so-called axis of evil, according to experts on North Korea. [BDA] [Legality] [Toolkit]
• Money laundering allegations by U.S. false, report says
  By Kevin G. Hall McClatchy Newspapers * Bank dispute at a glance * Milestones on the way to the dispute * PDF | Banco Delta Asia (1) * PDF | Banco Delta Asia (2) * PDF | Banco Delta Asia (3) * PDF | Banco Delta Asia (4) * PDF | Banco Delta Asia (5) * PDF | Banco Delta Asia (6) * PDF | Banco Delta Asia (7) * PDF | Ernst and Young Report WASHINGTON - The U.S. Treasury Department's charges that a small bank in Macau knowingly laundered counterfeit U.S. currency for North Korea have no basis in fact, according to a confidential audit ordered by the government of the Chinese enclave.
  The audit, obtained by McClatchy Newspapers, also suggests that the Treasury overstated claims that North Korea laundered "hundreds of millions" of dollars in ill-gotten gains through Banco Delta Asia. [BDA] [Evidence]
• Bank dispute at a glance
  McClatchy Newspapers THE CONTROVERSY The U.S. Treasury alleged in a March 14 statement that “many North Korean related individuals and companies banking at Banco Delta Asia had connections to entities involved in trade in counterfeit U.S. currency.” But international auditor Ernst & Young concluded that procedures in place for handling large-value currency deposits “ensured that, to a material degree, the bank did not introduce counterfeit U.S. currency notes into circulation” between Jan. 1, 2002, and Sept. 21, 2005. Treasury said front companies for North Korea’s regime are suspected of laundering “hundreds of millions of dollars in cash” through Banco Delta Asia, the proceeds from illicit trade in counterfeit U.S. currency, smuggled cigarettes and narcotics. Ernst & Young found no evidence that any of this was true. [BDA] [Evidence]
• Deadline passes; U.S. urges North to make a 'move'
  April 16, 2007     Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, the chief U.S. negotiator in talks over North Korea? nuclear issue, at left, briefs journalists at a hotel in Beijing, China, yesterday.[AP] Despite missing its deadline, the United States gave North Korea more time to shut down its main nuclear facility and invite UN inspectors into the country, but senior U.S. officials urged action and said Washington's patience with Pyongyang is limited. The George W. Bush administration issued a mildly worded statement yesterday, Korea time, about North Korea missing its Saturday deadline. It blamed the delay on the late release of about $25 million in Banco Delta Asia funds, which was finally resolved Tuesday after "a variety of technical issues." "It is time now for the DPRK to make its move so that all of us can move forward," said Sean McCormack, a U.S. State Department spokesman. He said North Korea must stick to its February commitments by "inviting back the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Association] immediately to begin shutting and sealing the Yongbyon nuclear facility."
• North Korea Wins Time for Deadline
  North Korea won a few more days to start shutting down its nuclear program Sunday after missing the first key deadline, even as the United States and Japan piled pressure on the regime to comply, the Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported. As the Stalinist North celebrated the 95th birth anniversary of its founder Kim Il-sung, diplomats involved in disarmament efforts said they would give it more time to shut down its nuclear reactor, the report said. China, its closest ally and the host of international talks on the crisis, called for patience, and a senior U.S. State Department official downplayed the significance of Saturday's missed deadline, according to AFP.
  A North Korean foreign ministry official told AFP on Friday that Pyongyang stood behind the deal but would not act until it saw the money from the Macau bank. "There is no reason to be pessimistic," said Kim Son-gyong, deputy director of the ministry's European department. "We will be faithful to this agreement if the Americans respect its clauses."
• Macao bank fights ban imposed by Washington
  By David Lague Published: April 16, 2007 SHANGHAI: The Macao bank at the center of international efforts to dismantle the North Korean nuclear weapons program challenged Monday a U.S. Treasury Department ruling that bars the lender from access to the American financial system. Banco Delta Asia, a family-owned bank that the United States has accused of committing financial crimes on behalf of North Korea, said in a statement that the March 14 ruling was "politically motivated" because it was based on disputes between Washington and Pyongyang. In its filing with the Treasury Department, the bank also called for the decision to be revoked on the grounds that it was made without supporting evidence, ignored remedial measures the bank had taken and denied Banco Delta Asia the opportunity to respond to fresh allegations, the statement said. [BDA] [Evidence]
• U.S. Ready to Give N.Korea More Time
    North Korea missed the first deadline for shutting down its nuclear facilities in accordance with a Feb. 13 six-nation agreement. Washington, however, avoided direct criticism of Pyongyang for missing the 60-day deadline and agreed to give it more time. "China has asked us to be patient for three or four days, that seems like a wise thing to do. It's not for the U.S. to take unilateral actions," U.S. top nuclear envoy Christopher Hill told reporters on Sunday, before returning home from a visit to Beijing. "We need to work closely, multilaterally with our partners."
  Hill's Chinese counterpart Wu Dawei asked Hill to extend the deadline for North Korea to shut down a reactor in Yongbyon and allow the return of inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency. A senior State Department official told reporters in a telephone news conference that the U.S.' patience "is not in infinite supply." "But we feel that given the kind of unexpected complexities that did arise in connection with some of the banking issues, that it's probably prudent to give this thing a few more days to see if the Pyongyang statement of April 13 is something they are going to follow through on," she added. The agreement requires North Korea to shut down nuclear facilities within 60 days, invite IAEA inspectors and report all of its nuclear programs. But the North delayed fulfilling its part of the deal citing the delayed transfer of assets which were frozen in the Macau-based Banco Delta Asia until late last week. [BDA]
• North Korea Misses Deadline to Shut Down Nuclear Reactor
  Is Creaking   The four-year-old process to get North Korea to begin dismantling its nuclear programs remained stalled Saturday. North Korea failed to shut down its main reactor at Yongbyon, because it has yet to receive any of the $25 million that was unfrozen at a bank in Macau. The transfer of the funds, which were in North Korean accounts, has been delayed by what officials describe as banking technicalities. [BDA]
• Seoul 'Wasting W75 Million a Day' on N.Korea Delay
    Seoul is wasting W70-80 million a day on an oil tanker it rented in expectation of North Korea shutting down its nuclear facilities under a Feb.13 six-nation agreement by Saturday, it emerged Tuesday. The tanker is to transport the 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil worth W20 billion (US$1=W933) North Korea can expect as a reward under the agreement. However, North Korea is unlikely to meet the deadline, 60 days from the original agreement, having delayed implementing its side of the deal due to wrangles over frozen funds of US$25 million in the Macau-based Banco Delta Asia. [Dilemma]
• N.Korea Dreams of Int'l Kudos as a Nuclear Power
    When North Korea's Vice Foreign Minister and chief nuclear negotiator Kim Kye-gwan met his U.S. counterpart Christopher Hill in New York on March 5, Kim asked Hill to "treat us the way you treat India." The U.S. had been at odds with India over the past 30 years for not signing the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. But U.S. President George W. Bush signed the U.S.-India Nuclear Cooperation Agreement in 2006, which allows sales of nuclear technology to New Delhi. Citing the Indian precedent, the North Korean vice foreign minister was sounding out U.S. opinion on whether diplomatic ties could be formed while Pyongyang still has nuclear weapons. If all goes according to North Korea's wishes, that will be the day when the chronic disease of nuclear weapons takes root on the Korean Peninsula. The U.S. rejected Kim's demand. Speaking at a seminar in Washington D.C. on Monday, Hill said the United States "will not form any ties with a nuclear-equipped North Korea." He added that the Indian precedent will not be applied to North Korea and that Washington's goal is the abolition of North Korea's nuclear weapons and the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. But it is difficult to predict global political currents. Decisions based on U.S. interests can always change. [Double standards] [Dilemma]
• North Korea Looks Set to Miss Nuclear Deadline
  By REUTERS Published: April 14, 2007 Filed at 1:11 a.m. ET Skip to next paragraph BEIJING (Reuters) - The United States urged North Korea to make more efforts to implement an agreement on unwinding its nuclear program as the reclusive communist country looked set to miss Saturday's deadline to shut down a reactor. Under a multilateral deal struck in February, Pyongyang agreed to shut down its Soviet-era Yongbyon plant within 60 days, but it has not made good on that pledge because of millions of dollars frozen in North Korean accounts at a Macau bank. Washington says the funds have been unblocked, and the onus is now on North Korea to act. [Media]
• North Korea Disarmament Deadline Passes
  By CHARLES HUTZLER The Associated Press Saturday, April 14, 2007; 4:33 AM BEIJING -- The deadline for North Korea to shut down it main nuclear reactor passed Saturday with no action taken by the communist country, leaving the top U.S. nuclear negotiator to surmise that the momentum had escaped disarmament talks. Saturday's missed deadline marked the latest setback for an agreement that when reached in February offered the prospect of disarming the world's newest declared nuclear power. North Korea successfully exploded a nuclear bomb in October.
• U.S. tells North Korea bank funds are available
  Sun Apr 15, 2007 10:21AM EDT BEIJING (Reuters) - The United States has told North Korea it can access funds that had been frozen at a Macau bank and urged Pyongyang to start shutting down its nuclear reactor and invite back international inspectors. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Chris Hill told reporters in Beijing on Sunday he had also urged China to help ensure that Pyongyang complied with a multilateral disarmament deal struck in February. "We had over the weekend sent a message to the DPRK to confirm that ... the accounts are open and therefore there is really nothing more we can be doing," Hill told reporters, referring to the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. "It's their turn now, the ball is in their court."
  But Pyongyang apparently missed the deadline on Saturday. It has insisted that it must first have access to millions of dollars in accounts at Macau's Banco Delta Asia that were frozen after the United States accused the bank of being involved in money laundering. "Needless to say, we are not happy that the DPRK essentially has missed this very important deadline," Hill said. [BDA]
•   North Korea Takes No Apparent Action as Deadline Passes
  By DAVID E. SANGER Published: April 15, 2007 WASHINGTON, April 14 - The first deadline for North Korea to shut down and seal its main facility for manufacturing nuclear weapons fuel expired Saturday, with no apparent move by the North to fulfill its commitments, while China asked angry officials in the Bush administration to show patience.
  The inaction leaves President Bush vulnerable to attacks from hawks in his own party, who have argued that it was a mistake to return $25 million in frozen funds to the North Koreans - much of it believed to be from illicit sales of missiles and counterfeit currency - and who doubt that the North Koreans will stop producing bomb fuel and give up their existing weapons.
• Deadline Passes for N. Korea
  U.S. Officials Suggest That Lapse Need Not Derail Nuclear Deal By Joohee ChoSpecial to The Washington Post Sunday, April 15, 2007; Page A22 SEOUL, April 14 -- A deadline for North Korea to shut down its nuclear reactor passed Saturday with no known compliance action by the communist state, which has said it must first collect $25 million in frozen assets. U.S. officials lamented the missed deadline, but treated it as something that need not derail the landmark nuclear agreement reached Feb. 13 after almost four years of negotiations.
  U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill speaks to reporters at Beijing airport after arriving from Seoul Friday April 13, 2007. Hill arrived for consultations with Chinese officials over the North Korean nuclear issue. North Korea said Friday it was still confirming the release of frozen funds that had been its key condition for dismantling its nuclear programs, making it unlikely it would meet a weekend deadline for shutting down its bomb-making reactor. (AP Photo/Greg Baker) (Greg Baker - AP)
  U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher R. Hill, in Beijing for consultations, told reporters there that the disarmament deal at present doesn't have "a lot of momentum." Later, he called on the North Koreans to "get moving on their issues." In Washington, a senior State Department official, briefing reporters on condition of anonymity, said that the administration's patience was not infinite but that "it is probably prudent to give this thing a few more days." The official declined to put an arbitrary "time scale" on U.S. patience but said North Korean officials needed to call in U.N. nuclear inspectors to arrange for supervision of the shutdown "pretty quickly here." By Saturday's bank closing time, North Korean officials had not withdrawn the money held at Banco Delta Asia in Macau, a Chinese territory. [BDA]
• North Korea, U.S. differ on route to normalization
  [Column]   Jang Jung-soo, editorial writer WASHINGTON D.C.-There is basis for progress on real implementation of the February 13 agreement on the North Korean nuclear issue, now that the problem of North Korea's frozen accounts at Banco Delta Asia (BDA) has been resolved. It is very likely the follow-up working talks currently being held are going to pick up speed as a result. As seen in the slow resolution of the issue of North Korean money at BDA, however, following up on the February 13 agreement is not going to be smooth going the whole time. Hashing out the most urgent issues of all - North Korea's complete abandonment of its nuclear program and normalizing ties between the North and the United States - will probably be very complicated and perilous.  
• . Korea keeping mum on U.S.-claimed resolution of frozen funds issue
    North Korea has yet to respond to a Macau bank's decision to release the North's assets frozen in the bank, despite the U.S. claim that it has finally resolved the issue that kept the North from shutting down its nuclear facilities under a February nuclear deal. [BDA]
• N.Korea May Move on Funds as Nuclear Deadline Looms
  By REUTERS Published: April 13, 2007 Filed at 3:00 a.m. ET Skip to next paragraph SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea said on Friday it may be ready to move in a stand-off over frozen assets it insists be unblocked before shutting down its nuclear reactor, one day before the first deadline of an atomic disarmament deal. Under an international agreement struck in February, the secretive state has until Saturday to start shutting down its Soviet-era reactor and source of its weapons-grade plutonium. Washington has said authorities in Macau have unblocked about $25 million of North Korean funds at Banco Delta Asia (BDA), which was frozen for about 18 months due to suspected links to illicit activities, and Pyongyang can now pick up the money. ``A DPRK (North Korea) financial institution concerned will confirm soon whether the measure is valid,'' the North's KCNA news agency quoted a Foreign Ministry spokesman as saying.
• Trail Led to Macao as Focus of North Korean Corruption
  By DONALD GREENLEES and DAVID LAGUE Published: April 13, 2007 HONG KONG, April 12 - For American law enforcement agencies the smuggling investigations were among their most elaborate, producing dozens of arrests and hard evidence that Chinese criminal gangs had smuggled counterfeit United States currency, cigarettes and drugs made in North Korea into the United States. The investigations, concluded 20 months ago, also produced a money trail that led to the Chinese gambling enclave of Macao, where American investigators concluded that criminals linked to North Korea were laundering their earnings. This effort produced the hard evidence for the United States to place financial sanctions against Banco Delta Asia, a small, family-owned bank in Macao, near Hong Kong. But those sanctions became a major sticking point in international efforts to dismantle North Korea's nuclear weapons program. [BDA] [Toolkit]
• China Suggests N.Korea Funds Issue Not Resolved
  By REUTERS Published: April 12, 2007 Filed at 6:05 a.m. ET Skip to next paragraph SEOUL (Reuters) - China suggested on Thursday the release of North Korean funds blocked in a Macau bank, the trigger for Pyongyang to start shutting a nuclear reactor, was still not quite resolved, but the United States said it was. Washington said Macau authorities had unblocked about $25 million of North Korean funds at Banco Delta Asia (BDA) frozen for about 18 months and Pyongyang could now pick up the money. But Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told a regular news conference in Beijing: ``We hope the issue of the bank funds can be properly resolved as soon as possible.'' He added: ``The legitimate and reasonable concerns and interests of all parties should be addressed so we can find a way to properly resolve the issue as soon as possible.'' This was a reference to concerns in China about how to handle the funds from the BDA which Washington accuses of money laundering. [BDA]
• India successfully test fires Agni III ballistic missile
  New Delhi, April 12 (AP): India successfully test fired on Thursday a new missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads across much of Asia and the Middle East, a defence ministry spokesman said. The missile was launched from Wheeler Island in the Bay of Bengal off the Orissa coast. It is said to be capable of carrying up to a 300-kiloton nuclear warhead. ``The entire test had text book precision,'' ministry spokesman Sitanshu Kar said. A test firing of the Agni III missile last July failed when it plunged into the Bay of Bengal short of its target. India's current crop of missiles are mostly intended for confronting neighbouring Pakistan. The Agni III, in contrast, is India's longest-range missile, designed to reach 3,000 kilometers (1,900 miles) _ putting China's major cities well into range, as well as targets deep in the Middle East. [China confrontation] [Missile][Double standards]
• India tests longest-range ballistic missile
  Reuters Thursday, April 12, 2007; 6:41 AM BHUBANESWAR, India (Reuters) - India carried out a successful test on Thursday of its longest-range ballistic missile, the Agni III, which is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead more than 3,000 km (1,900 miles), scientists said. Defense analysts say the Agni III is primarily designed to counter the military strength of China, which also has nuclear weapons, while shorter-range versions of the missile have been developed with long-time rival Pakistan in mind. The launch of the longest-range Agni, which means "fire" in the Sanskrit language, came after a failed test last July when the missile plunged into the Bay of Bengal after take-off.
  India has around 100 to 150 nuclear warheads and staged tests in 1974 and 1998. [China confrontation] [Missile][Double standards]
• Agni-III ballistic missile test fired successfully
  Balasore, April 12 (PTI): India today successfully test fired its nuclear capable 3,000 km intermediate range ballistic missile Agni-III from the Interim Test Range (ITR) at the Wheeler's Island in the Bay of Bengal off the Orissa coast. The indigenously developed surface-to-surface missile, blasted off at 10.52 am from a fixed platform with the help of an auto launcher in the launch complex-4 of the ITR, located about 72 km from here, defence sources said. The sleek missile vertically roared into the clear sky leaving behind a thick column of white and yellow smoke, eyewitness accounts said. Fitted with an on-board computer, the missile was designed to go up to a distance of 90 km vertically crossing the atmosphere and re-enter into the earth targetting the predetermined impact point near Car Nicobar Island, the sources said. If successfully test-fired, Agni-III will become the missile with the longest reach in South Asia and more powerful than any missile in Pakistan's arsenal. However, China has missiles with a longer reach than Agni-III. [China confrontation] [Missile][Double standards]
• N. Korea bank issue resolved? Maybe not
  China, U.S. have different takes on whether $25 million has been released
  Updated: 12:54 p.m. ET April 12, 2007 SEOUL - China suggested on Thursday the release of North Korean funds blocked in a Macau bank, the trigger for Pyongyang to start shutting a nuclear reactor, was still not quite resolved, but the United States said it was.
  Washington said Macau authorities had unblocked about $25 million of North Korean funds at Banco Delta Asia frozen for 18 months and Pyongyang could now pick up the money.
  But Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told a regular news conference in Beijing: "We hope the issue of the bank funds can be properly resolved as soon as possible."
  "The legitimate and reasonable concerns and interests of all parties should be addressed so we can find a way to properly resolve the issue as soon as possible," he added, referring to concern in China about how to handle the funds from the BDA which Washington accuses of money laundering. {BDA]
• Envoys await Pyongyang's response
  Chief nuclear envoys of South Korea and the United States waited for North Korea's response to the latest call to begin its denuclearizing steps following the resolution of the financial issue in Macau. "It is North Korea's turn to move. I believe the North will respond in a matter of days to the United States' measures in regard to Banco Delta Asia," South Korea's top nuclear envoy Chun Yung-woo said before heading into a lunch meeting with visiting U.S. counterpart Christopher Hill. "North Korea must move fast. It is most important to shutdown the Yongbyon facilities," he added. The shutdown is the first step in the Feb. 13 agreement that would end the North's nuclear weapons program. Hill also told reporters that there was no response from the North Korean side yet.
• N.Korea 'Ready to Start Implementing Feb. 13 Agreement'
  North Korea is apparently willing to start implementing its part of a Feb. 13 six-nation agreement on its nuclear program on Friday, the day after concerned countries hope the issue of Pyongyang's frozen funds is finally resolved. Bill Richardson, the governor of the U.S. state of New Mexico, in a press conference at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul after returning from a four-day visit to North Korea, said, "What the North Koreans have said was upon the resolution of the BDA issue -- which could be tomorrow morning -- that the next day they would invite (an) IAEA official...and hopefully that would happen" on Friday. [BDA]
• N.Korea Free to Access Money in BDA
  North Korea can now either withdraw its US$25 million in the Banco Delta Asia in cash or leave them in the bank after Macanese authorities unblocked the funds on Tuesday. It remains to be seen how North Korea will respond and whether it will immediately move to fulfill its part of a Feb. 13 six-nation agreement and shut down its nuclear facilities. The U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement Tuesday that Macau authorities are ready to let North Korea take back its assets, which had been frozen in the bank. South Korean top nuclear negotiator Chun Yung-woo said after a meeting with U.S. chief nuclear envoy Christopher Hill the situation has returned to the status quo ante of Sept. 2005, when the U.S. fingered the bank as a "major money-laundering concern." Pyongyang can either withdraw the money or carry out banking transactions with the funds, Chun said. [BDA]
• N. Korea Likely to Withdraw BDA Funds in Cash
    North Korea will probably have to withdraw US$25 million of unfrozen funds from the Macau-based Banco Delta Asia in cash. A South Korean government official on Sunday said the North wanted the money transferred to an overseas bank account, "but realistically there are too many difficulties. Both the U.S. and China are of the opinion that everything should be discussed between Macau authorities and North Korea." A diplomatic source said despite a visit to China by U.S. Deputy Assistant Treasury Secretary Daniel Glaser, Washington and Beijing have failed to find a solution in the way North Korea wants. "To my understanding, the U.S. and China instead reviewed ways for North Korea to open a new separate account at BDA and withdraw the money, and have suggested this to North Korea." The source said the practical way would be allowing North Korea to withdraw the money after providing details about the account holder, or do so after opening an integrated account at BDA. [BDA]
• N Korea to welcome inspectors with return of disputed funds
  By Anna Fifield in Seoul Published: April 12 2007 03:00 | Last updated: April 12 2007 03:00 North Korea will invite international nuclear inspectors to return to the country within a day of receiving the frozen funds that have vexed disarmament talks, a US state governor said yesterday after meeting officials in Pyongyang. [BDA]
• U.S. governor says North will keep word on nukes
  April 12, 2007     New Mexico State Governor Bill Richardson walks into the Foreign Ministry in Seoul for a meeting with Foreign Minister Song Min-soon over North Korean issues. Richardson yesterday arrived in South Korea from North Korea in a rare border crossing after retrieving remains of American servicemen. [YONHAP] Amid a whirlwind of activity ahead of a deadline for North Korea to shut down its main nuclear reactor, a prominent American politician said he had been given assurances that nuclear inspectors would be invited back into the country as soon as Pyongyang receives funds that have been unblocked in Macao's Banco Delta Asia, and that denuclearization will proceed. New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, arriving in Seoul from North Korea yesterday, said, "The North Koreans made it clear that they felt that the Treasury Department has fulfilled its obligations."
• How U.S. Turned North Korean Funds Into a Bargaining Chip
    By STEVEN R. WEISMAN Published: April 12, 2007 WASHINGTON, April 11 - For 18 months, the Bush administration has maintained that the freezing of $25 million in an account in Macao linked to North Korea was strictly a law enforcement action against money-laundering, not a bargaining chip in a diplomatic effort to persuade North Korea to disarm its nuclear arsenal.
  Now, in a startling reversal, the administration has formally acknowledged that the $25 million was indeed a bargaining chip and that the money would be returned to companies and individuals charged with illegal activities. The administration had said the money would be returned to North Korea for "humanitarian" purposes, but on Wednesday officials acknowledged that they had no way to ensure that would happen. Nevertheless, they defended the action as necessary to secure the nuclear disarmament deal. [BDA] [Toolkit]
• N Korea 'ready to shut reactor'
  N Korea has pledged to shut down its main reactor North Korea will take steps to shut down its main nuclear reactor "within a day" of a freeze on its funds being lifted, a US delegation chief has said. Bill Richardson said North officials had assured him they would invite back UN nuclear inspectors as soon as they had access to their money. The funds, which have been frozen in a Macau bank, are expected to be released later Wednesday or Thursday, he added. The issue has hindered efforts to meet Saturday's reactor shutdown deadline. North Korea had asked for a further 30 days, beyond Saturday, to close its only operational reactor, Yongbyon, Mr Richardson said. He had told the North Korean officials the US thought that was too long, he added. "We let them know that this was not acceptable and the issue was dropped," Mr Richardson told a news conference in South Korea. "Now the ball is in North Korea's court to take the next important steps." [BDA]
• North Korea is ready to accept UN nuclear inspectors
  By Choe Sang-Hun Published: April 11, 2007
  SEOUL: North Korea has offered to allow United Nations nuclear inspectors to enter the country for the first time in more than four years, Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico said here Wednesday after making an official visit to North Korea and meeting with senior officials there. North Korea also offered to begin shutting down its main nuclear reactor within a day of retrieving funds that have been frozen in a Macao bank because of American financial sanctions, Richardson said. The North Korean regime has had a long-running dispute with the U.S. Treasury that has stalled American-led multinational efforts to restart talks on ending North Korea's nuclear weapons programs. In Macao, financial authorities announced Wednesday, with the endorsement of the Treasury Department, that the holders of accounts at the Banco Delta Asia in Macao containing about $25 million in deposits tied to North Korea were now free to withdraw or transfer the money without any conditions attached. The move to unlock the North Korean funds is seen as a major concession by the Bush administration. In March, the administration said that it would allow the accounts to be unfrozen only on the condition that North Korea use the money for the benefit of its impoverished people and not for other purposes.
  "The North Koreans made it clear that they felt that the Treasury Department had fulfilled its obligations," Richardson said Wednesday at a news conference in Seoul. "I'm optimistic about North Korea's willingness to return to the six-party talks and shut down the Yongbyon reactor." [BDA]
• CORRECTED - North Korea Says Ready to Move on Nuclear Pledge
  By REUTERS Published: April 11, 2007 Filed at 1:59 p.m. ET Skip to next paragraph SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea says it will start moves to shut its nuclear reactor within a day of receiving millions of dollars blocked for 18 months in a Macau bank, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson told reporters on Wednesday. But Richardson, speaking in Seoul after a trip to the North, said it could be some 30 days before the reactor begins shutting down and that it would require an ``extraordinary effort'' to meet Saturday's deadline under a February deal with regional powers to actually start decommissioning the reactor. ``The North Korean government told us that with thatissue resolved, ... (it) would move promptly, within a day, after receiving the funds,'' said Richardson, who during his visit had met Pyongyang's chief nuclear negotiator, Kim Kye-gwan. ``And therefore within that day, (North Korea will) invite the IAEA to Pyongyang and inspectors to draw up the terms for shutting down the Yongbyon reactor.'' [BDA]
• To Prod N. Korea, U.S. Relents in Counterfeiting Case
  By Glenn Kessler
  Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, April 11, 2007; Page A01 Two months before North Korea tested its first nuclear weapon, President Bush was asked about a Treasury Department investigation of North Korean counterfeiting of $100 bills, which had ruptured talks on ending Pyongyang's nuclear programs. "Counterfeiting U.S. dollars is an issue that every president ought to be concerned about," he replied bluntly during an August news conference. "And when you catch people counterfeiting your money, you need to do something about it." Yesterday, the Bush administration agreed to allow those suspected counterfeiters, along with other North Koreans suspected of money laundering and other fraud, to get their money back -- with no strings attached -- in the hopes it will ensure that North Korea shuts down its nuclear reactor by the end of the week. About $25 million had been frozen by Macau authorities, with about half clearly derived from criminal enterprises, U.S. officials said.
  Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill told reporters in Seoul yesterday that North Korea's desire was simple: "They wanted to see the money."
  The outcome is the kind of messy, unsatisfactory dealmaking that Bush disdains. Even as U.S. officials were publicly portraying the final arrangement as necessary to salvage a nuclear deal reached two months ago, it sparked controversy within the administration and led some to question whether the result sets a bad precedent. The story of how a tiny bank in Macau named Banco Delta Asia became the center of a diplomatic battle over nuclear weapons is in many ways a tale of unintended consequences -- and of how Bush, so focused on the idea of combating North Korean fraud, allowed a dispute over a relative pittance to thwart progress on an issue central to U.S. national security. [BDA] [Dissension]
• How a U.S. inquiry held up the N. Korea peace talks
  By Donald Greenlees and David Lague Published: April 11, 2007 HONG KONG: For U.S. law enforcement agencies it was one of the most elaborate smuggling investigations ever. When it was over some 20 months ago, it produced dozens of arrests and hard evidence that Chinese criminal gangs had smuggled counterfeit U.S. currency, cigarettes and drugs made in North Korea into the United States. It also produced a money trail that led to the Chinese gaming enclave of Macao, where U.S. investigators concluded that criminals linked to North Korea were laundering their earnings. These investigations, code-named Royal Charm and Smoking Dragon, produced the hard evidence for the United States to place financial sanctions against Banco Delta Asia, a small, family-owned bank in Macao, near Hong Kong. Those sanctions became a key sticking point in international efforts to dismantle North Korea's nuclear weapons program.
  In comparison with Banco Delta Asia, the information that had been collected on evidence of money laundering by the Macao branch of the Bank of China was "voluminous," Asher said. Asher insists that the move against Banco Delta Asia was the direct consequence of law enforcement efforts and was not designed as political leverage in talks that were taking place simultaneously with North Korea on nuclear disarmament. He advocates that efforts to curtail North Korea's links to criminal activity, and to ensure that China joins the enforcement effort, should not be suspended for the sake of expediency in the disarmament talks in Beijing. "Banco Delta may be a sacrificial lamb in some people's minds, but it is not about Banco Delta," he said. "It's about Macao, Macao's government, China, the Chinese government and their complicity and their accommodative behavior toward North Korea's illegal activities, proliferation activities and leadership financial activities." [BDA] [IAI] [China confrontation]
• North Korea's Strategic Decisions After the February 13 Agreement
  By Jae-Jean Suh April 10th, 2007 Jae-Jean Suh, Senior Research Fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification, writes, "it is highly unlikely that North Korea will refuse to integrate into the capitalist world system that other socialist nations had selected and continue to persist with its acquisition of nuclear weapons, thereby further sustaining its Cold War isolation, but would rather make a strategic choice of abolishing its nuclear weapons."
  There is a general consensus that the February 13 agreement at the six-party talks was a pivotal event in resolving the North Korean nuclear weapons issue and creating a breakthrough in establishing a peace regime on the Korean peninsula.
  The biggest issue after the February 13 agreement is the reason why the US altered its position so dramatically. Since the inauguration of the Bush administration, it has designated North Korea as an axis of evil and has consistently refused bilateral negotiations with the North by insisting that the US can talk, but not negotiate with the North, that the US will never reward a bad behavior, and that the six-party talks and the BDA financial sanctions are separate matters. But all of a sudden, the US had hurriedly pursued dialogue with North Korea and reached the February 13 agreement, started bilateral talks to discuss normalizing diplomatic relations, and has launched five different working groups. There are still uncertainties concerning the orientation of US North Korean policies, but it is true that the February 13 agreement was possible because of the changes of US North Korean policies. But no attention has been paid to how North Korea agreed to the February 13 agreement. The reason behind this seems to be the fact that North Korea had consistently requested dialogue with the US. [Backdown] Agreement070213]
• Macau unblocks North Korean funds
  Mr Hill is in Seoul, en route to China, after a stop in Tokyo Macau has unblocked funds that have been a stumbling block to a deal on North Korea's nuclear programme, Macanese and US officials have said. "Authorised account-holders" can now withdraw funds from the North Korean accounts that had been frozen, a US state department spokesman said. Pyongyang had refused to move forward with the deal until the Macau banking authorities released the money. [BDA]
• N.Korea 'Unlikely' to Shut Down Reactor by Saturday
    N. Korea Likely to Withdraw BDA Funds in Cash
  The U.S. chief nuclear envoy Christopher Hill has admitted that it is improbable North Korea will shut down its nuclear facilities by a mid-April deadline due to the delayed transfer of assets frozen in the Macau-based Banco Delta Asia, AP reported. A Feb. 13 agreement reached in six-nation talks in Beijing requires the North to shut down its nuclear facilities in Yongbyon by April 14 in return for a first shipment of energy aid. [BDA]
• U.S. envoy says April nuclear deadline difficult to meet due to banking dispute
        The chief U.S. nuclear envoy said Monday that a mid-April deadline for North Korea to shut down its main nuclear complex is becoming difficult to meet due to a banking transaction dispute. "Clearly, we're aiming for the complete implementation of the February agreement by day 60... but that timeline is becoming difficult," Christopher Hill was quoted as saying in Tokyo by the Associated Press. He was referring to a Feb. 13 six-party agreement in which Pyongyang agreed to shut down its key nuclear complex and admit U.N. inspectors within 60 days, April 14, in return for energy aid and political incentives. His view was echoed by his North Korean counterpart, Kim Kye-gwan, the AP reported from Pyongyang. [BDA]
• North Korea Urges U.S. To Release Frozen Funds: Report
  By REUTERS Published: April 10, 2007 Filed at 3:10 a.m. ET Skip to next paragraph WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Facing a Saturday deadline to close its nuclear reactor, North Korea told a visiting U.S. delegation it could not begin to cooperate until the release of $25 million in frozen funds to Pyongyang, NBC reported on Monday. The dispute over the transfer of funds held at Banco Delta Asia in Macau has held up implementation of a February 13 agreement by the two Koreas, the United States, Japan, China and Russia, which gave North Korea 60 days to shut its nuclear facilities in return for energy aid. The North Koreans told a delegation led by New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson that when they receive the money, they would let United Nations nuclear
• N. Korea Told Time Running Out for Deal
  By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: April 10, 2007 Filed at 3:05 a.m. ET PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) -- A Bush administration official has told North Korea that time is running out for it to act on a nuclear disarmament agreement, a U.S. official said Tuesday, as the weekend deadline approached for Pyongyang to shut down its main nuclear reactor. Victor Cha, President Bush's top adviser on North Korea, made the comments in a meeting with Pyongyang's top nuclear negotiator, Kim Kye Gwan, according to a U.S. official with knowledge of the meeting who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks. [Chutzpah]
• Macau Prepared to Unblock N. Korea Funds
  The Associated Press Tuesday, April 10, 2007; 3:51 AM BEIJING -- Macau authorities are prepared to unblock frozen North Korean funds, a U.S. Treasury Department statement said Tuesday, possibly paving the way to a breakthrough in an agreement disarming Pyongyang's nuclear program. North Korea has refused to move forward on a February agreement to close its main nuclear reactor in return for economic aid and political concessions until the funds were released. Macau authorities froze them after the U.S. blacklisted a bank in the Chinese-administered region in 2005 for allegedly helping Pyongyang launder money. [BDA]
• North Korea will allow UN inspections once it gets funds, envoys say
  The Associated Press Published: April 9, 2007
  PYONGYANG: North Korea's top nuclear negotiator told U.S. envoys Monday that his government would immediately invite UN nuclear inspectors into the country if $25 million in disputed North Korean funds were released. The envoy, Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan, met with Bill Richardson, a Democratic U.S. presidential candidate, and Anthony Principi, President George W. Bush's former veterans affairs secretary, who were visiting Pyongyang, the North Korean capital. Kim indicated that the North Korean government would invite the "inspectors back the moment the funds are released to the North Korean government," Principi said after the meeting. Kim also told the U.S. delegation of the difficulty of shutting down the country's main nuclear reactor by a deadline Saturday called for in a February nuclear disarmament accord, Principi said. [BDA]
• N. Korea Likely to Withdraw BDA Funds in Cash
  North Korea will probably have to withdraw US$25 million of unfrozen funds from the Macau-based Banco Delta Asia in cash. A South Korean government official on Sunday said the North wanted the money transferred to an overseas bank account, "but realistically there are too many difficulties. Both the U.S. and China are of the opinion that everything should be discussed between Macau authorities and North Korea." A diplomatic source said despite a visit to China by U.S. Deputy Assistant Treasury Secretary Daniel Glaser, Washington and Beijing have failed to find a solution in the way North Korea wants. "To my understanding, the U.S. and China instead reviewed ways for North Korea to open a new separate account at BDA and withdraw the money, and have suggested this to North Korea." The source said the practical way would be allowing North Korea to withdraw the money after providing details about the account holder, or do so after opening an integrated account at BDA. In a recent meeting in New York, the U.S. chief nuclear negotiator Christopher Hill put the suggestion to the deputy chief of North Korea's UN mission Kim Myong-gil. But it is unclear whether North Korea will accept. [BDA]
• No response from North on 'solution' to impasse
  April 09, 2007 With less than a week left before the deadline for North Korea to begin shutting down its nuclear facilities, Pyongyang has not responded to an announcement by the United States that a solution had been found regarding funds at Banco Delta Asia in Macao, China, sources said yesterday. A source close to the negotiations said yesterday the overall situation has not changed. If anything, the BDA issue demonstrates how the ups and downs in international diplomacy can turn simple matters into complex affairs, he said. "We are in the process of waiting for an answer from the North, but other options are, at the moment, also being revised," a government official said. "Everyone wants to move on, but we need some flexibility."
  U.S. Treasury Department official Daniel Glaser left Beijing on Friday after two weeks of marathon consultations with Chinese and Macao authorities on how to resolve the banking issue, but no announcement was made that the hurdle had been cleared.
  Among the methods discussed, sources have said Washington would provide an official assurance to the Bank of China that transferring the money would not result in any repercussions to the bank and would not have a negative effect on its credit ratings. Nevertheless, until now the bank has balked at getting itself involved despite pressure from its government. Transferring the funds requires approval from all of the North Korean holders of about 50 accounts at Banco Delta Asia, and identifying all of them and getting their permission are also obstacles to the transfer. Wiring the money to a third country is another option that has been considered. [BDA]
• U.S. Says North Korea Nuclear Deal Still On Track
  The U.S. State Department said Friday a way has been found to transfer frozen funds to North Korea, and that the six-party deal under which Pyongyang is to give up its nuclear program is still on track. A senior U.S. envoy is being sent to the region in advance of an April 14 implementation deadline for the first phase of the accord. Resolving the financial aspects of the nuclear deal has been far more complicated than the Bush administration anticipated. But U.S. officials say nearly two weeks of technical discussions in Beijing involving a U.S. Treasury Department team have produced a way forward, and that all that remains is the implementation of the payment to North Korea. The Pyongyang government has been holding up action on disarmament pending the return of $25 million of its funds, impounded by a Macau-based Chinese bank, which the United States said had been used as a clearing house for illicit North Korean business activity, including counterfeiting U.S. currency [BDA] [Financial sanctions]  
• U.S. says solution found on North Korean banking issue
  The United States said Friday it found a way to resolve the banking issue that threatened to delay a North Korean denuclearization agreement. After 10 days of negotiations in Beijing, the parties were able to "identify the technical pathway," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, top U.S. delegate to the six-party denuclearization talks, will fly out to Asia on Sunday, stopping in Tokyo, Seoul and Beijing, the spokesman said. There are no plans yet for Hill to meet North Koreans in Beijing, he said. "The U.S. has done its part," McCormack said, reiterating that the U.S. supports the full release of all the money previously frozen by a Macau bank. [BDA]
• U.S. works to resolve dispute over North Korean bank accounts
  By Warren P. Strobel McClatchy Newspapers
  WASHINGTON - The Bush administration thinks it's found a way to end a dispute over $25 million in frozen North Korean bank accounts, and it hopes to restart talks on dismantling Pyongyang's nuclear program, the State Department said Friday. After two weeks of Treasury Department talks in Beijing and the Chinese-controlled territory of Macau, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said that a "potential solution" to releasing all the money had been found. Demanding its money, North Korea has twice walked out of negotiations. It tested a nuclear device last autumn. Now the question is whether the money actually will be transferred and North Korea will accept the arrangements. The State Department seemed confident, and announced that U.S. negotiator Christopher Hill was returning to Asia for talks on implementing a Feb. 13 accord to begin dismantling North Korean's nuclear program. McCormack and other U.S. government officials declined to say, however, how the money would be transferred. The Treasury's initial action in September 2005 led to intense friction with the State Department and raised questions about the Treasury's reach into the financial systems of other countries. [Dissension] [BDA]
• Money Shift Could Clear Way to Shut North Korea Reactor
  By DAVID E. SANGER Published: April 7, 2007 WASHINGTON, April 6 - The United States said Friday that it had found a way to return frozen money to North Korea, leaving the North only a week to meet the deadline for disabling its main nuclear facility. The announcement seemed to remove the major impediment to North Korea's cooperation under an agreement that calls for the North to shut down its main nuclear facility. The Bush administration said the solution applied to legal and technical problems that prevented the return of $25 million frozen during the investigation of a Macao bank.
• No Progress in N.Korea Deal 10 Days From Deadline
      The governments of South Korea and China admitted on Wednesday that a much-hailed process whereby North Korea was to shut down its nuclear facilities by April 13 has hit a snag. Under the Feb. 13 six-nation agreement, the North was to shut down the facilities in return for an initial shipment of energy aid, but as of April 4, no progress had been made. The process floundered on the refusal of international banks to handle some US$25 million of North Korea's money the U.S. has unfrozen in a Macau bank. The six nations have yet to find a way to get the money to the North
• Will the U.S. Tolerate a Nuclear-Armed N.Korea?
  With six-party nuclear talks stalled over the delayed remittance of North Korea's US$25 million from a Macau bank, there are increasing calls for the U.S. to forge diplomatic ties with the Stalinist country regardless of its nuclear arsenal. The president of the National Committee on American Foreign Policy, George Schwab, made the argument in an interview with Radio Free Asia recently. He said that it would be better to accept North Korea with a couple of nuclear weapons than letting it develop more while the multilateral disarmament talks drag on for another two or three years. In other words, Washington should normalize ties with Pyongyang now provided the North agrees to make no more nuclear weapons. The South Korean government has ruled this out, but it was an official reaction. It is at least noteworthy in the context that a government official said that North Korea's recently tested nuclear weapon was less than 1/20 the strength of the U.S. atomic bombs that fell on Nagasaki in 1945. There are several signs that North Korea is attempting to normalize its ties with the U.S. while maintaining its status as a nuclear power.
• N Korea likely to miss reactor deadline
  By Anna Fifield in Seoul, Michiyo Nakamoto in Tokyo and Demetri Sevastopulo in Washington Published: April 5 2007 03:14 | Last updated: April 5 2007 03:14 North Korea is unlikely to shut down its main nuclear reactor before next week's deadline because of delays resolving a dispute over Pyongyang's frozen assets, according to diplomats involved in the six-party talks. Pyongyang was not likely to comply with the requirement to detail all its nuclear weapons programmes and close its Yongbyon reactor by April 14, they said, because Washington had not yet made good on its pledge to return the $25m (£12.6m) in North Korean-linked funds frozen at a small bank in Macao. [BDA] [Media]
• Report: N Korea Funds to Be Transferred
  By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: April 6, 2007 Filed at 2:56 a.m. ET SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- North Korea's money frozen in a Macau bank will be returned via a bank in Hong Kong, a news report said Friday, a potential breakthrough in the latest deadlock preventing progress on ridding the North of its nuclear weapons programs. The United States, North Korea and Banco Delta Asia -- the bank in the Chinese territory of Macau -- agreed to the solution during talks in Beijing, South Korea's JoongAng Ilbo newspaper reported, citing an unidentified high-level government official.
• North Korea can't bank on China for its funds
  April 05, 2007 WASHINGTON ? Chinese financial institutions won't take money from Banco Delta Asia and transfer it to North Korean accounts, several sources in Washington said yesterday, hampering the six-party talks. China wants the United States to lift the designation of the bank as a "primary money laundering concern," several sources said, but the U.S. Treasury Department will not do so. While six nations agreed in February to take the first steps toward denuclearizing the North, Pyongyang has said that North Korean funds frozen at Banco Delta Asia must first be freed. The last round of six-party talks last month failed to make progress on the issue.
  A government official said yesterday that Beijing had expressed displeasure over the Treasury Department's unmovable stance.     [BDA] [Dissension][Friction][US China relations]
• Deadline for shutdown of North Korean reactor in peril
  By Tim Johnson McClatchy Newspapers BEIJING - The U.S. Treasury's inability to release frozen North Korean bank funds has stalled talks on dismantling Pyongyang's nuclear-weapons program and jeopardized an April 14 deadline for North Korea to shut down a nuclear reactor, senior Asian officials said Wednesday. China's chief envoy to the nuclear talks and South Korea's foreign minister said the U.S. and North Korea remained divided over how to transfer some $25 million in bank funds, imperiling the deadline for North Korea to shut down its Yongbyon nuclear reactor.
  Even if the frozen assets finally are released, analysts said, it wouldn't solve the broader issue of Pyongyang's eventual access to the global banking system. "What North Korea cares about is not just the $25 million," said Li, the Chinese analyst. "It is deeply concerned about its trade and financial environment in the future." [BDA] [Media] [US China relations] [US China relations] [Financial sanctions]
• No Progress in N.Korea Deal 10 Days From Deadline
      The governments of South Korea and China admitted on Wednesday that a much-hailed process whereby North Korea was to shut down its nuclear facilities by April 13 has hit a snag. Under the Feb. 13 six-nation agreement, the North was to shut down the facilities in return for an initial shipment of energy aid, but as of April 4, no progress had been made. The process floundered on the refusal of international banks to handle some US$25 million of North Korea's money the U.S. has unfrozen in a Macau bank. The six nations have yet to find a way to get the money to the North. During an India visit Wednesday, South Korea's Foreign Minister Song Min-soon said, "Basically, I believe that the Banco Delta Asia issue will be resolved" before the deadline. "But I also consider of the possibility of the issue remaining unresolved." China's chief nuclear negotiator Wu Dawei said, "There's nothing we can do."
• U.S. Official in Urgent Mission to Release N.Korean Funds
  In a strange reversal of fortunes, the U.S. Treasury Department is now busy trying to free North Korean assets in the Macau-based Banco Delta Asia it had earlier made great efforts to freeze. The Treasury froze the US$25 million after fingering them as gains from money counterfeiting and drug deals in September 2005. That derailed six-nation nuclear talks for 13 months, until the U.S. finally agreed, in January this year, to unfreeze the funds. On Sunday, U.S. Deputy Assistant Treasury Secretary Daniel Glaser flew to Beijing, one week after his last visit on March 18, when he had read a statement in effect releasing the money. But the release hit a snag when the Bank of China refused to touch the money, which prompted North Korea again to boycott the talks until it has the funds in hand. Now Glaser is in Beijing again to negotiate with China to make sure Pyongyang gets them. Observers speculate that Glaser will guarantee the Chinese bank and any banks in a third country that will handle the money that there will be no problem if they receive the North Korean funds. Only last July, Treasury Under Secretary Stuart Levey toured South Korea, Vietnam, Japan and Singapore with evidence to make sure the money remained frozen, sending banks worldwide a sign that they should halt transactions with North Korea. Vietnamese and Singaporean banks complied.
• N Korea likely to miss reactor deadline
  By Anna Fifield in Seoul, Michiyo Nakamoto in Tokyo and Demetri Sevastopulo in Washington Published: April 5 2007 03:14 | Last updated: April 5 2007 03:14 North Korea is unlikely to shut down its main nuclear reactor before next week's deadline because of delays resolving a dispute over Pyongyang's frozen assets, according to diplomats involved in the six-party talks. Pyongyang was not likely to comply with the requirement to detail all its nuclear weapons programmes and close its Yongbyon reactor by April 14, they said, because Washington had not yet made good on its pledge to return the $25m (£12.6m) in North Korean-linked funds frozen at a small bank in Macao. [BDA] [Media]  
• N Korea nuclear deadline in doubt
  North Korea agreed to shut down the Yongbyon reactor by 14 April
  Asian diplomats have expressed doubts North Korea will meet a 14 April deadline to shut down a key nuclear plant, as agreed under a landmark deal. The timetable has been in doubt since a dispute between the North and the US over frozen North Korean funds disrupted six-nation nuclear talks. [BDA] [Agreement070213] [Media]
• N.Korea Unlikely to Meet Nuclear Deadline: Report
  By REUTERS Published: April 4, 2007 Filed at 4:45 a.m. ET Skip to next paragraph TOKYO (Reuters) - Pyongyang is unlikely to meet a mid-April deadline to shut down a nuclear reactor as the United States and North Korea remain divided over a transfer of the North's funds in Macau, a Chinese envoy was quoted as saying on Wednesday. North and South Korea, the United States, China, Japan and Russia jointly agreed on February 13 to give North Korea 60 days to shut its Yongbyon reactor, which makes plutonium that can be used for weapons, in return for energy aid and security pledges. Japan's Kyodo news agency quoted Chinese chief envoy Wu Dawei as telling Japanese reporters in Beijing on Wednesday that it was difficult for North Korea to meet the deadline to close and seal its nuclear facilities in Yongbyon. ``I believe it's definite. It cannot be helped,'' Kyodo quoted Wu as saying in reference to Pyongyang missing the deadline. ``There is a gap of a certain size'' between the United States and North Korea over the transfer of funds in a Macau bank, Wu was quoted as saying. ``There are various legal problems.'' [BDA] [Agreement070213] [Media]
• BDA: Hill's Tactical Miscalculation
  By Tong Kim It is now clear what the confusion was all about in Beijing last week, concerning the technicalities involved in transferring the freed North Korean funds of $25 million from the Banco Delta Asia (BDA) in Macau to an account held by North Korea in the Bank of China (BOC) in Beijing, or transferring them through BOC to a bank account in a third country. [BDA]
• Owner of Macau bank denies illegal dealings with N. Korea
  By Tim Johnson and Kevin G. Hall
  McClatchy Newspapers EXCLUSIVE - NORTH KOREA BEIJING - The owner of the bank at the center of a dispute that's threatening to derail nuclear talks with North Korea has denied the U.S. Treasury Department's allegations that his bank handled counterfeit American currency and laundered illicit earnings for the isolated communist regime in Pyongyang. In a four-page statement delivered to McClatchy Newspapers on Tuesday, Stanley Au, the founder of Banco Delta Asia in Macau, said U.S. officials had provided "no evidence or proof" that account holders had links to North Korean groups that dealt in bogus dollars, counterfeit cigarettes or narcotics. Au said that when Washington accused his bank in September 2005, none of the bank's clients was on any international "black list" for unlawful activity, and he denied the American charges that North Korea funneled bogus bills through his bank. The Treasury leveled those charges under an obscure provision of the USA Patriot Act that now threatens to backfire against the Bush administration's efforts to dismantle North Korea's nuclear program and to combat terrorism, counterfeiting, drug trafficking and human rights abuses. Section 311 of the Patriot Act allows the Treasury to lock any foreign bank out of the U.S. financial system without allowing the bank to defend itself or even to see the evidence against it.
  Bankers around the world express growing unease about the Patriot Act's global reach, its presumption of guilt and its lack of due process. "They do not like the unilateral nature of our sanctions ... so when we suddenly waive those sanctions, as in the case in North Korea, it causes us ... credibility problems," said Bruce Zagaris, a lawyer based in Washington, D.C., who specializes in complex international tax and finance enforcement issues. "You can't say things are black and white ... and tomorrow you say, `Now we've changed our mind.'" "We have certainly voiced concerns about the extraterritoriality of the Patriot Act," said Florence Ranson, a spokeswoman for the European Banking Federation in Brussels, Belgium, which represents almost 5,000 banks in 29 countries. [BDA] [Evidence] [Extraterritoriality]
• Bank: N.Korean Accounts Appeared Legit
  By MIN LEE The Associated Press Thursday, March 29, 2007; 12:56 AM
  HONG KONG -- The head of a Macau bank holding $25 million in North Korean funds denied Thursday that the money was linked to illicit dealings as alleged by the United States. The 50 North Korean accounts at Banco Delta Asia were frozen in September 2005 after the U.S. accused the bank of helping Pyongyang launder money and handle counterfeit U.S. bills.
  The fate of the allegedly tainted funds has hobbled North Korea's negotiations with South Korea, the U.S., Japan, Russia and China to disarm its nuclear program. North Korea pulled out of the talks last week because the funds in Macau had not been released. The U.S. supports moving the money to a Bank of China account in Beijing but the transfer, which was supposed to go through last week, has not cleared because of unspecified technical reasons. Delegates to the nuclear talks said earlier that the U.S. needs to assure the receiving Chinese bank that it would not be penalized for accepting the transfer of funds tainted by accusations of illicit dealings. But Banco Delta Asia owner Stanley Au said there had been no proof that the North Korean accounts were linked to counterfeiting or money laundering and that the account holders had not been blacklisted before the U.S. accusations in 2005. "To the best of my knowledge, those North Korean-related account holders at BDA as at September 2005 have not been blacklisted by any relevant authorities," Au said in a statement published in Hong Kong newspapers Thursday. "Also, there appears to be no formal legal action against any of such account holders by any government authority for any of the illicit activities as alleged," Au said in the half-page advertisement. He said Banco Delta Asia has done business with North Koreans for "many decades," and that "it has always been the belief of BDA that these were normal business transactions." Au said earlier the bank neither knew nor suspected that its North Korean customers took part in illegal activities. The owner also restated earlier comments that auditors had cleared the bank of wrongdoing. [BDA] [Media]
• Nuclear talks wait for Macao cash transfer
  By Anna Fifield in Seoul Published: March 28 2007
  03:00 | Last updated: March 28 2007 03:00 US and North Korean officials held a second day of meetings yesterday to try to bring about the transfer of $25m, stuck in a Macao bank blacklisted by Washington, to a Pyongyang account so that stalled nuclear talks could resume. The meetings came as Christopher Hill, Washington's chief nuclear negotiator, said he expected the dispute over the cash to be resolved this week, paving the way for the nuclear talks to resume. ADVERTISEMENT "As we get through this banking issue - I believe we will in the next couple of days - North Korea will have further discussions with the [International Atomic Energy Agency] and by the early part of April we will have the reactor shut down [and] sealed and will have international inspectors back," Mr Hill said in a speech at Georgetown University on Monday night. [BDA]
• A warning from the wise
  Robert McNamara is right: our refusal to give up nuclear arms puts us on the road to disaster.
  John Gittings
  February 8, 2007 6:52 PM | Printable version Out of the mouths of ... retired US officials and generals comes the simple truth about nuclear weapons and the dangers the world faces while its most powerful leaders remain in denial. I would like to think that if Tony Blair had listened yesterday to Robert McNamara being interviewed on the BBC Today programme, the prime minister would now be reconsidering his obsession with "hard power" and Trident renewal - but I very much doubt it. McNamara warned: "The weapons [which nearly led to nuclear war in the Cuba crisis etc] are still there and the potential for misjudgment is still there, and the only way to avoid that in the long term is to eliminate nuclear weapons, that should be our objective, in a very real sense it's the lesson of the cold war." The nub of the problem is the familiar mismatch between intending to remain a nuclear power forever and telling others not to join the club. Hypocrisy apart, it won't achieve its purpose: if nuclear weapons are so vital for defence, others will want them too - which is the logic (as McNamara pointed out) behind Pyongyang's determination to have them. "I must say if I was them," said McNamara of the North Koreans, "I would be worried ... that the US or Britain or one of their allies is seeking to destroy my regime and to prevent that if I had the capability [of making nuclear weapons] ... I would certainly move in that direction." [Double standards] [NPT]
• N. Korea funds transfer 'pretty close to deal'
  BEIJING - The U.S. State Department was optimistic Tuesday the banking dispute that last week held up North Korean denuclearization talks can be overcome and is "pretty close" to being solved. "We are not dealing with questions of policy right now. We are dealing with technical banking issues," department spokesman Tom Casey said at a daily briefing. "These are things that are inherently able to be overcome," he said. [BDA]
• What Price Denuclearization?
  By Bruce Klingner
  March 27th, 2007 Bruce Klingner, Senior Research fellow for Northeast Asia at the Heritage Foundation, writes, "The Bush administration's action will have far-reaching ramifications. Since it so closely followed North Korea's threats, Pyongyang will interpret it as a U.S. capitulation. In conjunction with earlier wavering by Washington over Pyongyang's covert uranium-based nuclear weapons program, North Korean negotiators will be emboldened to push back against U.S. demands."
  By giving in to North Korea's demands for release of frozen bank funds -- money gained from Pyongyang's illicit activities -- U.S. negotiators have sent a dangerous signal. Washington now appears less resolute in combating North Korean counterfeiting, money laundering and drug smuggling. Worse, the U.S. has lost the leverage it gained from international anger following Pyongyang's October 2006 nuclear test. [Partisan] [Neocon]
• In North Korea, a bank battles U.S. sanctions
  Daedong Credit battles to survive the U.S. banking embargo
  By Donald Greenlees Published: March 8, 2007
  HONG KONG: Last August, Colin McAskill, a British businessman, agreed to buy a small bank in North Korea. On the face of it, Daedong Credit Bank was not a brilliant investment. The agreement that McAskill signed with Daedong Credit's foreign management at a hotel in Seoul came as the bank was caught in the grip of financial sanctions that had virtually cut North Korea off from the global financial system. Financial institutions around the world were shunning any links to North Korean banks, making it almost impossible to transact business. Daedong Credit was using couriers to carry cash in amounts as high as $2.6 million in and out of the country because it could not make electronic transfers to other banks. Since September 2005, Daedong Credit had also been fighting to recover $7 million that had been frozen in a Macao bank as part of efforts by the United States to put a financial squeeze on North Korea over alleged illicit financial transactions. This was a big sum for Daedong Credit. [BDA] [Financial Sanctions] [Evidence]
• Hill and Glaser: Morning Walkthrough and Joint Remarks at Six-Party Talks
  Christopher R. Hill, Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs; Daniel Glaser, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Treasury for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes
  St. Regis Hotel Beijing, China March 19, 2007
  ASSISTANT SECRETARY HILL: Good morning everyone. QUESTION: Morning. ASSISTANT SECRETARY HILL: Stand up here, Danny. Well we've been busy, and we're very pleased that we've been able to reach an understanding with the DPRK on the full return of funds as soon as possible. So, I'm going to introduce my colleague and friend Danny Glaser here - who's been traveling the Pacific and watching all those movies on those airplanes - to tell you what exactly has happened. And we can take some of your questions. Danny? DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY GLASER: Thanks, Ambassador Hill. I do have a prepared statement to read, and I am going to read it. But before I start I do want to just thank Ambassador Hill for all the support that he's given us. He's really - he's been pretty involved and has provided us very, very important guidance and advice and support on the diplomatic end of this. I really do think that in the future when people look back on this, they will look at this as a model for the way the Treasury Department and the State Department can work together in addressing very, very important issues in the international financial sector. So I just wanted to thank Ambassador Hill for that. [BDA] [Dissension] [Spin]
• Account holder tries to block release of North Korean funds
  By Donald Greenlees
  Published: March 26, 2007 HONG KONG: Serious obstacles have emerged to a financial deal that holds the key to progress in negotiations aimed at eliminating North Korea's arsenal of nuclear weapons. The deal between the United States and North Korea for the release of $25 million frozen for 18 months in accounts in a Macao bank has been rejected by the largest single account holder - one of several hurdles that have placed the deal in jeopardy. In two letters sent to the Monetary Authority of Macao, the Pyongyang-based Daedong Credit Bank has warned that it will take legal action if any of its frozen funds are moved in accordance with the agreement reached between U.S. and North Korean nuclear disarmament negotiators. The United States has tried to solve the impasse over the funds frozen in Banco Delta Asia by offering to have the money placed in an account in the Bank of China under the control of the North Korean government on the understanding that it would be spent on humanitarian purposes in North Korea. The funds were frozen in September 2005 after the U.S. Treasury Department alleged they were the proceeds of illicit activities, including drug trafficking, counterfeit cigarette manufacturing and the sale of unconventional weapons.
  But a representative of the majority foreign-owned Daedong Credit Bank, which has about $7 million frozen in Banco Delta Asia, has told authorities in Macao that it will not accept its funds being placed under the control of the North Korean government or being moved to the Bank of China. Colin McAskill, who has agreed to buy Daedong Credit Bank and is representing the bank in its negotiations with the Macao authorities, warned the Monetary Authority of Macao in a letter on Wednesday that he would hold it "totally responsible" and would "take whatever steps necessary" if the Pyongyang bank's funds were transferred without its consent. [BDA]
• U.S. official to help free North Korean funds
  By Steven R. Weisman
  Published: March 25, 2007
  WASHINGTON: The Bush administration said that it had been more difficult than anticipated to fulfill an agreement to return $25 million in frozen bank funds to North Korea, as a top U.S. Treasury official flew Sunday to China to help free the money. Daniel Glaser, deputy assistant secretary for terrorist financing and financial crimes, arrived in Beijing on Sunday to meet Chinese officials. North Korea is demanding the return of the money before it resumes negotiations over dismantling its nuclear arms program. The funds are being held by Banco Delta Asia in Macao and are to be transferred to a North Korean account at the Bank of China. But that shift has been delayed by technical banking and regulatory issues, diplomats said. On Friday, Bush administration officials insisted that the Chinese authorities were holding up the transfer and that the Chinese were looking to U.S. officials for guidance on how to return the funds without violating regulations against money laundering that required the money to be frozen in 2005.
  The impasse has puzzled and frustrated those involved in the North Korea negotiations, and some public comments in the past week have led to an appearance of finger-pointing between the U.S. State and Treasury Departments. [BDA] [Dissension] [Media]
• Funds transfer still a sticking point
  By Qin Jize and Zhang Lu (China Daily) Updated: 2007-03-23 07:50
  North Korean nuclear envoy Kim Kye-gwan (L) waves as he leaves from Beijing airport March 22, 2007. Talks on North Korea's nuclear programme ground to a halt in Beijing on Thursday, with the North Korean and Russian envoys both leaving for the airport after four days of negotiations went nowhere. [Reuters] ../../../photo/world.html../../../photo/world.html Bank of China (BOC) has concerns about accepting the transfer of frozen funds from the accounts of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) now being held at a Macao-based bank, according to Chinese nuclear envoy Wu Dawei. The latest round of the Six-Party Talks on denuclearizing Korean Peninsula has recessed, Wu announced yesterday, after four days of talks in which Pyongyang's top negotiator Kim Kye-gwan boycotted multilateral discussions.

• What is North Korea seeking in the six-party stalemate?
  [Analysis]   The six-party talks came to an abrupt halt in Beijing on Thursday as North Korea boycotted negotiations until its US$25 million frozen at a Macau bank to be transferred to its account. The U.S. had agreed to unfreeze the money on March 19, and insisted that the delay was merely due to issues of a bureaucratic nature. However, Pyongyang may be trying to use the current situation as an opportunity to get a guarantee from the international community for normal financial status down the road. Chun Young-woo, South Korea's top negotiator to the nuclear talks, said, "The North didn't want to get the money back in cash, nor have the money transferred to an account at its banks in North Korea, but to one at a foreign bank [Bank of China]." These comments could be interpreted as North Korea seeking not only the funds in question but a general return to normalized relations within the international financial community, as it has requested the funds be transferred into a foreign bank. [BDA] [Unintended consequences]  
• Banks balk at handling North's 'dirty' money
  March 24, 2007 The messy knot of North Korean funds frozen in a Macao bank is proving difficult to untangle despite Washington's assurances that the money will be returned to Pyongyang. As a result, the six-party nuclear talks, which recessed Thursday over the issue, remain on hold while a solution is sought. North Korea demands that it have the money in hand before sitting down again. South Korean Foreign Minister Song Min-soon said yesterday that the problem of returning the $25 million in funds frozen in Macao's Banco Delta Asia would be resolved next week and the talks would resume soon. Seoul's top negotiator, Chun Young-woo, however, said on the same day that resolving the issue will be difficult. "Next week we will resolve it and expect to move forward in implementation measures," Mr Song said in a news conference. Mr. Chun said that the Bank of China, despite pressure by the Chinese government, has refused to put the money into North Korean accounts but is working with Washington to find a way to relay the money to a bank in a third country. A government official said yesterday that the Bank of China, which is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, has foreign shareholders and is not willing to risk alienating itself from the international financial community by associating itself with money branded illicit by Washington. [BDA] [Unintended consequences]
• U.S. works to resolve issue with North Korea funds
  By Kevin G. Hall and Warren P. Strobel McClatchy Newspapers WASHINGTON - The Treasury Department dispatched its top expert on money laundering to China on Friday in an urgent bid to resolve a banking dispute that threatens the international negotiations aimed at dismantling North Korea's nuclear weapons.
  Despite the release of the funds, a U.S. Treasury declaration 10 days ago that said that North Korean deposits in the Macau bank had come from illicit activities such as counterfeiting U.S. currency and selling knockoffs of name-brand cigarettes put the bank in a pariah status and created a potential risk for any foreign bank or entity doing business with it. Banks in Japan, South Korea and China have refused to take the North Korean money.
  . The official said he believed that the State Department had promised the North Koreans resolution on a matter without fully understanding the complications of Treasury's action. "It's clearly a disconnect between State and Treasury," said the official, who described the stalemate like this: "There's a dance here and the dancing partners were given the steps, but we did not asked whether they liked the music." Rice, however, strongly disputed reports of a rift between the State and Treasury departments. [BDA] [Dissension] [Unintended consequences]
• Hope over Experience: Denuclearizing the Northby Mitchell B. Reiss
  03.22.2007
  Editor's note: The following is taken from the article "Hope over Experience: Denuclearizing the North", which will appear in the forthcoming issue of The National Interest.
  In Section II(1) of the agreement reached with North Korea on February 13, 2007, North Korea pledges to shut down and seal the Yongbyon nuclear facilities and allow International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors to monitor and verify this step "as agreed between IAEA and the DPRK." So, one question is whether the shutting down and sealing of Yongbyon will be performed during the first sixty days, what the joint statement calls the "initial phase", or whether it will depend on when North Korea and the IAEA reach agreement, which could be very much longer. The same question over timing arises in the next paragraph, where North Korea says it will "discuss" a list of all its nuclear programs within this initial phase. Again, this discussion may go on for a very long time. Language elsewhere in the joint statement stipulates that these and other actions "will be implemented within the next 60 days", so I think we should be prepared for Pyongyang to argue that it is meeting its obligations if it enters into discussions rather than having these discussions result in an agreement at the end of sixty days. As many people have noted, the joint statement contains no explicit mention of uranium enrichment. To be sure, there are references to "all nuclear programs" and "nuclear facilities", which presumably means that a complete listing would capture any uranium-enrichment capability. But the North Koreans have repeatedly denied that they have a uranium-enrichment program or facilities. I would feel more comfortable if there was explicit reference to "all nuclear technologies" or "all nuclear-related technologies" to make extra certain that the uranium-enrichment technology we know North Korea has imported is covered by the "denuclearization" and "disablement" language.
• Rice helped unfreeze N Korean funds
  By Demetri Sevastopulo in Washington and Andrew Yeh in Beijing
  Published: March 21 2007 22:13 | Last updated: March 22 2007 07:40 Condoleezza Rice, US secretary of state, orchestrated a significant shift in US policy towards North Korea by persuading the US Treasury to agree to Pyongyang’s demands to release $25m frozen in a Macao bank since 2005. Current and former officials say Christopher Hill, the chief US negotiator on North Korea, convinced Ms Rice that the US should sacrifice the issue of the frozen funds to push forward the broader goal of implementing last month’s six-party accord on denuclearising the Korean peninsula. Several people familiar with the debate said Hank Paulson, Treasury secretary, agreed to overrule officials responsible for terrorism financing, who objected to the move, after Beijing warned that a failure to return the North Korean funds would hurt the Sino-US strategic economic dialogue.
• Six-Party Talks on Hold as Banks Refuse to Play Ball
  Six-party nuclear talks in Beijing stalled yet again on Thursday because the transfer of US$25 million worth of funds the U.S. had unfrozen in the Banco Delta Asia (BDA) in Macau hit an unexpected snag. The talks broke down four days after they started amid unprecedented high hopes on Monday. The chief negotiators continued to discuss remittance of the North Korean funds on Thursday but failed to produce a solution. The culprits are two banks. BDA says it cannot remit the money to the designated bank because it has yet to receive a request from North Korea, while the Bank of China, the recipient bank, is refusing to receive the money on grounds that the funds are illegal. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said, "Resolving these issues was more difficult than expected, so we still need some time." A grim-faced North Korea's chief negotiator Kim Kye-gwan refused to answer questions from reporters before returning to North Korea by Air Koryo on Thursday. Observers speculate Kim was urgently recalled because the money failed to arrive. [BDA]
• Nuclear Talks Search for Way Out of Fund Transfer Mess
  Six countries in talks on North Korea’s nuclear program are trying to find a way of getting North Korea’s assets from the Macau-based Banco Delta Asia to Pyongyang after the Bank of China refused to hold them. After the six-party talks stalled over the delay, BOC officials agreed with U.S. negotiators to receive the US$25 million from BDA and send them on to a bank in a third country. China's chief negotiator Wu Dawei then asked South Korea to allow a North Korean branch of a South Korean bank to receive the money from the Chinese bank, but a government official here said that it would be out of the question for Seoul to accept the request. The countries are now discussing a solution like letting North Korea directly withdraw the funds in cash or enabling the Macau bank to send the money direct to Pyongyang if finding a third-country bank willing to cooperate proves too difficult. South Korea's nuclear envoy Chun Yung-woo said, “It is a matter of days, but not an issue that can be resolved today or tomorrow, so the parties decided to recess for now.” [BDA]
• N. Korean money may be transferred through bank outside China: chief envoy
  Nuclear envoys are trying to designate a bank outside China to release North Korea's money to resolve tension over the banking transaction that stalled the recent six-party talks, Seoul's envoy said Friday. Negotiators from South and North Korea, the United States, China, Japan and Russia headed home after the latest round of their nuclear talks ended abruptly in Beijing on Thursday. Pyongyang boycotted the talks while waiting for its US$25 million at Macao's Banco Delta Asia to be transferred to its account at the Bank of China. However, the Chinese bank refused to hold the North Korean money out of concern that the transaction may drop their credit rating, said Chun Young-woo, Seoul's chief nuclear negotiator. The envoys were trying to designate a bank outside China, from which North Korea will draw its money after it is transferred from the Macao bank, he said. [BDA] [Dissension] [Unintended consequences]
• U.S. sees 6-party recess as temporary setback, but some say tactical error
  Doubts and impatience were cropping up Thursday in Washington as six-party denuclearization talks were forced into a recess over a technical glitch in what normally would have been a routine banking transaction. The prevalent view is that the denuclearization process would continue, that the problem is only temporary. But some see North Korea's actions as a reflection of a U.S. tactical error that may come back to haunt the administration.
  It was clear Washington wants the BDA case resolved fully and quickly. Daniel Glaser, deputy assistant treasury secretary, is expected to fly out to Beijing within days to talk to Chinese officials. He was in Beijing just earlier this week and announced the agreement with North Korea on releasing the BDA funds. Michael Green, former Asia director at the National Security Council under the George W. Bush administration, argued Pyongyang was playing on such U.S. eagerness. He said he believes the North will come through with the 60-day commitment to shut down its nuclear reactor. "But tactically, I am concerned the U.S. appeared too eager to get an agreement, too willing to trade our leverage in exchange for diplomatic process," Green said. "North Korea is now using that to seize the initiative, to make us pay even more simply to have them come into the process," he said. "I think the North Koreans are trying to get as much of a relaxation of sanctions and pressure as possible before finishing this 60 days." [BDA] [Dissension]
• North Korea nuclear talks break down
  By Tim Johnson McClatchy Newspapers BEIJING - No one seems to want North Korea's money. Three days after the Bush administration announced a breakthrough plan for freeing $25 million in North Korean funds, talks over the country's nuclear program collapsed Thursday when several banks balked at accepting the frozen assets. Banks in South Korea and China turned down requests that they accept the money and disburse it on behalf of North Korea, apparently fearing it may entangle them with U.S. bank regulators. A Russian diplomat warned Russia's banks not to take the money either. [Unintended consequences] [BDA]
• U.S. Treasury Sends Official to Sort Out N.Korea Funds
  By REUTERS Published: March 23, 2007 Filed at 5:11 p.m. ET Skip to next paragraph WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department is sending its top North Korea negotiator back to Beijing on Saturday to help authorities in China and Macau sort out details of the planned transfer of frozen North Korean funds from a Macanese bank. The Treasury said on Friday that Daniel Glaser, deputy assistant secretary for terrorist financing and financial crimes, will lead a five-person delegation to Beijing to work through details of the $25 million transfer. Delays in the transfer have stalled talks on North Korea's nuclear program. ``It's to help the Macanese and Chinese work through some of the implementation issues,'' a Treasury spokeswoman said of Glaser's trip. On Monday, the Treasury announced that the U.S. and North Korean governments had agreed that the funds would be released. North Korea wanted the funds put into a Bank of China account held by Pyongyang's Foreign Trade Bank. But failure of the transfer to be executed again derailed talks on North Korea's nuclear program this week. Chinese chief envoy Wu Dawei said on Thursday that the problem hinged on convincing the Bank of China to accept the transfer. He added that moving the money was not as simple as writing a check or shipping cash in the back of a truck. After an 18-month investigation that Banco Delta Asia accepted proceeds of North Korea's counterfeiting, drug-smuggling and money-laundering operations, the Treasury last week formally barred U.S. banks from dealings with the tiny family-owned Macau bank. The move effectively freezes Banco Delta Asia out of the American financial system and raises questions for foreign banks that deal with it, especially those with big U.S.-dollar correspondent banking relationships. [BDA] [Dissension] [Unintended consequences] [Extraterritoriality]
• China Ends North Korea Talks Amid Delay in Return of Funds
  By DAVID LAGUE Published: March 23, 2007 BEIJING, March 22 — Talks here aimed at dismantling North Korea’s nuclear weapons program were halted by China late Thursday after they stalled over the failure to release from a Macao bank up to $25 million that North Korea had demanded be returned before it continued negotiations. Christopher R. Hill, the assistant secretary of state who is leading the American team at the disarmament talks, confirmed that the transfer of the frozen money had been delayed by technical banking issues and said Chinese officials were working to transfer the money from the bank, Banco Delta Asia. No date has been set for the talks to resume, but Mr. Hill said that a Feb. 13 agreement that North Korea would shut down its Yongbyon reactor by April 13 in return for economic aid and that security pledges remained on track. He declined to comment on the specific reasons it was proving difficult to release the money from accounts linked to North Korea
  “To me, it highlights the degree of” North Korea’s “isolation that it sometimes proves difficult to return money to them even when everybody wants to see the money returned to them,” Mr. Hill said. “It really was an issue of how do you move bank accounts.” He said he expected the money to be transferred within days, but there was confusion late Thursday about how North Korea would get it and how much of the $25 million the North was entitled to have. The president of the Bank of China, Li Lihui, said Thursday that the bank had not been asked to handle the transaction. “I can tell you that up until now, we were not asked to deal with this business,” The Associated Press quoted him as telling reporters in Hong Kong. However, China’s chief negotiator at the talks, Wu Dawei, who has been involved in efforts to transfer the money, said that the Bank of China had concerns about accepting it and that “not all the concerns have been assuaged.”
  Russia chided the United States on Thursday, saying it had undermined the talks. “The American side promised to resolve the financial question, and this promise was not fulfilled,” Aleksandr Losyukov, Russia’s negotiator said, after returning to Moscow, Reuters reported, quoting the Interfax news agency.
  However, banking analysts said it was unlikely that all account holders would agree to have their money transferred to an account they could not control in the Bank of China. They also questioned whether the Chinese bank would be comfortable accepting money without question from a bank that the United States had accused of crimes. [BDA] [Unintended consequences] [Dissension]
• North Korea Nuclear Talks Break Down
  By BO-MI LIM The Associated Press Friday, March 23, 2007; 12:50 AM BEIJING -- Negotiations on halting North Korea's nuclear program broke down abruptly Thursday, with the country's chief envoy to the talks flying home after a dispute over money frozen in a Macau bank could not be resolved. Kim Kye Gwan left Beijing after refusing to take part in six-party talks to push forward a February agreement calling for North Korea to begin winding down its nuclear programs in return for energy aid and political considerations.
  Kim waved to reporters at the airport but did not say anything.
  Russian envoy Alexander Losyukov, who also left for home Thursday, was quoted by ITAR-Tass news agency as saying "the whole problem came from the American side." He said the United States failed to assure the Chinese side that the Bank of China could receive the funds without fear of facing U.S. sanctions or a "negative attitude" from the banking community and the U.S. government. [Unintended consequences] [BDA[ Dissension]
• Stalled Money Transfer Halts Six-Party Talks
  Six-party nuclear talks are stalled once again as North Korea is boycotting them until it has the money from its unfrozen accounts with the Macau-based Banco Delta Asia in hand. The US$25 million has yet to be transferred to the Chinese banks designated as recipients. The talks resumed Monday after the U.S. promised to free the accounts. Sources in Beijing on Wednesday said the North is staying away until BDA and the Chinese banks complete the asset transfer. The Bank of China, a Chinese commercial bank, is reportedly refusing to receive the unfrozen North Korean funds out of concern that receipt of North Korean assets could hurt its international credibility. Nor is BDA transferring the money, saying it has not received a transfer request. [BDA]
• Nuclear talks stall amid N. Korean boycott over frozen funds
  Negotiators from South Korea and the United States urged North Korea to return to the negotiating table Wednesday as the communist country is boycotting the nuclear disarmament talks while awaiting the agreed-upon release of US$25 million frozen in a Macau bank. Chun Yung-woo, South Korea's top nuclear negotiator, said he did not understand why "we should waste our time waiting" for the financial issue to clear. North Korea has been staying away from the six-nation discussions over its nuclear ambition since Tuesday, saying it will not return to the table until its assets at Banco Delta Asia are transferred to one of its accounts at a Chinese bank in Beijing.
• 6-party talks must endure North Korea's increased avarice
  [Editorial] North Korean perverseness has stalled the latest round of six-party talks in Beijing. The North Korean delegation has essentially rejected participating in any substantial discussion because its money tied up in Banco Delta Asia (BDA) has yet to been received in its North Korean bank account. More than being a lack of flexibility, this is a form of brinkmanship. This behavior is not going to destroy the framework of the six-party talks, but it has clearly hurt confidence in the process. We urge Pyongyang to get with the program. The United States government announced on March 19 that it would release all of the US$25 million frozen at BDA since September 2005 because of allegations Pyongyang was using the bank for money laundering. In other words, it decided to resolve the issue the way that Pyongyang has demanded, defying American hard-liners, who say the move amounts to letting North Korea get away with illegal behavior. It should go without saying that the reason the U.S. has demonstrated good faith in this way is because it wants to give the six-party talks more momentum. That being the case, the right thing for North Korea to do would be to respond in a similarly proactive fashion at the talks. It is doing the opposite, however, and that is most regrettable.
• North holds up talks as money remains on ice
  ( Experts says Pyongyang is testing resolve of Washington and Seoul March 22, 2007 The latest round of talks in Beijing aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear ambition reached an impasse yesterday. Pyongyang refused to advance plans for denuclearization until it has received funds that are frozen in a Macau-based bank. Chun Young-woo, the chief South Korean negotiator, signalled that talks may continue. "It will be hard to go into a recess," he said. Throughout three days of negotiations, Pyongyang offered no compromises. Kim Gye-gwan, the North's chief representative, refused to hold official bilateral negotiations with either his American or South Korean counterpart on Tuesday
• N. Korea Agrees To Extension of Six-Party Talks
  Latest Round of Nuclear Discussions Delayed by Dispute Over Frozen Funds
  By Maureen Fan Washington Post Foreign Service Thursday, March 22, 2007; Page A15
  BEIJING, March 21 -- After two days of holding up six-nation talks aimed at dismantling the nuclear program of North Korea, the communist state's delegation agreed to a request by China to stay another day for "substantive discussions," diplomats said Wednesday night. The extension deal came in a brief meeting of all the top envoys to the talks, after a long day in which negotiators who had hoped to discuss a schedule for shutting down the nuclear program appeared to lose patience with the slow progress.
  Wednesday was supposed to be the third and last day of this round of discussion. Instead, that conversation has barely begun. For the second consecutive day, the North Koreans refused to come to the talks' six-sided table to discuss what would happen after their reactor at Yongbyon is shut down next month, saying they wanted first to see $25 million frozen by the U.S. government transferred to a bank account in Beijing.
• Existing Nuclear Arms 'Off the Agenda' in Six-Party Talks
  The changing of the guars at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, where six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear program are underway, on Tuesday./ Yonhap   South Korean top nuclear negotiator Chun Yung-woo on Tuesday said North Korea's nuclear weapons are not the target of "disablement" but the target of "abandonment." The North is to "disable" its nuclear facilities under a Feb.13 agreement, as a step on the road to abandoning them. Details are now being worked out. The remarks therefore suggest that the nuclear weapons Pyongyang has already built are not on the agenda at this stage, hinting that separate negotiations from the six-way framework will have to tackle them. That in turn suggests that the five countries -- South Korea, the U.S., China, Russia and Japan -- have accepted North Korea's position that the nuclear weapons themselves are not at issue in the talks, a position it has taken since a Sept. 19, 2005 statement of principles.  
• 'Spring in Beijing' as Six-Party Talks Resume
  U.S. chief nuclear negotiator Christopher Hill listens to his Chinese counterpart Wu Dawei at the opening ceremony of a new round of six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear program at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on Monday. Sitting in front is chief North Korean negotiator Kim Kye-gwan.  
    Even negotiators from participating countries expressed surprise at the speed of change in relations between the U.S. and North Korea when six-nation nuclear talks resumed in Beijing on Monday. "Spring has come in Beijing, too," North Korea's chief negotiator Kim Kye-gwan said in his keynote speech at the opening ceremony at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse. Kim said once the question of North Korea's frozen funds in Macau's Banco Delta Asia issue is completely resolved, Pyongyang will halt its nuclear activities in Yongbyon. [Realignment]
• U.S., N. Korea hold first bilateral meeting at nuclear talks: official
  Top nuclear negotiators from the United States and North Korea held a bilateral meeting Tuesday on the sidelines of multilateral negotiations aimed at persuading the North to give up its nuclear ambition, a South Korean official said. Christopher Hill, Washington's top nuclear envoy, "held a meeting with Kim Kye-gwan," the South Korean negotiator told reporters while asking not to be identified.
• Send your nukes for disposal abroad, North told
  March 21, 2007   BEIJING ? South Korea and the United States are proposing to move North Korea's weapons-grade plutonium out of the country and dispose of it overseas, a senior South Korean government official told the JoongAng Ilbo yesterday.  
• `N. Korea to Return to IAEA After Initial Shutdown of Reactors'
  North Korea has offered to rejoin the U.N. nuclear watchdog soon after taking initial steps for a nuclear disarmament agreement reached last month, the Yonhap News Agency reported Tuesday quoting a South Korean official. Kim Kye-gwan, the North's chief nuclear negotiator, said his country will resume its membership in the International Atomic Energy Agency soon after it shuts down its nuclear facilities as agreed upon in the February agreement, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
• Mission Accomplished on NK Fund Release: White House
  The White House on Monday declared its mission accomplished after the U.S. Treasury agreed to the release of North Korean funds frozen by a Macau bank for about a year and a half on allegations of money laundering and other illicit financial activities, the Yonhap News Agency reported. ``On Banco Delta Asia (BDA)... the Treasury action against the bank has now been completed,'' Yonhap quoted White House spokesman Tony Snow as saying at his daily briefing. ``BDA's days as a front company for illicit activities is over.'' [Dissension]
• Time "running out" in North Korea talks
  By Jack Kim and Chris Buckley Reuters Wednesday, March 21, 2007; 2:46 AM BEIJING (Reuters) - Talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear threat languished on Wednesday, as Pyongyang waited to receive freed funds and delegates warned time was running out to press forward a disarmament plan.
• So Far, So Fast: What's Really Behind The Bush Administration's Course Reversal On North Korea-And Can The Negotiations Succeed?
  By Don Oberdorfer
  Don Oberdorfer, a former Washington Post diplomatic correspondent, author of "The Two Koreas: A Contemporary History", and chairman of the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University's Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, writes, "Four months after North Korea's underground blast, it's astonishing how far the negotiations aimed at reversing North Korea's nuclear success have progressed-and how much the Bush administration has changed course… But the fact that success is also a possibility is a direct result of the impressive efforts of the diplomats who are seeking denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula." [Backdown] [Dissension] [Agreement070213]
• Unfrozen Atom
   A breakthrough teethed in North Korea’s nuclear disarmament
  A new round of the six-sided talks on North Korea’s nuclear issue began in Beijing yesterday. This round might become the decisive one. The U.S. had agreed to completely unfreeze North Korea’s accounts in Chinese bank Delta Asia in Macau. Thus, the chief obstacle for North Korea’s nuclear disarmament was removed. Yet, a new problem arose in the talks, -- the mutual claims of Tokyo and Pyongyang. Before the very beginning of yesterday’s session of the sixth round of talks on North Korea’s nuclear issue in Beijing, U.S. Treasury Department's Deputy Assistant Secretary Daniel Glaser told journalists that “North Korea and the U.S. reached agreement on North Korea’s accounts in Delta Asia bank in Macau”. The official said that the $25 million belonging to Pyongyang will be transferred from Delta Asia to a special account opened by North Korean authorities in Beijing’s branch of the Bank of China, and then will be spent on implementing social projects in North Korea. [BDA] [NK Japan relations]
• N Korea boycotts talks session
  Kenichiro Sasae says the North wants to see its money Six-party talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear programme hit a snag after Pyongyang's negotiators refused to attend a meeting of chief delegates. Japanese envoy Kenichiro Sasae said the North had refused to participate until it was able to access $25m of its money that was frozen in a Macau bank. The US announced on Monday that the North Korean money would be transferred from Macau to a bank in China. [BDA]
• North Korean Concerns Over Funds Won't Halt Talks, Hill Says
  By Allen T. Cheng and Heejin Koo March 21 (Bloomberg) -- North Korea remains committed to disabling its nuclear weapons program and its concerns over funds frozen in a Macau bank won't scuttle a six-nation agreement reached in February, U.S. envoy Christopher Hill said. The U.S. and North Korea reached an agreement to free about $25 million frozen in 2005 after the U.S. Treasury Department alleged Macau lender Banco Delta Asia SARL laundered money for North Korea. Talks stalled today after North Korea demanded the money be transferred to its account in a Chinese bank. ``It's fair to say the North Koreans are very focused on making sure this transaction takes place,'' Hill told reporters in Beijing late yesterday. ``We'd like it done as soon as possible but it's out of our control. It's a banking issue.'' [BDA] [Dissension]
• Tensions flare between Japan, North Korea at nuclear talks
  By Tim Johnson McClatchy Newspapers
  BEIJING - The banking dispute that held up nuclear talks with North Korea for more than a year appeared to be resolved Monday, but tensions between Japan and the North could become a new obstruction to negotiations on dismantling the reclusive nation's nuclear programs. At the opening of a new round of six-nation talks, North Korea's chief negotiator questioned the right of Japan's envoy to be present and charged that Japan has refused to provide energy assistance as part of a six-nation accord signed in mid-February.
  U.S. officials removed a major obstacle in the talks, lifting a freeze of roughly $25 million in North Korean funds in a bank in Macau, an autonomous enclave of China. The Bush administration in September 2005 had accused the Banco Delta Asia of laundering money for North Korea, including funds from missile sales, and allowing it to filter counterfeit U.S. dollars into the global market. The administration has produced no evidence to support the charge, instead acting under a provision of the Patriot Act. [BDA] [Evidence]
• North Korea Talks Stall Over Frozen Funds
  By REUTERS Published: March 20, 2007 Filed at 11:58 a.m. ET Skip to next paragraph BEIJING (Reuters) - Six-party talks aimed at ending Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programme stalled on Tuesday, hampered by a row over North Korean funds frozen in a tiny Macau bank, but the two Koreas said they were optimistic. The United States has said that the $25 million at Banco Delta Asia (BDA), which Washington said was complicit in North Korea's illegal financial dealings, will be released and turned over to Pyongyang for humanitarian use as soon as possible. But North Korea refused to attend a planned chief delegates' meeting at six-party talks in Beijing until that happened. ``According to host China, North Korea is saying that it will not take part in talks unless it confirms the funds at BDA are transferred to its account in China,'' Japan's chief negotiator, Kenichiro Sasae, told reporters. ``China urged North Korea to come forward, but North Korea did not do so. There was no progress at all today.'' U.S. envoy Christopher Hill said: ``I frankly would have liked to have seen more progress today ... The trouble is there is nothing I can do about filling out bank forms.'' [BDA] [Dissension]
• US defends release of N Korea cash
  By FT Reporters Published: March 20 2007 02:00 | Last updated: March 20 2007 02:00 The White House yesterday defended a deal to release frozen North Korean assets in the face of criticism that it had capitulated to demands from Pyongyang. US officials in Beijing for the resumption yesterday of the six-party nuclear talks said the US Treasury had reached an agreement with Pyongyang to return $25m in North Korean funds that had been frozen in Macao's Banco Delta Asia since 2005.
  The Bush administration previously signalled it would be willing for Macao - which assumed control of the bank after the US alleged it was helping North Korea engage in money laundering - to return some of the $25m. But Pyongyang demanded the full amount as a pre-condition for implementing last month's denuclearisation accord.
  But David Asher, a former Bush administration State Department official involved in investigating the alleged illicit activities, said the move sent the signal that "crime does pay". "Chris Hill [the chief US negotiator at the six-party talks] and the president like baseball analogies. How about this one: Kim Jong-il 10, America 0 in the first inning," said Mr Asher. The move came days after the US Treasury wrapped up an 18-month investigation into Banco Delta Asia, which concluded that the bank had turned a blind eye to illicit activities by North Korea. Michael Green, a former White House senior Asia director, said the decision to release the full $25m sent a "bad message". "The spin that the administration gave to this [from Beijing] is that they made this decision politically to move forward with the six-party talks," said Mr Green. "Saying that we will pull our punches on criminal activity by North Korea in order to make progress on the diplomacy sends a very bad signal not only to the North Koreans but to Iran as well." [BDA] [Toolkit] [Dissension] [Ramifications]
• North Korea Refuses to Join Nuke Talks
  By BO-MI LIM The Associated Press Tuesday, March 20, 2007; 2:46 PM
  BEIJING -- North Korea stayed away from six-nation talks on its nuclear program Tuesday in a dispute over $25 million of its funds, dimming prospects for progress on getting the communist regime to disarm. But Christopher Hill, the chief American envoy to the negotiations, met with Kim Kye Gwan, his North Korean counterpart, and later downplayed concerns that efforts to meet goals outlined in a landmark Feb. 13 disarmament agreement were in vain.
  While he characterized the day's progress as "kind of slow," he expressed optimism the conflict over the North Korean funds frozen in Banco Delta Asia, a Macau bank, would be resolved. "I think we're still on track," Hill told reporters late Tuesday. He did not give any details on his meeting with Kim.
• N.Korea-U.S. 'Settle' Over Frozen Macau Accounts
      The U.S. and North Korea are apparently nearing the end of their dispute over North Korea's US$24 million frozen in the Macao-based Banco Delta Asia. Chinese State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan told a Japanese delegation from the Liberal Democratic Party Sunday that Washington and Pyongyang had agreed on a way to settle the BDA issue, according to Xinhua News Agency. U.S. top nuclear envoy Christopher Hill confirmed the impending resolution, telling reporters, "We'll be able to say something publicly soon on that very, very soon." [BDA]
• In N.K. denuclearization, U.S. should refrain from repeating its mistakes
  [Column] By Selig S. Harrison
  On November 19, 2002, the CIA presented its often-quoted assessment to Congress that North Korea "is constructing a plant that could produce enough weapons-grade uranium for two or more nuclear weapons per year when fully operational, which could be as soon as mid-decade." Ever since, the U.S. administration has been backing away from this assessment, saying only that Pyongyang is "pursuing uranium enrichment," as former CIA director Porter Goss told Congress last year. Now, as U.S. negotiator Christopher Hill seeks to carry out the promising February 13 denuclearization agreement with Pyongyang, he has been forced to reveal that the intelligence community is no longer sure whether there actually is such a plant.
  "John Bolton's body is out of the State Department," Hill commented to me over the lunch table, "but his hand is still in." In the denuclearization negotiations now beginning, Pyongyang should be prepared to give a credible accounting of how the suspect equipment was used. If it should turn out, as North Korean officials have told me, that it was used only for an R and D "laboratory" to explore low-level enrichment for civilian nuclear power generation, the laboratory must be placed under international inspection to insure that it does not develop into a weapons-grade program. Low-level enrichment is permitted under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.
  It is not yet clear, and may never be, what led the CIA to tell Congress flatly that North Korea was building a weapons-grade uranium enrichment facility.
  This was not just a case of an intelligence failure, but of the deliberate distortion and exaggeration of intelligence to serve a political agenda, as in the case of Iraq. The results have been disastrous. It was only after the freeze was abrogated that North Korea resumed the accumulation of the plutonium that enabled it to conduct its recent nuclear test. [HEU] [Dissension]
• Nuclear envoys continue in-depth discussions ahead of 6-way talks
  International efforts to denuclearize North Korea stalled Sunday as the communist country continued a waiting game over its demand for the United States to fully lift its financial sanctions imposed against the communist country.
  Ahead of a new round of full six-party talks set to resume on Monday, the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia held a sereies of working sessions in Beijing in the past four days to assess the progress of the deal but could not move forward because of the financial sanctions dispute. [BDA]
• Bank row ended as N Korea talks resume
  By Andrew Yeh in Beijing Published: March 19 2007 02:10 | Last updated: March 19 2007 06:55 US authorities on Monday agreed to release $25m in North Korean funds that had been frozen at a bank in Macao, resolving a major sticking point to the six-party talks aimed at Pyongyang's nuclear disarmament. Daniel Glaser, US deputy assistant treasury secretary, said the funds would first be transferred from Macao's Banco Delta Asia to a North Korean account at the Bank of China in Beijing.
  Mr Glaser said the funds would then be used for humanitarian and education causes in North Korea and "solely for the betterment of the North Korean people". He said Pyongyang officials had proposed the solution, and made assurances the funds would be used for such social services. [BDA]
• BDA revives memories of Macao's past
  By Tom Mitchell in Hong Kong and Robin Kwong in Macao
  Published: March 18 2007 23:55 | Last updated: March 18 2007 23:55 For the past 18 months, a small, privately held bank in Macao has been an unlikely bit-part player in a high-stakes, nuclear-fuelled drama pitting the US against North Korea. In September 2005, the US Treasury department accused Banco Delta Asia of being a "primary money-laundering concern" and "willing pawn" for Pyongyang. BDA has since been quietly administered by the Macao government.
• NK, US Agree on Release of All Frozen Funds
  The United States on Monday allowed North Korea to claim all of its money frozen at a Macau bank, removing a major obstacle to the communist country's denuclearization, the Yonhap News Agency reported Monday. The U.S. action came two hours before a new round of six-party nuclear disarmament talks was to open in Beijing, according to the report. North Korea had threatened to back away from the Feb. 13 nuclear disarmament agreement unless the financial issue was fully resolved. "We are very pleased to announce that we've been able to reach an understanding with the DPRK on the full return of funds," Christopher Hill, the chief U.S. nuclear envoy, told reporters, using the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Yonhap said U.S. Deputy Assistant Treasury Secretary Daniel Glaser, speaking alongside Hill, confirmed Washington's decision, saying that all of the North's US$25 million frozen at Banco Delta Asia will be transferred to an account "held by North Korea's Foreign Trade Bank at the Bank of China in Beijing." [BDA] [Backdown] [Dissension]
• Full Text of US Statement on Disposition of N. Korean Funds
  The following is the full text of a statement issued in Beijing on Monday by Deputy Assistant Secretary of Treasury Daniel Glaser on the disposition of North Korea-related funds frozen at a Macau-based bank, Banco Delta Asia. DPRK stands for Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the official name of North Korea _ ED [BDA]
• U.S. and North Korea End Frozen-Funds Impasse
  By JOSEPH KAHN Published: March 19, 2007 BEIJING, Monday, March 19 - The United States and North Korea have resolved a standoff over North Korean funds frozen in a Macao bank, clearing the way for talks to focus on putting in place a nuclear disarmament accord, American and Chinese officials said Sunday.
  Assistant Secretary of State Christopher R. Hill, the chief American envoy at the talks, said his discussions with North Korean representatives over the weekend on North Korea-related accounts in Macao's Banco Delta Asia indicated that the issue "will not be an impediment to our six-party talks." The North Korean officials, he said, "made it very clear that they have begun their tasks for the purpose of denuclearization." Daniel Glaser, the Treasury Department official who has been managing the United States position on the financial dispute, said in a statement on Monday that the American and North Korean governments had reached an understanding on how to deal with the $25 million still held by the bank, which the United States has said were proceeds of illicit activities by North Korea, including trading arms and narcotics. Mr. Glaser said North Korea proposed having its deposits transferred to an account it has at the Foreign Trade Bank of the Bank of China in Beijing.
• US, DPRK 'reach deal on frozen funds'
  The United States and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) have resolved a dispute over the latter's funds frozen in a Macao bank, Xinhua News Agency reported yesterday. State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan told a group of visiting Japanese lawmakers about the US-DPRK deal, Xinhua said, without providing details. The news came on the eve of the new round of Six-Party Talks, which starts today. [BDA]
• Deal on Funds Removes Hurdle To N. Korea Talks
  By Maureen Fan Washington Post Foreign Service Monday, March 19, 2007; Page A09
  BEIJING, March 19 -- The United States has agreed to release $25 million in North Korean funds frozen in a Macau bank, removing an obstacle that had threatened to again stall disarmament negotiations with North Korea that began Monday. "North Korea has pledged within the framework of the six-party talks that these funds will be used solely for the betterment of the North Korean people, including for humanitarian and education purposes," U.S. Treasury official Daniel Glaser told reporters in Beijing.
  The Treasury announcement was a turnabout for the administration. Last week, Stuart Levey, undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, told reporters that Treasury had uncovered "systemic failures by Banco Delta Asia to apply appropriate standards and due diligence" and a "gamut of illicit activities that the bank facilitated on behalf of North Korean-related clients." But the six-nation talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear program were deemed more important. U.S. officials said they decided they would not allow a dispute over such a relatively small amount of money to harm the process. So the Treasury, despite the misgivings of some top officials, agreed to back down on a point of principle. [BDA] [Dissension] [Backdown]  
• Bank row resolved as North Korea talks open
  By Lindsay Beck and Ben Blanchard Reuters Monday, March 19, 2007; 1:36 AM
  BEIJING (Reuters) - North Korea and the United States have resolved a dispute over $25 million frozen at a Macau bank, U.S. officials said, clearing a major obstacle to six-party talks on nuclear disarmament that resumed on Monday. U.S. Treasury official Daniel Glaser said the funds frozen in Macau's Banco Delta Asia (BDA) would be returned to Pyongyang via a Chinese bank, but a ban on U.S. financial institutions doing business with BDA -- which Washington says was complicit in North Korea's illicit dealings -- would remain. [BDA] At issue is the fate of $24m in deposits held by North Korean companies and financial institutions at the bank, which has eight branches in its home market and two in Hong Kong. [BDA}
• North to shut five nuclear plants
  March 19, 2007 BEIJING ? North Korea has agreed to shut down five nuclear facilities that were reactivated in 2002, a diplomatic source in Beijing said yesterday. The five nuclear facilities were frozen in 1994 but the North resumed activities there in 2002 after kicking out the inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency or IAEA. According to the source, the North Koreans and Mohamed ElBaradei, the director general of the IAEA, decided to shut down and seal the five nuclear facilities while he was in the North Tuesday and Wednesday. The five facilities to be shut down include the 5-megawatt nuclear reactor and nuclear fuel rod production facility in Yongbyon.
• N Korea warning on nuclear deal
  By James Reynolds BBC News, Beijing
  Kim Kye-gwan wants funds freed before making a deal North Korean negotiator Kim Kye-gwan has warned that his country will not close its nuclear facilities until the US releases about $25m in frozen funds. Funds at Banco Delta Asia in Macao were frozen over money laundering claims. [BDA]
• China: N. Korea funds issue solved
  BEIJING (AP) — A senior Chinese official said Sunday that the United States and North Korea have resolved a dispute over North Korean funds frozen in a Macau bank, China's state-run Xinhua News Agency reported. State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan, the Chinese government's most senior official in charge of foreign policy, told a group of visiting Japanese lawmakers about the U.S.-North Korean deal, Xinhua said. The brief Xinhua report did not provide details of the agreement. [BDA]
• N. Korea Again Links Assets to Nuclear Deal
  By Maureen Fan Washington Post Foreign Service Sunday, March 18, 2007; Page A21
  BEIJING, March 17 -- North Korea will not stop its nuclear activity until all of its money frozen in a Macau bank has been released, the lead North Korean negotiator said as he arrived in Beijing for disarmament talks. The comments from Kim Gye Gwan, the North Korean vice foreign minister, came just before the chief U.S. negotiator, Assistant Secretary of State Christopher R. Hill, briefed a North Korean delegation in Beijing on the matter. Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury officials met with monetary authorities in Macau to discuss Banco Delta Asia, which has been accused of laundering illicit money from North Korea.
  Peter M. Beck, a Seoul-based analyst with the International Crisis Group, said the situation remained murky. "It's really not clear if the Treasury and State departments are on the same page yet," Beck said, "and it's not clear what the North Koreans are willing to accept, if they're going to insist on the full amount as they said today, or get roughly half back and declare victory." Meanwhile, North Korea said it had begun to make preparations to shut down the nuclear facility as part of a Feb. 13 agreement that was hailed as a milestone in the six-party talks, which involve North and South Korea, Japan, Russia, China and the United States. [BDA] [Dissension]
• Bombs, birthdays and North Korea's future
  JE Hoare
  9 - 3 - 2007 Don't write off the regime in Pyongyang yet, says JE Hoare. The country's neighbours may keep it afloat rather than face the consequences of further crisis and conflict.
  The signing of a new agreement on North Korean nuclear disarmament in exchange for $300 million in aid on 13 February 2007 did not excite a great deal of international euphoria. Denunciations began almost as soon as the agreement was announced in Beijing, with John Bolton, the former interim United States representative to the United Nations, accusing president George W Bush of abandoning the policy pursued since 2001 and sending all the wrong signals to the rest of the world. Nor did Bolton spare his former state-department colleagues who were castigated for pursuing surrender policies. Even among those who welcomed the agreement, and among many who had argued that the Bush approach was a failure, it is hard to find a great deal of enthusiasm. Partly this was the opaqueness of what exactly had been agreed in Beijing, and partly it was a sense of the time wasted to get back to something that looked not unlike the framework deal negotiated in Geneva in1994, but with an additional six years of complicated history added on. [Agreement070213]
• The Macau Bank Deal: Hear No Axis, See No Axis
  John Berthelsen 17 March 2007 From charter member of the axis of evil to new partner in diplomacy, North Korea gets away with it. The apparent deal to release some or all of the US$25 million dollars in frozen North Korean funds at Macau's sleazy little Banco Delta Asia, represents a final, humiliating reversal of George W Bush's take-no-prisoners foreign policy. It's a deal so small that it's questionable how far it will resonate with the US's remarkably docile conservative voters, who ought to be in front of the White House with pikes and flaming barrels of tar. That is because it illustrates how desperate the Bush administration is now to bargain for even tenuous Asian security. [BDA]
• U.S. Seeking Full Disclosure of North Korean Enriched Uranium Program
  The United States' chief negotiator on North Korea's nuclear programs has said Pyongyang needs to be open about its enriched uranium activities in order for an agreement on denuclearization to move forward. But, as Daniel Schearf reports from Beijing, the issue could prove a sticking point, as North Korea has never publicly admitted to having such a program. The U.S. envoy to talks on North Korea's nuclear programs, Christopher Hill, told reporters Friday he aims to seek an explanation from North Korea on its uranium enrichment program. [HEU]
• Six-Party Delegates Discuss Northeast Asian Security
  Chief delegates to six-party working group talks discussed a new security mechanism in Northeast Asia on Friday. Attending the discussions were South Korea's envoy for North Korean nuclear issues Lim Sung-nam and Assistant U.S. Secretary of State Christopher Hill together with delegates from North Korea, China, Japan and Russia also took part.
• N Korea hints nuclear deal is safe
  By David Pilling in Tokyo, Andrew Yeh in Beijing and Robin Kwong in Macao Published: March 16 2007 20:11 | Last updated: March 16 2007 20:11 A Japanese newspaper widely viewed as an unofficial mouthpiece for Pyongyang on Friday welcomed the end of a US Treasury investigation into alleged money laundering by a Macao bank, calling it an "epochal event". In the first clue to how North Korea would react to the US Treasury decision this week, the newspaper, Choson Sinbo, which is linked to an association of North Koreans living in Japan, said US action over Banco Delta Asia this week was "a very positive sign". [BDA]
• N.K. could make denuclearization progress by early April
  IAEA inspectors set to return to North shortly: sources
  During International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Mohamed ElBaradei's visit North Korea on March 13-14, Pyongyang agreed to dismantle and shut down its Yongbyon nuclear reactor and reprocessing facilities under the inspection of IAEA officials, sources close to the matter said. The sources predicted this would be completed by March or early April.    
• With BDA issue resolved, N.K. should implement initial steps of nuke accord: Hill
  Little now stands in the way of North Korea moving toward nuclear disarmament as the United States has taken steps to resolve its key grievance: resolution of a financial sanctions dispute, Washington's top nuclear envoy said Friday On Wednesday, Washington officially barred U.S. banks from having any ties with Banco Delta Asia (BDA), a Macau-based bank accused of money-laundering for North Korea, a move that will open the way for Pyongyang to reclaim its frozen assets of US$24 million from the bank. [BDA]
• Nuclear shutdown 'impossible' without complete lifting of sanctions: N.K. envoy
  North Korea will not shut down its nuclear facilities despite agreeing to do so last month until the United States unfreezes all of its funds held at a Macau bank, the communist state's top nuclear negotiator said Saturday. "If the United States does not remove all of its restrictions on our funds at Banco Delta Asia (BDA), we cannot shut down our nuclear facilities at Yongbyon," Kim Kye-gwan told reporters upon arrival here. [BDA]
• Not guilty says Macau bank chief
  U.S. treasury findings against Banco Delta Asia challenged March 17, 2007
    Stanley Au, chairman of Delta Asia Financial, the parent firm of Banco Delta Asia, said the bank would challenge a U.S. decision to cut ties between the lender and the U.S. financial system over allegations of North Korean money laundering. The bank did not knowingly do anything wrong, Mr. Au said. [YONHAP] MACAO ? The Macao-based bank at the center of allegations of money laundering on behalf of Pyongyang never meant to take any dirty money and cancelled illicit accounts as soon as the United States voiced worries, the chairman of the bank's parent firm said yesterday. Delta Asia Financial's chairman, Stanley Au, rejected the U.S. Treasury Department's conclusion that his bank gave its North Korean clients access to the banking system with little supervision and facilitated financial transactions involving the North's trade in counterfeit U.S. dollars. "We have sent evidence to prove our innocence to the U.S. government several times," said Mr. Au, whose family founded Banco Delta Asia in 1935. He said that after the U.S. Treasury Department designated the bank as a money launderer in September 2005, the firm hired Ernst & Young, an internationally accredited accounting company, at great expense to strengthen its defenses against money laundering. The U.S. Treasury Department concluded an 18-month probe into Banco Delta Asia this week, saying the firm would be cut off from U.S. banks. The decision opens the way for the unfreezing of $25 million in North Korean assets, which Pyongyang has been demanding as a precondition for continued six-party nuclear talks. Mr. Au said he hopes the United States will reverse its decision to cut all financial ties between American banks and his company. Mr. Au said he is taking steps to counter the U.S. decision in court. [BDA]
• Envoys confident on shutdown of North nuke facility
  March 17, 2007 After a briefing by the head of the UN nuclear watchdog who had just come from Pyongyang, South Korean and U.S. negotiators said they were confident the International Atomic Energy Agency will experience no obstacles in verifying the shutdown of North Korea's main nuclear facility, as planned. Christopher Hill, assistant secretary of state and Washington's pointman for the six-nation nuclear talks, met with Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, yesterday in Beijing to listen to his report on his visit to Pyongyang. South Korea's nuclear envoy, Chun Young-woo, and his Japanese counterpart, Suda Akio, also attended the briefing.
• Nuclear Shutdown 'Impossible' Without Complete Lifting of Sanctions: NK Envoy
  North Korea will not shut down its nuclear facilities despite agreeing to do so in six-nation talks in Beijing last month until the United States unfreezes all of its funds held at a Macau bank, the Yonhap News Agency reported Saturday quoting Pyongyang's top nuclear negotiator. "If the United States does not remove all of its restrictions on our funds at Banco Delta Asia (BDA), we cannot shut down our nuclear facilities at Yongbyon," Kim Kye-gwan told reporters upon arrival in Beijing [BDA]
• North Korea Insists U.S. Must Lift Money Curbs
  By REUTERS Published: March 17, 2007 Filed at 3:43 a.m. ET Skip to next paragraph BEIJING (Reuters) - North Korea's chief nuclear envoy said on Saturday his country would not stop its nuclear development program until the United States first lifted financial curbs on North Korean accounts in a Macau bank. Kim Kye-gwan, addressing reporters on arrival in Beijing for a new session of six-party talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear weapons program, appeared in no mood to mince words. ``If the Banco Delta Asia financial sanctions are not completely lifted, we are not going to stop our nuclear development program,'' Kim said. ``... What I mean is the initial steps. We are not going to stop the operation of the Yongbyon nuclear facility.'' China's Xinhua news agency quoted him as saying North Korea had received no notification on the lifting of curbs from the United States and that it was ``unnecessary'' for the two countries to set up liaison offices. [BDA]
• N.Korea Insists U.S. Unfreeze $25M
  By BO-MI LIMThe Associated Press Saturday, March 17, 2007; 2:06 AM
  BEIJING -- North Korea will not stop its nuclear activity unless $25 million of its funds held in a Macau bank are fully released, the regime's top nuclear envoy said Saturday. Banco Delta Asia had been blacklisted by Washington since September 2005 for its complicity in North Korean money laundering. The U.S. had promised to resolve the issue as part of the implementation of a landmark nuclear disarmament deal with North Korea.
  Earlier this week, the U.S. Treasury Department ended its investigation into the small Macau lender and said that ties would be cut with the bank and the U.S. financial system. The move might lead regulators to unfreeze a portion of the money. Issuing the communist state's first official response to the U.S. decision, Kim Kye Gwan said Saturday in Beijing that his country has not heard anything officially about the lifting of financial sanctions. "We will not stop our nuclear activity until our funds frozen in the BDA are fully released," he said. "We will not stop the Yongbyon nuclear facility until the United States fully releases our funds frozen in the BDA." [BDA]
• Kim Yong Dae Meets IAEA Director-General
  Pyongyang, March 14 (KCNA) -- Kim Yong Dae, vice-president of the Presidium of the DPRK Supreme People's Assembly, met and had a talk with Mohamed Elbaradei, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and his party at the Mansudae Assembly Hall on Wednesday
• IAEA Director-General Leaves
  Pyongyang, March 14 (KCNA) -- Mohamed Elbaradei, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and his party left here on Wednesday.
• U.S. Offers Power Generators to N.Korea
  Working group talks on energy and economic aid to North Korea on Thursday saw the U.S. offer Pyongyang power generators for civilian use if it shuts down its nuclear facilities. At the Beijing talks, the director of Asian economic affairs at the U.S. National Security Council, Kurt Tong, told North Korean chief negotiator Kim Myong-gil, a minister in North Korea's UN mission, that Washington can offer electric generators for purposes like operating hospitals. South Korea's chief nuclear negotiator Chun Yung-woo, who chairs the energy working group, said that the U.S. will also participate in an initial energy aid program to provide 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil to the North in return for Pyongyang's shutdown of nuclear facilities.
  U.S. chief nuclear negotiator Christopher Hill, who is in Beijing to attend a plenary session of the six-party talks and a working group meeting, talks to reporters on leaving his hotel on Thursday./Yonhap
    The U.S. is considering purchasing the power generators with money from the federal budget and delivering them to the North via NGOs that conduct humanitarian work there like the Eugene Bell Foundation. Under the terms of the Feb. 13 six-party agreement, North Korea will be given 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil if it takes initial steps to disable its nuclear facilities. The South Korean government plans to send the oil to North Korea in three shipments late this month or early next month, when International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors return to the North. Meanwhile, an Australian diplomat said Thursday that North Korea appears to be shutting down and sealing the Yongbyon nuclear facilities. Peter Baxter, head of the Australian Foreign Ministry's North Asia Division, visited North Korea for four days beginning on Sunday at the head of an Australian government delegation. On the way home, the delegation stopped over in Beijing, where Baxter, without mentioning details, told reporters, "I heard nothing in my discussions with the North Korean officials to indicate that they were backtracking from that or seeking to impose new conditions outside of those which have been discussed in the six-party process."
• Six-party working groups open on energy reward to N. Korea
  Officials from the six nations involved in negotiations aimed at persuading North Korea to give up its nuclear ambition began working group meetings on Thursday, while the South Korean chairman of a group on energy cooperation called for swift action to denuclearize the communist nation
• Washington unveils plan to resolve financial dispute with Pyongyang
        The U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday made public a plan to resolve the financial dispute with North Korea by formally banning U.S. financial institutions from dealing with the Macau-based Banco Delta Asia (BDA), suspected of handling illicit North Korean assets. "When it takes effect in 30 days, this action will prohibit all U.S. financial institutions from maintaining correspondent accounts for BDA and prevents BDA from accessing the U.S. financial system, either directly or indirectly," the Treasury Department said in a statement, wrapping up its lengthy investigation into the bank. [BDA]  
• Unfreezing North's funds now up to Macao, says U.S.
  Roadblock to 6-party talks removed by bank decision March 16, 2007 One obstacle to successfully concluding nuclear talks with North Korea may have been removed Wednesday in Washington when the U.S. Treasury Department concluded an 18-month investigation into a Macao-based bank suspected of money laundering activities on behalf of Pyongyang. As part of its action against Banco Delta Asia, the U.S. will cut all ties between the small lender and the American financial system, a move that clears the way for Macao authorities to release $25 million in frozen North Korean assets held by the bank. The money has been a major issue in the six-party talks with North Korea. Stuart Levey, undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, told reporters that it was now up to Macao to decide what to do with the frozen accounts. "I think we still have some consultations to go but I think we won't get ourselves into a situation where the BDA will pose a stumbling block to the six-party process, so what was important about the announcement was the treasury went final on this ruling," Christopher Hill, Washington's chief envoy to the six-party talks, said yesterday. [BDA]
• `Financial Dispute With N. Korea Resolved'
  Top U.S. nuclear envoy Christopher Hill said the financial dispute with North Korea has been resolved, the Yonhap News Agency reported Friday. Hill's remarks came just after the U.S. government asked their financial institutions to severe all ties with the Macau-based Banco Delta Asia (BDA) because of its illicit links to North Korea. On Wednesday, the administration said it will bar U.S. financial institutions from dealings with the bank, which it says was complicit in money laundering by the North. But the move could allow Macau authorities that have taken over the accounts to free some of the money found to be from legitimate business. In a dispatch from Beijing, the Associated Press (AP) quoted Hill as saying that he felt a dispute over North Korean funds held in Macau that had possibly threatened international efforts to rid Pyongyang of its nuclear weapons had been resolved. [BDA] [Media]
• Dispute Over NKorea Funds May Be Over
  By BO-MI LIM The Associated Press Friday, March 16, 2007; 12:52 AM BEIJING -- The top U.S. nuclear envoy said Friday that he felt a dispute over North Korean funds held in Macau that had possibly threatened international efforts to rid Pyongyang of its nuclear weapons had been resolved. Washington promised to resolve its blacklisting of the tiny Banco Delta Asia and the freezing of $24 million in North Korean deposits as an inducement to Pyongyang to rejoin international talks on its nuclear ambitions.
  A U.S. Treasury Department decision Wednesday ordering U.S. banks to sever ties with Banco Delta Asia appeared to fall short of expectations. But U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said he was confident North Korea would fulfill its obligations to close its main nuclear reactor in exchange for energy aid and political concessions.
  North Korea has yet to react publicly to the Treasury Department's decision. The Macau bank has been blacklisted by the U.S. Treasury Department since September 2005 for its alleged complicity in North Korean money laundering. The North boycotted nuclear talks for more than a year over the bank issue and conducted its first nuclear test in October. On Thursday, China expressed "deep regret" over the Treasury Department's decision. Banco Delta Asia said Friday that it would challenge the decision and denied any knowledge of money laundering by North Korea. [BDA]
• U.S. seeks to bury bank rift before N.Korea nuclear talks
  By Chris Buckley Reuters Thursday, March 15, 2007; 10:45 PM
  BEIJING (Reuters) - Nuclear negotiators gathering in Beijing will turn their attention to implementing a disarmament agreement with North Korea, the chief U.S. envoy said on Friday, seeking to bury a rift with China. Beijing has criticised Washington's decision to ban U.S. banks dealing with Banco Delta Asia, or BDA, a Macau bank which the U.S. Treasury said sheltered illegal North Korean earnings.
  The United States made the move as it seeks to fulfill its side of a February 13 agreement offering North Korea improved aid and security in return for shutting down the reactor at the heart of its nuclear weapons program by mid-April. Macau may now free up frozen North Korean accounts found to be above board. North Korea has yet to comment on the U.S. announcement. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said on Thursday that he "deeply regrets" the U.S. decision, suggesting that it could destablise Macau's financial system and harm six-party nuclear talks that restart on Monday. [BDA]
• China regrets US move on Macao bank
  By Qin Jize and Zhu Ping (China Daily) Updated: 2007-03-16 07:06
  China deeply regrets the US decision to prohibit American financial institutions from dealing with a Macao bank, which has been accused of laundering money for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). "We deeply regret the United States' insistance on using American domestic law to apply a ruling on Banco Delta Asia (BDA)," Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said in a regular press briefing yesterday. The central government and the Macao Special Administrative Region have repeatedly expressed their concerns over the issue to the US, he said. China expects the US to take action that would help the Six-Party Talks to progress and maintain the financial and social stability of Macao. "We believe both should be taken into full consideration," Qin said. The US Treasury Department finalized its rule against BDA yesterday, barring the bank from accessing the US financial market directly or indirectly. Stuart Levey, the department's Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, said the regulatory action was targeted at BDA as an institution, not Macao as a jurisdiction. The Macao authorities, too, issued a statement yesterday, deeply regretting the US decision. "The Chinese central government firmly supports the government of Macao SAR to appropriately resolve the related issues in accordance with the law," Qin said. (China Daily 03/16/2007 page2) [BDA] [Extraterritoriality]
• U.S. Ends Bank Probe; Possible Step Toward N. Korean Reactor Closure
  By Glenn Kessler and Edward Cody Washington Post Staff Writers Thursday, March 15, 2007; Page A16
  The Treasury Department said yesterday that it has ended its investigation of a Macau bank that it accused of facilitating money laundering and counterfeiting by North Korea, removing a possible roadblock to a six-nation agreement to shut down the reclusive nation's nuclear reactor. The Bush administration had pledged to end the case against Banco Delta Asia -- a case that complicated negotiations on North Korea's nuclear programs -- within 30 days of the Feb. 13 agreement on the nuclear program. But it is unclear whether the Treasury action, which formally ordered U.S. banks to stop doing business with Banco Delta Asia because of its dealings with North Korean entities, will satisfy North Korean demands for a halt to what Pyongyang has labeled "financial sanctions."
  Now U.S. officials and Asian diplomats are bracing for North Korea's reaction. The mercurial government could declare victory and accept the Treasury decision or could say the move is inadequate. But analysts said it is more likely Pyongyang will bide its time, waiting to see whether the U.S. action continues to affect North Korea's banking relationships around the world. "The North Koreans have the upper hand, and they know that," said Charles L. "Jack" Pritchard, a former State Department negotiator with North Korea who is now president of the Korean Economic Institute in Washington. "They can ride this as long as they want to," he said, adding that if the "chilling effect" of the Banco Delta Asia decision continues, "the North Koreans are not going to be pleased." [BDA]
• Director-General of IAEA Here
  Pyongyang, March 13 (KCNA) -- Mohamed el-Baradei, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and his party arrived here today.
• N. Korea vows to shut reactor once U.S. lifts sanctions
  By Tim Johnson McClatchy Newspapers BEIJING - North Korea says it's "willing to fully cooperate" with international monitors in shutting down its main nuclear facility as soon as Washington lifts financial sanctions against a Macau bank, the U.N. nuclear chief said Wednesday. Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said his first trip to North Korea since it threw out nuclear inspectors in 2002 was "quite useful." "We cleared the air. We opened the door for a normal relationship," ElBaradei said after returning to Beijing. North Korean officials said they were "waiting for the lifting of financial sanctions" before proceeding with the agreed-on freezing and disabling of the Yongbyon nuclear reactor and a plutonium factory, he said. Further progress appeared to hinge on a pending announcement in Washington regarding a bank in the Chinese gambling enclave of Macau. The Bush administration accused Banco Delta Asia in 2005 of helping North Korea launder money and traffic in counterfeit U.S. currency, leading to the freezing of at least $24 million in assets.
• Stopping North Korea’s nuclear programme:an active role for the EU
  Herbert Wulf
  European Security Review, no. 31, December 2006
  North Korea’s supreme leader, Kim Jong Il, continues his quest for nuclear weapons and the means of delivering them. On 9 October this year North Korea tested a nuclear device. This followed long-range missile tests in July and a warning that it would retaliate against ongoing US-South Korean military exercises in August. North Korea’s actions are a profound test for the future viability of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). In contrast to its active role at the end of the 1990s in facilitating the lessening of tensions on the Korean peninsula, at present, the European Union is merely an onlooker. For a long time, while European politicians and media were concentrating on the security risks of the Middle East, North Korea was largely ignored. Now it is time for the EU to re-engage.
• As beleaguered North Korea steps back from the bomb, what lesson in this for Iran?
  Stephen Pullinger
  With attention focused on Iraq and Iran, the news that North Korea,the third member of President Bush’s infamous ‘axis of evil’ —had struck a deal on February 8 over its nuclear programme came as a pleasant surprise. As an initial step, in return for 50,000 tonnes of food aid and fuel oil, Pyongyang agreed to shut and seal its nuclear facilities at Yongbyon inside 60 days. Both the US and Japan agreed to begin bilateral talks with North Korea with a view to normalising their relations. Washington will proceed towards removing North Korea from its list of state sponsors of terrorism and the cessation of trade sanctions. As Pyongyang provides a comprehensive declaration of its nuclear programmes and disables all of its existing facilities, so it will receive additional aid worth 950,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil (equivalent to more than two-thirds of North Korea’s entire oil consumption in 2004). Chief US negotiator Christopher Hill said the aid package was worth about $250 million at current prices. On the face of it, a good day in the fight against nuclear proliferation. But doubts are already being expressed about the nature and solidity of the deal. Referring to the 1994 Agreed Framework in which the US, Japan and South Korea provided fuel and lightwater reactors in return for a suspension of North Korea’s nuclear programme, some are saying that this new agreement merely takes us ‘back to the future’. They ask why this deal could not have been agreed four years ago, before North Korea conducted its nuclear test and acquired enough plutonium to build up to ten more nuclear weapons. Maybe, but we should not forget that the previous agreement unravelled when North Korea, in response to US accusations, eventually confessed that it was in flagrant breach by conducting a clandestine uranium enrichment programme. [Agreement070213] [HEU] [Admission]
• Britain to Renew Nuclear Arsenal Despite Revolt
  By REUTERS Published: March 14, 2007 Filed at 6:20 a.m. ET Skip to next paragraph LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's parliament is expected to approve a new nuclear arsenal on Wednesday but British Prime Minister Tony Blair may have to rely on opposition votes to push his plans through. Blair is due to step down in the next few months and is convinced Britain needs to renew its nuclear deterrent, despite deep-rooted opposition within his Labor Party which could see scores of Labor lawmakers voting against him. Blair argues Britain must keep atomic weapons because potential threats from Iran, North Korea or nuclear terrorists mean abandoning them now could be a costly mistake -- even if there is no current threat. [Double standards] [Threat]
• Britain's Blair faces parliamentary rebellion in nuclear submarine vote
  The Associated Press Published: March 13, 2007 LONDON: British Prime Minister Tony Blair faced a major rebellion in his own party Wednesday over a proposal for a nuclear missile defense system — a program critics claim could undermine efforts to stem the weapons ambitions of Iran and other countries. Blair told the House of Commons that Britain's fleet of four nuclear-armed submarines — due to be phased out from 2022 — should be replaced to meet possible future threats from rogue regimes and state-sponsored terrorists. He is likely to win approval for the program, which he estimates would cost 20 billion pounds (US$40 billion; €30 billion), but only with the support of the opposition Conservative Party, which has said it would back the proposal. "I think it's right we take the decision now to begin work on replacing the Trident submarines, I think it's essential for security in an uncertain world," Blair said during his weekly question period in the House of Commons before the debate and vote. "Though it is impossible to predict the future, the one thing that is certain is the unpredictability of it." [Nuclear weapons] [Threat] [Double standards]
• North Korea Ties Entry of UN Inspectors to Sanctions (Update1)
  By Allen T. Cheng and Brian Lysaght March 14 (Bloomberg) -- North Korean officials will allow United Nations nuclear inspectors into the country once the U.S. removes financial sanctions, Mohamed ElBaradei, the UN atomic energy chief, said today after a visit to Pyongyang. ``The DPRK says their cooperation, accepting inspectors, will come after the lifting of the sanctions,'' said ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency. The DPRK refers to North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. [Financial sanctions]
• Nuclear agency says North Korea ready to negotiate
  Staff and agencies Wednesday March 14, 2007 Guardian Unlimited
  Mohammed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), holds a press conference in Beijing after returning from Pyongyang. Photograph: Adrian Bradshaw/EPA   Pyongyang is willing to enter discussions over shutting down its nuclear programme once financial sanctions against it are lifted, the head of the UN atomic watchdog said today.
  But he was snubbed by North Korea's top nuclear negotiator - the deputy foreign minister, Kim Kye-Gwan, who claimed he was too busy to meet the nuclear inspector. [Financial sanctions]
• UN nuclear chief sees North Korea honoring deal
  But he links progress to bank deal
  By Joseph Kahn Published: March 14, 2007
  BEIJING: North Korea will honor its commitment to shut down a reactor it has used to produce fuel for nuclear bombs, but it has demanded that the United States first remove financial penalties against it, the chief of the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency said Wednesday. In Beijing after his visit to Pyongyang, Mohamed ElBaradei, chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said North Korea had pledged to adhere to the terms of a Feb. 13 accord that requires, as a first step, that it shut down its main facility to produce plutonium in exchange for shipments of heavy fuel oil. Elbaradei said, however, that the officials he met emphasized that they would not act until the United States resolved a dispute over North Korean deposits at a bank in the Chinese territory of Macau. The deposits, totaling $24 million, have been frozen since 2005, when the Treasury Department accused the bank, Banco Delta Asia, of laundering money for Kim Jong Il's government. Referring to the closure of the nuclear facility at Yongbyon, ElBaradei said, "They said they are ready, willing and capable of doing that as soon as the financial sanctions are lifted."
  Hill said after his arrival in Beijing that Washington intended to stick by a commitment it made in February to end the Macau dispute promptly. "The Macau issue will be resolved as we've promised," he said. But it remains unclear how quickly North Korea will be able to retrieve all of the funds it deposited with the bank, and some diplomats said they suspected Pyongyang may intend to use the issue to delay implementation the disarmament agreement.
  The Treasury Department is expected to move formally this week to bar American banks from engaging in transactions with the Macau bank, a Bush administration official said Tuesday. The move would clear the way for the North to regain possession of some money by allowing China to return funds that are not linked to illicit activities. As much as half of the money is expected to be returned to North Korea. American officials charged in 2005 that the bank was helping North Korea conduct counterfeiting, narcotics trafficking and transactions related to its nuclear weapons program, a charge that North Korea and the bank denied. The initial Treasury announcement put American banks on notice that after further investigation, the department would decide whether to bar U.S. banks formally from facilitating transactions with the bank. But the practical effect was to make all U.S. banks voluntarily cease transactions with the bank. Without the ability to acquire dollars, Banco Delta Asia collapsed. Macao froze all its funds related to North Korea, and most of its other customers withdrew their money in a run on the bank. The bank was then taken over by the authorities in Macao, a semi-autonomous province of China. The Treasury announcement expected this week would formalize what is already in place. It would probably mean that the bank could do only a modest amount of business, without the benefit of dollar transactions. It was unclear how the North Korean government would respond to the announcement. [Financial sanctions] [Media]
• U.S. to Release Disputed N. Korea Money
  By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: March 14, 2007 Filed at 1:13 p.m. ET Skip to next paragraph Related Treasury Reportedly Set to Act to Free North Korean Money (March 14, 2007) WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Bush administration announced steps Wednesday that could enable the release of North Korean assets frozen in a Macau bank, an action sought by Pyongyang as part of a nuclear arms deal. In a two-step decision, the Treasury Department also said it is severing ties between Banco Delta Asia and the U.S. financial system because of its alleged money laundering for North Korea. At the same time, however, the department is expected to provide guidance to help overseas regulators identify highest-risk and lower-risk account holders. This risk assessment, in turn, could be used by Macau to release some North Korean money that has been frozen and is being held by the bank. [Financial sanctions] [BDA] [Toolkit] [Spin]
• N. Korea Demands May Delay Reactor Shutdown
  Pyongyang Wants U.S. Restrictions on Its Bank Accounts Lifted First By Edward Cody Washington Post Foreign Service Wednesday, March 14, 2007; 2:22 PM
  BEIJING, March 14 -- The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said Wednesday that North Korean officials told him they will begin shutting down their main nuclear reactor only after the United States lifts financial restrictions against North Korea. Mohamed ElBaradei, speaking here after completing a visit to North Korea, said officials made it clear they were still willing to carry out a Feb. 13 commitment to close the reactor, a plutonium-based facility at Yongbyon near Pyongyang.
  But he said they also stressed that the United States must first fulfill its pledge to cancel measures that have frozen millions of dollars in North Korean-linked accounts at a Macau bank, Banco Delta Asia, accused by U.S. investigators of money-laundering. Under the agreement reached Feb. 13 in Beijing, the Bush administration promised to resolve the banking dispute within 30 days, a deadline that has arrived.
  At a news conference, ElBaradei said he met with the head of North Korea's atomic energy agency, Ri Je Son, and other senior officials. The chief North Korean nuclear negotiator, Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan, was said to be sick and unable to see him, ElBaradei said. The talks were preliminary, ElBaradei stressed, and part of what he outlined as a long process of renewed cooperation that would be "better for North Korea, better for the world." "The DPRK also said that they are fully committed to the Feb. 13 agreement," ElBaradei said, using the initials for North Korea's formal name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. But they added that the Banco Delta Asia dispute must first be resolved satisfactorily, he explained after traveling here from Pyongyang, the North Korean capital. "Once that was to happen," he said, "they said they were fully committed to working with us to make sure the agreement is carried out within the time frame envisaged." Hill and envoys from the five other nations involved in the talks -- China, North and South Koreas, Japan and Russia -- have scheduled a new round beginning Monday, to be preceded by several days of working-group discussions on specific topics. Chinese officials said the goal is to decide on the next steps to carry out an over-all accord dating from September 2005 calling for North Korea to abandon all nuclear weapons in return for economic aid and normalized relations with the United States. [Financial sanctions] [Media]
• Just One Day Away, but A World Apart
  Wednesday, March 14, 2007; A13 Sometimes high diplomacy depends on simple math. Take the North Korean nuclear deal, which was reached in Beijing on Feb. 13. Under a side agreement, the United States promised to resolve within 30 days a Treasury Department case that had frozen North Korean funds at a bank in Macau suspected of distributing dollars counterfeited in North Korea. U.S. officials have said the case will be settled this week, probably today or tomorrow. The North Koreans count Feb. 13 as one of the 30 days, meaning that by their math the deadline is today, according to a source in touch with the government in Pyongyang. But U.S. officials do not count the 13th, so 30 days to the United States means the deadline is tomorrow. "I guess they had to cut math from the curriculum to make time for Counterfeiting 101," sniffed one U.S. official. North Korean officials have said that a failure to end the Banco Delta Asia matter to their satisfaction could torpedo a deal under which Pyongyang freezes and then "seals" its nuclear reactor in exchange for 50,000 tons of fuel oil. U.S. officials expect up to $12 million out of $24 million in frozen funds eventually to be released from the bank -- though perhaps not quickly enough to please the North Koreans. -- Glenn Kessler [BDA] [Financial sanctions] [Media]
• North Korea will 'fully cooperate' on nukes when bank sanctions lifted
  By Tim Johnson McClatchy Newspapers BEIJING - North Korea says it's "willing to fully cooperate" with international monitors in shutting down its main nuclear facility as soon as Washington lifts financial sanctions against a Macau bank, the U.N. nuclear chief said Wednesday. Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said his first trip to North Korea since it threw out nuclear inspectors in 2002 was "quite useful." "We cleared the air. We opened the door for a normal relationship," ElBaradei said after returning to Beijing. North Korean officials said they were "waiting for the lifting of financial sanctions" before proceeding with the agreed-on freezing and disabling of the Yongbyon nuclear reactor and a plutonium factory, he said.
  .S. officials said this week in Washington that the Treasury Department would clear the way for Macau authorities to release some of the frozen accounts deemed clean. One of the clients with the largest sums frozen at the bank, Colin McAskill of Koryo Asia Ltd., which is buying the foreign-operated Daedong Credit Bank in Pyongyang, told McClatchy Newspapers last week that he expected to get back $6 million to $7 million. U.S. officials in Washington said releasing the bank's money could take weeks, a potential hitch in coming weeks of nuclear talks. [Financial sanctions]
• Ariane 5 Rocket Launches Two Satellites into Orbit
  By Tariq Malik Staff Writer posted: 11 March 2007 7:10 p.m. ET Two new communications satellites for India and the British military blasted off Sunday, riding an Ariane 5 into orbit one day after a launch pad glitch prevented a Saturday launch attempt.
• IAEA chief en route to N. Korea for talks on initial disarmament steps
  The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog said Monday that getting U.N. nuclear monitors back in North Korea would be a "complex process" that requires lots of efforts to build confidence between his agency and the communist country.
• ElBaradei in N.K. to discuss inspections
  The chief of the U.N. nuclear watchdog authority arrived in Pyongyang yesterday to discuss the inspection of North Korea's nuclear programs, in a mission observers said will act as a barometer of success of the six-party talks. International Atomic Energy Agency head Mohamed ElBaradei had told reporters at Beijing airport before heading to North Korea that it would be "a very complex process" and that "a lot of confidence needs to be built." Experts said the politically significant visit could help create a "softer atmosphere" for follow-up negotiations on the return of IAEA inspectors to the communist country. "Dialogue between the IAEA and North Korea is one of several minefields in the Feb. 13 agreement because whereas the IAEA will stick to inspection principles, North Korea could limit the inspection's boundaries by citing sovereign rights," Dr. Kim Tae-woo of the Korean Institute for Defense Analysis said.
• Nuke Issue May See Watershed in One Week
      Roughly a month after the six-nation North Korea nuclear accord was reached in Beijing on Feb. 13, follow-up events are due to get underway in earnest this week. First, Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, will arrive in Pyongyang on Tuesday. Then a series of meetings between representatives from the six concerned parties will be held in Beijing from Thursday to next Wednesday. A topic of cardinal concern is the partial or total release of US$24 million of North Korean funds from the Banco Delta Asia (BDA) in Macao. Kim Kye-gwan, North Korea's vice foreign minister, has said that the North will take only limited steps if the U.S. leaves some of the funds frozen. In light of this, the BDA issue may affect the upcoming meetings.
• For Pyongyang talks are a way to make friends
  Getting off Washington's terror list is the North's priority in talks. March 13, 2007 Establishing diplomatic relations with Washington is at the heart of Pyongyang's wish list in current talks over its nuclear program. Bitterly estranged since the Korean War, for the two countries normalization of relations is again in the air, but it is going to take a lot of talking. Earlier this month, Christopher Hill, Washington's chief envoy to the six-party talks, described normalization as "right on track," while his North Korean counterpart, Kim Gye-gwan, echoed the sentiment. International Atomic Energy Agency head Mohamed ElBaradei, meanwhile, begins a two-day visit to Pyongyang today to implement initial steps toward denuclearization. He stopped off in Beijing en route and urged patience for what he said would be a long process of building trust on all sides. "I should caution that this is a very complex process," Mr. ElBaradei told reporters at the airport. "It is going to be a very incremental process." His visit is expected to lead to the return of IAEA inspectors which were expelled from the North in 2002. The current nuclear crisis erupted then, as Washington claimed to have uncovered a clandestine uranium enrichment program operated by the North. Under the terms of a Feb. 13 agreement reached in six-party talks, the North is to give up its nuclear arsenal in exchange for economic and political concessions. For Pyongyang, gaining diplomatic recognition in Washington is seen as a way of addressing its economic collapse, according to a South Korean government official. "It makes sense," said the official. "You get diplomatic recognition, sanctions are lifted and business will follow." [NK US policy]
• Kim Dae-jung expected to visit North in summer
  March 13, 2007 Former President Kim Dae-jung is expected to visit Pyongyang, probably in June, to be followed by a meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and President Roh Moo-hyun around August or September, according to government sources who declined to be named.
• The smiling face of North Korean diplomacy
  By Anna Fifield Published: March 12 2007 02:00 | Last updated: March 12 2007 02:00 With the limousines, the bodyguards and the ever-present throng of reporters, Kim Kye-gwan received the kind of red-carpet treatment usually reserved for celebrities and presidents when he swung through New York last week. From dinners at five-star hotels to meetings with the likes of Henry Kissinger and Madeleine Albright, nothing was too much trouble for North Korea's chief nuclear negotiator. Such star treatment could hardly have been imagined four years ago, when US President George W. Bush labelled North Korea part of the "axis of evil". But with the failures in Iraq and Iran, the constantly smiling Mr Kim now represents the best chance the US has of chalking up a success with one of the "evil" states.
• North Korea process incremental, complex: IAEA
  By Lindsay Beck Reuters Monday, March 12, 2007; 12:37 AM BEIJING (Reuters) - The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Monday that moving forward to inspect and close facilities behind North Korea's nuclear weapons program would be complex as the two sides seek to rebuild severed ties. International Atomic Energy Agency director Mohamed ElBaradei landed in Beijing en route to North Korea, where he is to negotiate the return of agency inspectors as part of a February 13 accord.
  That pact aims to wind down North Korea's nuclear weapons ambitions in exchange for aid and security assurances.
• North still hopes for reactors
  Minister Song says discussions will follow dismantlement March 10, 2007 Foreign Minster Song Min-soon said yesterday that providing Pyongyang with a light-water reactor could be discussed after the North finishes disabling its nuclear weapons program. In ongoing negotiations, the North has said it wanted the reactor as a prize for eventual denuclearization, but Washington has been reluctant to discuss providing one so far. An agreement reached in September of 2005 states that the issue of providing a light-water reactor to the North will be discussed "at an appropriate time," without specifying what measures the North must take before discussions begin. [LWR] [Sequencing]
• USFK Chief Warns of N.Korea's Nuclear Capability
    The commander of the U.S. Forces Korea on Wednesday said North Korea is "on track to become a moderate nuclear power, potentially by the end of the decade" due to its plutonium production capability and an alleged uranium enrichment program unless a diplomatic settlement is reached. Gen. Burwell Bell was speaking in a hearing at the U.S. House Armed Services Committee in Washington.
• On the Road Again: Back to the starting line in Beijing
  By L. Gordon Flake February 13, 2007 If implemented, the agreement announced Tuesday from the latest round of six-party talks in Beijing appears to represent the first real, if still tenuous, opportunity in years for a negotiated settlement to the vexing challenge of North Korea’s nuclear program. While far short of a “breakthrough”-let alone a resolution of the nuclear issue—the agreement delegates to a working group the most difficult challenge of negotiating away North Korea actual nuclear weapons. The current agreement does appear to leverage a freeze of North Korea’s nuclear production capacity and corresponding energy aid to create an environment conducive to more serious negotiations. [Agreement070213]
• About Face on North Korea
  Inspections of North Korea's nuclear facilities could bring Bush administration allegations into doubt. March 6, 2007 Prepared by: Carin Zissis As the United States hosted North Korea for talks about normalizing a tempestuous relationship, questions swirled around Washington’s suddenly softer approach to Pyongyang. After years of refusing bilateral talks with the Hermit Kingdom—one of the three members of the “Axis of Evil”—the Bush administration switched tactics. Christopher Hill, the State Department’s senior diplomat for East Asian affairs, sat down in New York this week for direct negotiations with Kim Kye-Gwan to hammer out next steps on an agreement reached during February Six-Party Talks. Under the pact, North Korea will receive fuel oil, economic assistance, and humanitarian aid in return for shutting down and sealing its nuclear facilities within sixty days. [Backdown]
• North Korea’s Nuclear Weapons: Implications for the Nuclear Ambitions of Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan
  Christopher W. Hughes, Associate Professor at the University of Warwick and author of Japan’s Reemergence as a “Normal” Military Power and Japan’s Security Agenda: Military, Economic and Environmental Dimensions, writes, “Hence, the United States faces a major challenge in attempting to roll back the North Korean nuclear program and may already have failed in this endeavour. Failure of the United States and the region to halt North Korea’s nuclear program need not yet dissolve, however, into a process of wider nuclear proliferation in the region. Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan look set to continue to hedge their nuclear bets as long as the United States remains implacable and engaged in its security commitments.” [Nuclear weapons] [Proliferation] [Intelligent design]
• Oberdorfer: Nuclear Test Spurred Negotiations
  Interviewee: Don Oberdorfer, chairman of the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University's Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies Interviewer: Bernard Gwertzman, Consulting Editor * March 6, 2007 * Don Oberdorfer, a leading expert on the Koreas who met with the top North Korean negotiators this week, says that “important progress” has been made toward normalization of relations between the United States and North Korea. “They may be willing to give up part or all of their nuclear program,” he says. Still, Oberdorfer points out that caution is prudent, at least until more key issues are resolved:  “Like anything with North Korea, nothing is simple. There are a lot of moving parts of this agreement that are going to have to be addressed before reduction or abolition of their nuclear weapons program.”
  Some other things happened. We supplied fuel oil under the agreement, but from the U.S. standpoint, the North Koreans cheated on the agreement by accepting from Pakistan some centrifuges, which are the basis of the charge that they are secretly trying to make nuclear weapons material based on highly-enriched uranium, [HEU] [Evidence] [Nuclear test]
• Samore: N. Korean Deal a ‘Wise Compromise’ for Bush
  Interviewer: Bernard Gwertzman, Consulting Editor Interviewee: Gary Samore, Vice President, Director of Studies, and Maurice R. Greenberg Chair * February 13, 2007 * Gary Samore, an expert on North Korean nuclear policy who helped negotiate the 1994 Agreed Framework agreement for the Clinton administration, says the latest accord reached at the Six-Party Talks in Beijing was "a wise compromise" for the Bush administration. "I think it was the only practical approach, the only feasible approach that was available," says Samore, who is CFR's vice president and director of studies. "And I think the Bush administration should be supported for recognizing that it was better to accept a limited agreement which stabilized the situation and capped North Korea's production of plutonium, as opposed to holding out for a much more desirable but unattainable agreement that would require full disarmament." [Agreed Framework [Agreement070213]
• Pundits See Early Signs that N.Korea Is Serious
  There was optimism on Wednesday that North Korea is serious this time about disabling its nuclear facilities under the Feb. 13 six-party agreement, but some experts warn it is too soon to break out the champagne. After a working group meeting on normalizing bilateral ties in New York on Tuesday, U.S. chief negotiator Christopher Hill reported "a sense of optimism on both sides that we will get through the 60-day period and achieve all our objectives set out in Beijing. We had a long, useful discussion on the implementation of the next step."
  Kim Kye-gwan also looked pleased with the outcome. "We exchanged various views, including normalization of the (North) Korea-U.S. relations. The atmosphere was very good, constructive and serious." In a seminar at the Korea Society the previous day, Kim hinted he suggested a meeting between U.S. President George W. Bush and Kim Jong-il. "The shortcut to the normalization of the (North) Korea-U.S. relations is a meeting between top officials in (North) Korea and the United States," he said. Hill said North Korea did not seem interested in setting up liaison offices in the other's capital as an interim phase in normalizing relations, an indication that the two will proceed directly to establishing formal diplomatic relations if Pyongyang really disables the nuclear facilities. USA Today said some former U.S. diplomats and foreign policy experts Kim met in New York were "optimistic the U.S. and North Korea would agree to formal relations before President Bush leaves office in January 2009."
• Pyongyang raises the uranium issue in talks with U.S.
  Progress cited in historic meeting March 08, 2007 In historic one-on-one talks between North Korea and the United States, Pyongyang brought up on its own the controversial issue of its alleged uranium-based nuclear program, Christopher Hill said yesterday.  
• US expects N Korea to own up on uranium
  By Mark Turner in New York and Song Jung-a in Seoul Published: March 7 2007 02:00 | Last updated: March 7 2007 02:00 Two senior US officials warned yesterday that they expected North Korea to give a full explanation of its suspected efforts to highly enrich uranium, suggesting that the evidence remained com-pelling, in spite of doubts recently aired in Washington. Christopher Hill, the US negotiator who was meeting in New York the North Korean envoy Kim Kye-gwan, said that while questions remained over how far Pyonyang had progressed, a string of equipment purchases over the years had been consistent with such a programme. "If they don't have a highly enriched uranium programme, why do they buy all this?" Mr Hill asked, referring to centrifuges and aluminium tubes. "I think we are owed a pretty complete answer as to why these purchases have been made."
  Both statements appeared to be a response to mounting debate in Washington over the existence of such a programme, which North Korea has denied. They also play to criticism that the recent six-party agreement might have let Pyongyang off the hook. [HEU] [Evidence] [Toolkit]
• The North Korea Climbdown
  Politicized intelligence? This time it's for real. BY JOHN R. BOLTON Monday, March 5, 2007 12:01 a.m. EST Washington's most important person--the Anonymous Senior Official ("ASO")--was busy last week, briefing reporters on North Korea's uranium enrichment program. The North's pursuit of nuclear weapons through uranium enrichment, an alternative to reprocessing plutonium from spent fuel at the Yongbyon reactor, constituted both a material breach of the 1994 Agreed Framework and an enormous challenge to the hope that it could ever be negotiated out of pursuing nuclear weapons. Based, however, on one public comment and much work by Mr./Ms. ASO, the media last week set about deconstructing a critical strategic concern underlying Bush administration Korea policy. According to their breathless reporting, yet another threat to America was disappearing, revealed as simply more intelligence hype from an administration that apparently did little else in its first term. The reports raise three separate issues. First, what exactly is the intelligence judgment about North Korea's enrichment activities, and how valid was it in 2002? Second, what are the implications for the administration's ongoing negotiations with North Korea? And third, is Mr./Ms. ASO speaking for the Bush administration, or for those elements in the permanent bureaucracy that have consistently opposed key elements of the Bush foreign policy, at least as conducted until recently?
  And that brings us to the third issue: Where exactly is the administration headed? Mr./Ms. ASO's identity is by definition unknown, but the view is spreading that this backgrounding is more than the bureaucracy's ruminations. I have my own unnamed senior officials who tell me it's not so, but the question remains. President Bush himself must speak, and sooner rather than later, to tell us what he thinks of the intelligence, and the direction of his own policy. Recent polls show his approval rating near 30%, with support among Republicans falling precipitously. If the president's conservative base erodes further, where will his support come from? From liberal editorialists enthusing about his newfound foreign policy "pragmatism"? Based on my personal experience, the president will not have both. [HEU] [Evidence] [Backdown]
• Promising start with North Korea
  By JOHN FEFFER Friday, February 16, 2007GUEST COLUMNIST After an intense round of six-sided talks, negotiators are bringing home a deal on North Korea's nuclear program. Of course the plan has flaws. It's only the first step in stuffing North Korea's nuclear genie back into the bottle and ending six decades of hostility between Washington and Pyongyang. It's too early for champagne or a photo op for the president on an aircraft carrier in the Pacific. But the ink wasn't even on the paper before critics took aim and started shooting holes through the agreement.
• U.S. offering North Korea a mutual backdown
  By David E. Sanger Published: March 5, 2007
  WASHINGTON: In an effort to make the best of new U.S. doubts about previous intelligence findings on North Korea, Bush administration officials say they plan to tell its nuclear negotiators that Washington's second thoughts about how much progress the country has made in enriching uranium give Pyongyang a face-saving way to surrender its nuclear equipment. The new approach to solve a dispute over the existence and extent of a uranium program, which intelligence agencies say could have been developed using equipment that the North Koreans purchased from Pakistan, was to come at a meeting Monday with North Korea at the United Nations. It is the first session intended to hammer out a schedule under which North Korea is supposed to disable its main nuclear plant and then account for all its nuclear programs. [HEU] [Evidence] [Backdown] [Spin]
• U.S. to Offer North Korea Face-Saving Nuclear Plan
  By DAVID E. SANGER Published: March 5, 2007 WASHINGTON, March 4 - In an effort to make the best of newly murky intelligence about North Korea, Bush administration officials say they plan to tell the North's nuclear negotiators on Monday that Washington's doubts about how much progress the country has made in enriching uranium gives North Korea a face-saving way to surrender its nuclear equipment.
  2002 Intelligence Assessment on North Korea Given to Congress (pdf) The new approach to solve a dispute over the existence and extent of a uranium program, which intelligence agencies say could have been developed using equipment that the North Koreans purchased from Pakistan, will come at a meeting with North Korea at the United Nations. It is the first session intended to hammer out a schedule under which North Korea is supposed to disable its main nuclear plant and then account for all its nuclear programs. Because the agreement includes providing North Korea with a million tons of fuel oil before it turns over its suspected arsenal of nuclear arms and fuel, some of President Bush's conservative allies have denounced it as a dangerous concession. Mr. Bush has called it a "first step," though it bears similarities to the kind of deal that the administration rejected in its first term. On Sunday, Christopher R. Hill, the assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, said that at the meeting he planned to "form an agenda to work on our bilateral relationship - what's involved in the establishment of diplomatic relations, what's involved before North Korea can get off the state-sponsor-of-terrorism list, and how to get them off the Trading with the Enemies Act." He said he would be "pressing for disclosure of all their nuclear programs, including highly enriched uranium."   [HEU] [Spin] [Backdown]
• N.Korea's Top Nuclear Envoy Arrives in New York
    The North Korean chief nuclear negotiator Kim Kye-gwan and his U.S. counterpart Christopher Hill meet at the U.S. mission to the UN in Manhattan on Monday and Tuesday. They will kick-start working-level talks about normalizing bilateral diplomatic ties under a Feb. 13 agreement in six-nation talks. Kim arrived in New York on Friday. On Saturday, he attended an unofficial welcome luncheon hosted by organizations including the Korea Society, a New York-based nonprofit organization promoting friendship between the U.S. and South Korea, and the National Committee on American Foreign Policy (NCAFP). In the evening, Kim met his South Korean counterpart in the six-party talks Chun Young-woo, for a 50-minute discussion on how to conduct the working-group meetings.
• U.S. Admits Doubts Over N.Korean Uranium Program
  A newly declassified U.S. report shows the U.S. having doubts about a uranium enrichment program it has for many years accused North Korea of possessing. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence on Wednesday declassified a portion of the most recent, one-page update circulated to top national security officials about the status of North Korea's uranium program. "The degree of progress towards producing enriched uranium remains unknown," the New York Times reported it as saying.
• Signs of U.S. uncertainty about North's uranium
  March 02, 2007 While a top U.S. intelligence official said he was less sure that a secret uranium-based arms program existed in North Korea, Christopher Hill told lawmakers that evidence exists for such a program. "We need to run this into the ground, and we do know ? we do know as a fact that they made purchases of equipment whose only purpose can be highly enriched uranium," said Mr. Hill, the chief U.S. negotiator to the six-party talks designed to rid North Korea of its nuclear weapons. "How far they've gotten, whether they've been able to actually produce highly enriched uranium at this time ? I mean, these are issues that intelligence analysts grapple with. But what we know is that they have made purchases, and we need to have complete clarity on this program."
• Nuke Working Groups Kick Off
  By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter Three of the five working groups that will discuss specific plans for the denuclearization of North Korea are expected to have their first meetings in the week of March 12, a Seoul official said on Wednesday.
• Charade or First Step? The United States-North Korea Agreement
  Immanuel Wallerstein
  Commentary No. 204, Mar. 1, 2007 On Feb. 13, the United States, North Korea, and the four other powers in the six-party talks (China, South Korea, Japan, and Russia) issued a joint statement, which the U.S. State Department calls a "denuclearization action plan." John Bolton, a leading neo-con and Bush's former United Nations ambassador, immediately denounced it as a "charade" that "sends exactly the wrong signal to would-be proliferators around the world." President Bush described the agreement differently. He said that the talks represented "the best opportunity to use diplomacy" and that the agreement was "the first step" towards a "nuclear weapons free [Korean] peninsula." Who is right?
  So, what has changed? The reality of declining options seems to have hit decision-makers in Washington. The fact is that North Korea now has some weapons and it is doubtful they will give them up. The fact is that the United States is bogged down in Iraq and is concentrating its other immediate political energies on Iran. The fact is that the Republicans lost the last election, largely over foreign policy issues. The fact is that its allies become less amenable to United States policies as each day goes by. From a United States point of view, the agreement removes the issue from the front of the geopolitical scene temporarily. There will be ample opportunity for the United States to backtrack later. [Agreement070213]
• White House claims on North Korea nukes to face test
  By Tim Johnson and Jonathan Landay McClatchy Newspapers
  BEIJING - The Bush administration has begun backpedaling from previous assertions that North Korea’s nuclear weapons efforts include a major uranium enrichment effort, charges that led five years ago to the unraveling of international monitoring of North Korea’s nuclear program and the acceleration of its drive to use plutonium for nuclear bombs. A senior government analyst indicated to Congress this week that there is uncertainty within the intelligence community about the current state of the program. Some administration critics say the assertions had been cast in an overstated manner in 2002, paving the way for hard-liners in the Bush administration to scuttle a previous disarmament deal. At a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Tuesday, the chief intelligence analyst on North Korea, Joseph DeTrani, said the administration had "high confidence" in 2002 that Pyongyang was making purchases around the globe to mount a production-scale uranium-enrichment program. DeTrani sounded less sure on how the North has progressed in the past five years. "We still have confidence that the program is in existence - at the mid-confidence level, yes, sir," DeTrani told Sen. Jack Reed, a Rhode Island Democrat. A senior U.S. intelligence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said later that DeTrani referred to a very recent interagency assessment of North Korea's progress in its uranium-enrichment effort. "All of the (16) intelligence agencies judge, most with moderate confidence, that this effort continues," he said. "The degree of progress is unknown." [HEU] [Evidence]
• U.S. Had Doubts on North Korean Uranium Drive
  By DAVID E. SANGER and WILLIAM J. BROAD Published: March 1, 2007 WASHINGTON, Feb. 28 — Last October, the North Koreans tested their first nuclear device, the fruition of decades of work to make a weapon out of plutonium.
  For nearly five years, though, the Bush administration, based on intelligence estimates, has accused North Korea of also pursuing a secret, parallel path to a bomb, using enriched uranium. That accusation, first leveled in the fall of 2002, resulted in the rupture of an already tense relationship: The United States cut off oil supplies, and the North Koreans responded by throwing out international inspectors, building up their plutonium arsenal and, ultimately, producing that first plutonium bomb.
  But now, American intelligence officials are publicly softening their position, admitting to doubts about how much progress the uranium enrichment program has actually made. The result has been new questions about the Bush administration’s decision to confront North Korea in 2002. [HEU] [Evidence]
• Seeking Aid, N. Korea Vows to Stop Nukes
  By BURT HERMAN The Associated Press Thursday, March 1, 2007; 2:31 PM SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korea's No. 2 leader reiterated Thursday his country's pledge to abandon its nuclear weapons, as the impoverished nation sought a resumption of aid at its first high-level talks with South Korea since conducting an atomic test. Kim Yong Nam said "the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula is the dying wish" of the country's founding president, Kim Il Sung, the father of current leader Kim Jong Il. North Korea "will make efforts to realize it," he told South Korean Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung in Pyongyang, the North's capital.
• U.S. less confident of N.Korea covert program
  Tue Feb 27, 2007 6:57PM EST By Carol Giacomo, Diplomatic Correspondent
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is somewhat less confident that North Korea has a production-scale covert nuclear enrichment program than it used to be, a top U.S. intelligence official said on Tuesday.
  The official, Joseph DeTrani, stressed the need for Pyongyang to reveal all of its nuclear programs -- including the nature of its uranium enrichment activities -- as part of a February 13 agreement with the United States, China, Russia, South Korea and Japan.
  In 2002, when the Bush administration first accused Pyongyang of covert enrichment, "the assessment was with high confidence that, indeed, they were making acquisitions necessary for, if you will, a production-scale program," said DeTrani, North Korea mission manager in the office of the director of national intelligence.
  "And we still have confidence that the program is in existence -- at the mid-confidence level," he told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
  He was the second senior U.S. official in recent days to publicly discuss U.S. uncertainties about North Korea's enrichment program. [HEU] [Evidence]
• N.Korean Nuke Envoy to Arrive in U.S. on Thursday
  The U.S on Monday confirmed that top North Korean nuclear envoy Kim Kye-gwan will arrive in San Francisco on Thursday. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the North Korean vice foreign minister will fly to New York to meet with his American counterpart in six-nation talks Christopher Hill after meeting with NGO officials in San Francisco. But McCormack said no detailed schedule has been finalized and discussions are still under way.
• US to Closely Watch Implementation of Denuclearization Accord
  North Korea, along with Iran, poses ``particular concerns'' for U.S. national security, the Yonhap News Agency reported, quoting the new U.S. intelligence chief to the Senate on Tuesday. Both countries have pursued nuclear programs in defiance of United Nations Security Council resolutions, John McConnell, director of national intelligence, told the Armed Services Committee. The United States will be watching closely whether Pyongyang implements the Feb. 13 six-party agreement, he said. Testifying on current and future threats to national security, McConnell repeated much of what his predecessor, John Negroponte, now deputy secretary of state, said a few weeks earlier.
• The Devil Is in the Details
  By Tong Kim An ambitious timetable lies ahead for the participants of the six-party talks based on their agreement of Feb. 13, which in my view was a modest but significant step forward. All of the five ``working groups'' that will discuss the details of denuclearization, normalization of the DPRK's relations with the U.S. and Japan, economic cooperation, and peace and security issues in Northeast Asia should meet before March 19, a date the parties agreed to hold their sixth round of talks. The devil is in the details. Logistically it would make sense to convene and complete the first sessions of all working group meetings during the week of March 11 so that the groups should be able to report results to the plenary session of the six-party talks. Obviously the United States will be more interested in denuclearization; North Korea in normalization with the U.S. and economic and energy aid; Japan in accounting for its abducted citizens; Russia more in proving its relevance to the region; and China in gaining further recognition of its pivotal role as the ``Middle Kingdom,'' presiding over the shifting dynamics of power relationships involving its former foes and contemporary competitors.
  While implementation of the initial actions remains to be seen, I have some semantic problems with the language used in the agreement, which I would like to discuss with my readers. The agreement stresses that ``the DPRK will shut down...the Yongbyon nuclear facility...'' Obviously this choice of word _ ``shut down'' instead of "freeze" was made by the U.S. side in light of its political sensitivity guarding against revival of any semblance to the Agreed Framework which had frozen the same facility before. Although the South Korean press translated the term positively toward ``disablement,'' the North Koreans said they agreed to ``temporarily suspend (shut down) the operation of the facility.'' I find no linguistic fault with the North Korean version of translation. I also share the concerns of many analysts about the undefined ``disablement'' and the absence of its timing. For the American side the term connotes ``irreversibility'' once the facility is ``disabled.'' The bottom line is how to define and implement the extent of physical (mechanical) disablement that would prevent return to operation for permanent dismantlement, beyond the point of ``abandoning.'' This will be a tough agenda item for the working group for denuclearization.
  Assistance secretary of state Christopher Hill told a think tank audience in Washington last week that the DPRK agreed to discuss the HEU issue. He was quoted as saying that the North Koreans would need more equipment for an HEU program than what he knows they have, but he doesn't know whether they can run such a program that requires complex technology. In any case, this issue will be a self-inflicted sticking point for the U.S. [Agreement070213]

• In War Planning for Iran, Truth Is the Linchpin
  William M. Arkin on National and Homeland Security Kuwait. Every American adventure overseas has a geographic linchpin, an essential country that the United States needs to go to war. In the case of Iraq 2003, it was Kuwait. Without Kuwaiti bases, the United States would not have been able to deploy the ground forces needed to overthrow Saddam Hussein. Without Kuwait, the United States would not have had unrestricted airspace into and out of Iraq to attack the country.
  The United States is not planning to go to war with Iran," Whitman says. "To suggest anything to the contrary is simply wrong, misleading and mischievous. The United States has been very clear with respect to its concerns regarding specific Iranian government activities. The president and Secretary Gates have repeatedly stated publicly that this county is going to work with allies in the region and address those concerns through diplomatic efforts." Whitman, the official mouthpiece, can say this -- I guess an eight year old would call it a lie -- without the slightest reference to either reality or history. My point though is not to key in on the lie: Somewhere in a briefing slide entitled "strategic information operations," I'm sure Whitman is implementing the very plan. My point is to ask what is achieved by having such disconnect between the statements of the Vice President and the truth of ongoing contingency planning and the public statements. It might just be habit -- we don't talk about war plans -- and it might be devious deception. But more likely, it is thoughtless. [Disinformation]
• North Korea: Yes, we have no uranium
  By Donald Kirk SEOUL - Anyone reading about nuclear programs in North Korea and Iran is presumably aware that highly enriched uranium - HEU - is about the most powerful explosive yet devised or tested, apparently more devastating in its potential impact than plutonium. Now the debate focuses on two questions about each country's programs. Is North Korea indeed developing the means to produce nuclear warheads from HEU - and does Iran harbor the notion of processing HEU for warheads or sticking to nuclear power for peaceful purposes?
  In the case of each of these countries, proud charter members of President George W Bush's "axis of evil", denials fly out of the mouths of political leaders, diplomats, spokesmen and propaganda machines like volleys of anti-aircraft fire at attacking planes.
  No, no, North Korea keeps saying, We have no HEU program, and the United States has been lying ever since James Kelly, then assistant secretary of state for East Asia and the Pacific, claimed for sure North Korea's first deputy foreign minister, Kang Sok-ju, had acknowledged the existence of one when they met in Pyongyang in October 2002.
  Now Albright, back from Pyongyang, which he visited along with Joel Wit, another Washington think-tanker and former State Department expert on North Korea, is saying official US claims about the existence of North Korea's HEU program are about as bogus as were the US claims of any Iraqi nuclear program at all. As in the case of the rationale or pretext that that precipitated the invasion of Iraq, he says, the US view of the North Korean HEU program may be "another case of lack of evidence".
  Such double-talk and questions also suffuse the debate in Seoul, where fairly high-ranking officials seem to be vying alternately to play down HEU and to show off their resolve to do something about it. Hill's opposite number from South Korea, Chun Young-woo, has danced around the issue with equal grace and equilibrium. Yes, "North Korea has been obtaining materials for HEU", said Chun. "That's a known fact." No, he went on, with careful ambiguity, "we do not have full information where the program is now". That said, Chun poured tepid if not cool water on the whole notion of HEU in North Korea. "Nobody," said Chun, "believes they have an enriched program up and running." [HEU] [Agreement070213]
• 'N.K. will reform, but nukes may stay'
  President Roh Moo-hyun yesterday said he believes North Korea will eventually open up and reform but that its nuclear weapons development program might continue. "I am not saying it is right, but (North Korea) can develop missiles or nuclear weapons according to circumstance separately from the (possibility) of it reforming and opening up." Speaking at an extended two-hour-and-40-minute debate with the Association of Internet News Media at Cheong Wa Dae, Roh said South Korea and other relevant parties must make the North abandon its nuclear weapons by helping it to believe in peace and prosperity and to move toward reform. "The North will not use nuclear weapons if it realizes it will be more beneficial not to do so, and it will abandon the weapons if it realizes that it is more beneficial to do so. And what South Korea and the United States do in North Korea to provoke such decisions is extremely important at this point." [In denial] [Asymmetry] [Nuclear weapons]
• Entering the Reality Zone on North Korea
  02.13.2007 EMAIL ARTICLE   |   PRINTER FRIENDLY Graham Allison agrees with John R. Bolton that the six-party agreement North Korea reached today “contradicts fundamental premises of the president's policy”—a failed policy that is. In an interview with National Interest editor, Ximena Ortiz, Allison said the administration appears, therefore, to be entering a “reality zone,” albeit four years, several bombs’ worth of plutonium and a nuclear test later. Allison, author of Nuclear Terrorism: The Ultimate Preventable Catastrophe (2004), is director of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government. NIo: What does the agreement represent, both in terms of the non-proliferation regime and the overall foreign policy posturing of both Washington and Pyongyang? In terms of non-proliferation, how significant is the step North Korea has agreed to take and on foreign policy, does the agreement demonstrate on the Bush Administration’s part a willingness to depart from you and Dimitri K. Simes have described as absolutist and short-sighted stance in your essay “Churchill, Not Quite”, published in the September/October issue of The National Interest? And on Pyongyang’s part, does it demonstrate a willingness to depart from its defiance of the past? GA: This is a significant step for the Bush Administration into the reality zone, a strong departure from its previous failed approach and a good first step. So that’s the good news. The bad news is that this is four years, eight bombs’ worth of plutonium and one nuclear test after the Bush Administration departed from this point that it has inherited essentially from the Clinton Administration. [Agreement070213] [HEU] [CVID] [Partisan]
• The Choice on North Korea: Fake Money or Real Nukes
  by William D. Hartung 01.22.2007 U.S. and North Korean officials will be getting together as early as this coming Monday to discuss what, after all, caused the latest round of six-party talks to fail. Although many have pointed to larger foreign-policy issues—such as security guarantees—the talks never had a chance to broach those important points because of a dispute on a more mundane issue: North Korea’s alleged counterfeiting of dollars and other illicit activities. The United States has frozen North Korean accounts at Macau’s Banco Delta Asia (BDA) due to the regime’s alleged counterfeiting and drug-running operations. North Korea insists the account must be unfrozen before talks on the nuclear issue can proceed. Clearly, U.S. concerns regarding fake dollars and drugs are secondary to the need for substantive negotiations over Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program. As South Korean President Roh Moo-Hyun noted in a December 23rd interview with the Seoul Times, the United States decided to impose those financial sanctions just a few days before a September 2005 joint statement was to respond to Pyongyang’s nuclear program, ensuring that a “September 19th agreement was buried before it was born.” [Toolkit] [Financial sanctions]
• North Korea accord: Now for the hard part
  By Donald Kirk SEOUL - All sides have managed to save face in an agreement that puts off the biggest questions while promising the first halting steps toward an end to North Korea's nuclear program. The agreement reached at the six-party talks in Beijing on Tuesday fulfills US envoy Christopher Hill's promise while in Seoul on his way to Beijing of a "first tranche" in a "step-by-step process" - and is more or less what he worked out last month with North Korea's envoy, Kim Kye-gwan, in Berlin. The immediate question is whether North Korea will take the initial step as signed on Tuesday afternoon in Beijing and shut down its nuclear facilities, including its 5-megawatt reactor at the nuclear complex at Yongbyon, within 60 days as specified in the agreement. [Agreeement070213]
• North Korea’s Alleged Large-Scale Enrichment Plant: Yet Another Questionable Extrapolation Based on Aluminum Tubes
  by David Albright The Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) February 23, 2007 When North Korea’s nuclear capabilities are discussed, it is often taken for granted that North Korea has or is building a large uranium enrichment plant capable of making enough highly enriched uranium for several nuclear weapons a year. It is time for this questionable claim to be reexamined, particularly in light of the recent agreement negotiated at the Six Party Talks in Beijing. Former and current U.S. officials are using the presumed existence of a large centrifuge plant, reportedly based on sophisticated gas centrifuges, either to oppose this agreement or issue dire warnings about its future. Michael Green, former senior director for Asia on the National Security Council, wrote recently in Newsweek International “Pyongyang has still refused to acknowledge the existence of its HEU program, which violates all previous commitments and could produce dozens of bombs once operational. If North Korea does not include the program on its list of nuclear facilities to be dismantled, the deal cannot move forward.” However, a large centrifuge plant likely does not exist; perhaps it never did. The 2002 U.S. intelligence assessment that originally claimed to have established the existence of this plant appears to be based heavily on the order of thousands of aluminum tubes. Like the Iraqi high strength aluminum tubes used by the CIA to argue that Iraq was building thousands of gas centrifuges, the analysis about North Korea’s program also appears to be flawed. The intelligence community conducted this assessment at the same time it produced a number of flawed assessments about Iraq’s WMD program, which alone should trigger concern about past assessments of North Korea’s centrifuge program
• Nuclear Weapons
  The following document is an untitled CIA estimate provided to Congress on November 19, 2002.
  UNCLASSIFIED Nuclear Weapons The US has been concerned about North Korea's desire for nuclear weapons and has assessed since the early 1990s that the North has one or possibly two weapons using plutonium it produced prior to 1992.
  Uranium Enrichment The United States has been suspicious that North Korea has been working on uranium enrichment for several years. However, we did not obtain clear evidence indicating the North had begun constructing a centrifuge facility until recently. We assess that North Korea embarked on the effort to develop a centrifuge-based uranium enrichment program about two years ago. * Last year the North began seeking centrifuge-related materials in large quantities. It also obtained equipment suitable for use in uranium feed and withdrawal systems. * We recently learned that the North is constructing a plant that could produce enough weapons-grade uranium for two or more nuclear weapons per year when fully operational -- which could be as soon as mid-decade. * We continue to monitor and assess the North's nuclear weapons efforts, which given the North's closed society and the obvious covert nature of the program, remains a difficult intelligence collection target. [HEU] [Evidence]
• Foreign minister to meet Rice on early steps for N. Korean nuclear disarmament
  Foreign Minister Song Min-soon will embark on a trip to Washington and Moscow this week to discuss early steps for North Korea's denuclearization as agreed on at the recent multilateral nuclear talks, officials here said Monday. Song's three-day trip to the United States, which starts Thursday, coincides with a visit by North Korea's top nuclear envoy, Kim Kye-gwan. Kim will arrive in the U.S. on the same day to hold working-level talks on his country's pledge to disarm.
• Seoul ready to ship oil to North as talks begin
  February 27, 2007     Family members of abductees taken by North Korea, right, try unsuccessfully to meet with Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung at the rear gate of the Central Government Complex in Seoul yesterday to ask him to make the abductees issue a priority at the inter-Korean ministerial talks scheduled today in Pyongyang. [YONHAP] On the eve of today's inter-Korean talks, Unification Ministry Spokesman Yang Chang-seok said Seoul was ready to ship 50,000 tons of fuel oil to the North as part of the recent agreement for the country to begin shutting down its nuclear programs.
• NK Nuclear Envoy to Visit US for Diplomatic Normalization Talks
  The U.S. State Department confirmed Monday that a North Korean nuclear negotiator would visit the United States soon to start working group talks on bilateral diplomatic normalization, Yonhap News Agency reported. Kim Kye-gwan, Pyongyang's top envoy to the six-party nuclear talks, will go to San Francisco then travel to New York, where he will meet his Washington counterpart, Christopher Hill, Yonhap quoted the department as saying.
• Pakistan Test-Fires Long-Range Missile
  By MUNIR AHMAD The Associated Press Friday, February 23, 2007; 3:37 AM ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Pakistan successfully test-fired a new version of its long-range nuclear-capable missile Friday, two days after Pakistani and Indian officials signed an agreement in New Delhi to reduce the risk of an accidental nuclear war between them. The Shaheen II ballistic missile, launched from an undisclosed location, has a range of 1,245 miles.
• Critics Blast North Korea Deal as Rewarding 'Bad Behavior'
  By Thomas Omestad Posted 2/13/07 The nuclear deal unveiled today in Beijing to freeze North Korea's plutonium-yielding reactor and readmit inspectors is, as a smiling Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said, "the result of patient, creative, and tough diplomacy." True as that is, her statement masks the range of difficulties that had to be overcome in reaching this point. They include not only the obvious North Korean obstinacy but also the nagging policy disputes within a Bush administration that, at times, has seemed ambivalent about doing diplomatic business with a troublemaking communist regime.
  U.S. officials have said they would craft their negotiating approach so as not to reward the North's "bad behavior" in breaking out of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, ejecting inspectors, manufacturing bomb-grade plutonium, and–last fall–test-firing a nuclear bomb. But even before many of the negotiators from the six participating countries left Beijing, erstwhile supporters of the administration were charging that it had done just that. John Bolton, a former top arms control official and envoy to the United Nations, told CNN that with this "very bad deal," the administration would "look very weak, at a time in Iraq and dealing with Iran that it needs to look strong." Added Heritage Foundation analyst Bruce Klingner, "North Korea has again foiled attempts to penalize it for violating international commitments." The assertion by critics that North Korea had somehow bested the United States was, paradoxically, partially shared by many supporters of the deal. Their complaint: The years of delay in getting to this point have allowed North Korea to multiply its stockpile of plutonium several times over the one or two bombs' worth thought to exist when the crisis erupted in October 2002.
  "This deal takes us back to the future," said Sen. Joseph Biden, a Delaware Democrat running for president. "North Korea's program is much more dangerous to us now than it was in 2002, when President Bush rejected virtually the same deal he is now embracing." [Agreement070213]
• Washington's raw deal
  David Frum
  National Post Published: Saturday, February 17, 2007
  Something has gone very, very wrong in this second Bush administration. That is obvious to everyone. One of the few merits of this week's North Korea nuclear deal is that we can get a clearer view of what exactly the problem is --or should I say, what the problems are? First problem: The deal demonstrates a lethal failure of strategic vision. [Agreement070213] [Strategic incoherence]
• Seven Questions: Robert Gallucci on Dealing With North Korea
  The latest round of six-party talks has ended, and North Korea at last appears ready to halt its nuclear machine in exchange for economic aid. But after eight nuclear bombs and one nuclear test, is the deal several years too late? FP asked Robert Gallucci, dean of Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service and the diplomat who signed the 1994 Agreed Framework, for his take on the chances of a nuclear-free North Korea.
  FOREIGN POLICY: What are your first reactions to the deal that’s apparently been struck between the United States, China, Russia, Japan, South Korea, and North Korea?
  Robert Gallucci: I think it’s a good first start, and I’m pleased to see that we’re moving down the road of negotiation … there are a lot of steps to go. What everybody will want to know is, “Are we going to get all the plutonium? Are we going to get the uranium enrichment program?” And you can’t tell yet … I think this agreement has the prospect, if it’s completed, of indeed stopping the North Korean nuclear program and rolling it back. But there is a long way to go from here to there. Both sides are going to have to work hard at this and have a certain amount of patience.
  FP: Why do you think that the North Koreans agreed to talk now?
  RG: I think that question proceeds from the wrong assumption: I think that the North Koreans have been prepared to talk for years, and we have not been. I think the correct question is, why is it that we are now prepared to talk?
  FP: So why is the United States now willing to negotiate?
  RG: I think the president of the United States made a decision, both after the midterm elections and after the North Korean nuclear test, that maybe of the foreign-policy problems he confronts—North Korea, Afghanistan, Iran, and Iraq—this is the one that he might be able to settle before he leaves office [Agreement070213]
• N Korea 'tried uranium project'
  By Charles Scanlon BBC News, Seoul The nuclear disarmament deal was agreed at six-party talks South Korea's chief nuclear negotiator says North Korea has tried to develop a second, secret nuclear programme based on the enrichment of uranium. Chun Yung-woo said, however, that Pyongyang was not thought to be operating such a system at the moment. The North has long denied American allegations that it was building a uranium programme in addition to its publicly acknowledged plutonium plant.
  Mr Chun said the North's attempts to acquire parts for such a programme were well known to countries that monitor the illicit trade. But he said it was not clear how far the North had got, and no-one thought it was actively enriching uranium for nuclear weapons at the moment. [HEU] [Evidence]
• North Korea: Nuclear Menace or Paper Tiger?
  By Georgy Bulychev
  North Korea’s nuclear blast last October signaled the end of a cycle that started in October 2002 when the United States accused Pyongyang of running a clandestine uranium program. (The preceding cycle - 1994-2002 - was a period of a more-or-less stable “crisis freeze”). The 2006 nuclear test - regardless of the measure of its success - ended the long-standing argument about whether the North Korean nuclear program was the real McCoy or a bluff aimed at extorting benefits from the West. Assuming the latter, it was concluded that the answer to the bluff should be toughness and the refusal of concessions. Only by such toughness could North Korea be forced to drop its brinkmanship and stop its nuclear program (This was the application of negative motivation - "the stick"). [Agreement070213]
• Top N.Korean Nuclear Envoy to Visit U.S. Next Month
  North Korea's Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan is widely expected to visit the U.S. around March 5-7 to meet his U.S. counterpart Christopher Hill in New York. The two officials will discuss how to implement the terms of an agreement reached in the latest six-party nuclear talks in Beijing on Feb. 13
• N.K. nuclear envoy to stop in San Francisco before going to New York
  North Korea's top nuclear negotiator will visit San Francisco next Thursday before going to New York the following day for talks with U.S. officials, a well-informed source said Friday. Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan, also chief delegate to the six-party talks, has been invited to make a speech at Stanford University, the source said. He will then travel to New York and speak at the Asia Society.
• North Korea invites IAEA chief for inspection talks
  The chief U.N. nuclear inspector said Friday he has been invited to visit North Korea and hopes to discuss implementing last week's denuclearization agreement with Pyongyang officials. Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), is likely to travel to North Korea in the second week of March, following the agency's board of governors meeting in Vienna March 5-9, according to an IAEA spokesman. ElBaradei said he and Pyongyang officials would discuss how to implement the freezing of nuclear facilities and their eventual dismantlement.
• IAEA Chief Invited to Visit North Korea
  North Korea on Friday asked the chief U.N. atomic inspector to visit the communist country four years after expelling his experts and dropping out of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT), the Associated Press (AP) reported. The invitation is seen as an encouraging sign the reclusive regime is serious about dismantling its weapons program.
• North Korea Agrees to Discuss Uranium Program : US Envoy
  North Korea needs to account for its suspected uranium-based nuclear weapons program and has agreed to discuss the issue even as it disavows its existence, the Yonhap New Agency reported Thursday quoting the top U.S. nuclear envoy. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, also chief U.S. delegate to the six-nation denuclearization talks, pointed out Pyongyang's purchase of material and equipment related to uranium enrichment.
• Time for Track II Diplomacy
  By Tong Kim As of this writing another round of the six-party talks is underway in Beijing with high expectations of a positive outcome. Optimism is largely based on the public perception of the chief U.S. negotiator Christopher Hill's recent bilateral meeting with his North Korean counterpart Kim Gae-gwan in Berlin and an encouraging atmosphere during the first day of the talks. There are clear signs that the North Koreans are more serious since a shift in the U.S. approach to bilateral engagement has taken place, still within the setting of six-party talks
• N. Korea Nuclear Envoy to Visit U.S.
  By JAE-SOON CHANG The Associated Press Saturday, February 24, 2007; 12:11 AM
• Top U.S., S.Korean Officials to Continue Nuke Meetings
  Top Korean and U.S. diplomats will exchange visits to discuss in detail follow-up measures to the agreement reached at the six-way nuclear talks in Beijing on Feb. 13. According to the Beijing deal, North Korea will be provided with energy aid in return for shutting down its nuclear facilities. South Korea's Foreign Ministry said Thursday that U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte will make a three-day visit to South Korea from March 5. Negroponte will meet with high-ranking government officials including Vice Foreign Minister Cho Jung-pyo to seek ways to peacefully settle the North Korean nuclear problem. South Korea is the last leg of the U.S. diplomat's trip to Asia. He will stop over in Japan and China first.
• Hill warns N Korea on deadlines
  By Guy Dinmore in Washington Published: February 23 2007 05:47 | Last updated: February 23 2007 05:47 North Korea must stick to the tight deadlines of the new deal to freeze its Yongbyon nuclear facility in exchange for a modest amount of fuel oil, Christopher Hill, the US negotiator at the six-party nuclear talks, said on Thursday. Describing the 60-day deadline agreed to on February 13 as "very short" and one that required a "considerable amount of negotiation", Mr Hill conceded that potentially serious sticking points lay ahead.
  Mr Hill anticipated "problems" with that declaration, noting that North Korea had refused to acknowledge the existence of what the US alleges is a secret uranium enrichment programme. However he also indicated that the US did not believe Pyongyang had mastered the enrichment process. [HEU]
• Pragmatism Trumps Ideology on North Korea
  By Andrew Grotto Special to washingtonpost.com's Think Tank Town Friday, February 23, 2007; 12:00 AM
  Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her team -- led by Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill -- deserve credit for scoring a major victory in negotiations with North Korea last week. Trading one million tons of heavy fuel oil for North Korea's plutonium production program, which Pyongyang likely used to produce the fissile core for the atomic weapon it tested late last year, is akin to swapping a journeyman fullback for a star quarterback.
• The nightmare of the Korean nuclear crisis over
  16:46 | 14/ 02/ 2007   MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti political commentator Dmitry Kosyrev) - Washington has capitulated at the six-nation talks on the North Korean nuclear problem in Beijing, an outcome that has been expected since the beginning of the crisis in 2002. The world waited for the Bush administration to admit its failure or pass the difficult task to the next president. The current U.S. administration, which needs good news now more than any other government, has agreed to defreeze North Korea's $24-million account with a Macao bank despite its previous accusations of Pyongyang printing counterfeit U.S. dollars. There are PR experts who can present Washington's diplomatic capitulation as its victory and Pyongyang's defeat. This can be done because few people now remember that the conflict began with unsubstantiated U.S. accusations, or know about the situation in North Korea at that time. They would be surprised to learn that the situation in that Far Eastern country has not changed since the beginning of the crisis. Pyongyang has again agreed to shut down its nuclear reactor at Yongbyon in return for international aid, and to grant IAEA inspectors access to it. In other words, North Korea has resumed the obligations it honored before the Bush administration, which had not had the benefit of the Iraqi experience at the time, opted for a new policy towards North Korea aimed at changing the regime. [Agreement070213] [US NK policy] [HEU] [Evidence]
• Russia hails result of North Korea talks - chief delegate
  16:17 | 13/ 02/ 2007 BEIJING, February 13 (RIA Novosti) - Russia hails the results of six-nation talks on the North Korean nuclear problem in Beijing, which ended in the adoption of a plan of initial steps on Pyongyang's nuclear disarmament, the head of the Russian delegation said Tuesday. The agreement was reached at the latest round of six-party talks on Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program, which, along with the two Koreas, included the U.S., Japan, China and Russia.
  Washington has pledged to strike North Korea off its list of countries sponsoring terrorism, and Losyukov confirmed the U.S. promise to resolve the problem of financial sanctions against North Korea by the next round of the talks in Beijing, scheduled for March 19. In September 2005, Pyongyang promised to dismantle its nuclear program in exchange for aid and security guarantees. But the negotiations broke off later that year when Washington blocked the regime's $24 million account at a Macao bank over alleged counterfeiting and money laundering. [JS050919] [Agreement070213] [Financial sanctions]
• Who Cares About N.Korea’s Uranium Program?
  Appearing before the National Assembly a few days ago, the head of South Korea’s National Intelligence Service said he believed a uranium enrichment program existed in North Korea. It was the first time the head of South Korea’s intelligence service made such an acknowledgement. But the fact that a uranium program for weapons, in addition to a plutonium program, exists in North Korea is not a striking revelation. In 2004, the father of Pakistan’s nuclear program, Dr. Khan, who was arrested for disseminating nuclear technology, confessed to passing on related equipment, a blueprint and technology to North Korea since 1991 and training North Korean scientists. In his autobiography, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf wrote that Khan handed North Korea around 20 centrifuges for uranium enrichment, including the P-1 and P-2 types. In return, North Korea handed over missile technology to Pakistan. It wasn’t until 2002 that the United States was able to acquire evidence pointing to the deal. The so-called second nuclear crisis began after North Korea allegedly acknowledged this deal after assistant secretary of state James Kelly visited the communist country and questioned Pyeongyang officials using that evidence. Meanwhile, South Korean government officials had been saying that, as was the case for counterfeit money, there was no evidence of a North Korean HEU program. It is impossible for U.S. spy satellites to capture evidence on the ground of a uranium program, since they can be produced underground, unlike plutonium. In his autobiography, former U.S. President Bill Clinton wrote that it wasn’t until his term ended that he realized North Korea had violated the Geneva Accord by enriching in 1998 enough uranium to produce around two nuclear warheads [HEU] [Evidence]
• Minister ‘Knows Nothing’ of N.Korean Uranium Program
  Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung on Wednesday said he had no evidence that North Korea has a secret uranium enrichment program, apparently contradicting fellow National Security Council member Kim Man-bok, the head of the National Intelligence Service. The NIS chief on Tuesday told the parliamentary Intelligence Committee behind closed doors that his agency believes North Korea does have such a program. But Lee, in the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, said his ministry “has no information” about such a program. A Unification Ministry official later explained Lee had merely stressed that he has no information but had not talked about whether the North has a uranium-enrichment program or not. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Song Min-soon told reporters a country might be deemed to intend to develop a uranium-based nuclear program if it has a one-page concept plan for it. He declined to elaborate on the current level of North Korea’s uranium-based nuclear program, but did not deny that the North has a uranium-enrichment program. North Korea in 2002 allegedly admitted to having such a program but later denied it. [HEU] [Evidence]
• Renewed fears of secret uranium enrichment by North Korea
  By Anna Fifield in Seoul
  Published: February 22 2007 02:00 | Last updated: February 22 2007 02:00 Suspicions over whether Pyongyang has been running a secret uranium enrichment programmeare back in the spotlight after last week's apparent breakthrough in the long-running North Korean nuclear crisis.
  The Bush administration had already "backed down" on the uranium issue, said Joel Wit, a former State Department official who helped negotiate the nuclear-freeze deal with North Korea in 1994. "This is not because the administration has become wimpish and has decided to put it aside, but because they did not have any information and started to wonder whether they had been accurate in the first place," he said. [HEU] [Evidence]
• North Korea’s Nuclear Weapons Program to 2015: Three Scenarios
  Jonathan D. Pollack
• North Korea’s Weapons Programmes: A Net Assessment
  North Korea Dossier Press Launch, 21 January 2004
  North Korea’s Weapons Programmes: A Net Assessment is a comprehensive and detailed evaluation of North Korea’s nuclear, biological and chemical weapons programmes and efforts to develop ballistic missiles. The book traces the historical development of North Korean programmes in each area and presents an assessment of current capabilities and estimates of future developments. The analysis explains how assessments of North Korea’s programmes are based on judgements of motivations and capabilities, in the absence of direct information and conclusive evidence. In addition to chapters on North Korea’s nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, and ballistic missile programmes, the book analyses the conventional military balance on the Korean Peninsula and details the long history of disarmament negotiations with North Korea, including the birth and death of the Agreed Framework and future prospects for the current Six Party Talks.
• . Korea Nuclear Deal Rife With Benefits
  Friday February 23, 2007 1:01 AM By BARRY SCHWEID AP Diplomatic Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - The breakthrough nuclear agreement with North Korea could pay wide-ranging dividends for all sides, especially in the area of already improving U.S. relations with China and America's allies, chief U.S. negotiator Christopher Hill said Thursday. Other side benefits might include a peace treaty formally ending the war on the Korean peninsula after more than a half-century, a cut in the force of 25,000 U.S. troops in South Korea, a better life for impoverished North Koreans and the State Department's declassifying of the North as a sponsor of terror, Hill said in remarks at the Brookings Institution, a liberal-oriented think tank.
• N. Korea's nuclear envoy indicated ability to mount nuclear warheads on missiles
  North Korea's nuclear envoy suggested the communist country has the ability to mount nuclear warheads on medium-range ballistic missiles in a recent meeting with high-profile U.S. visitors, a Washington-based radio station reported Thursday.
• N.K. 'signaled' readiness to move forward on nuclear issue: Rice
  North Korea had "signaled" that it was ready to move forward on its nuclear issue, leading to the decision by the United States and others to engage the Pyongyang regime, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Wednesday. In an interview with CNN during her trip to Germany, the secretary reaffirmed she believes there will be progress in the North Korean nuclear situation.
• Hill: North will be questioned closely on uranium issue
  Some analysts express doubt over whether program exists February 23, 2007 Washington’s chief negotiator in the North Korean nuclear talks vowed to thoroughly investigate an alleged uranium-based nuclear program that Pyongyang has denied in the past. “We’ll set up a working group to run to the ground what we know about their highly enriched uranium program,” Mr. Hill said in an interview with ABC, which was posted on the U.S. State Department’s Web site Wednesday, Washington time. “They do deny that [having a program] at this point, but we will address that. And the North Koreans have said to us that they will address it with us to a mutual satisfaction. So we’ll see where we go, but we do need to have clarity on that matter.”
  Some analysts have cast doubt on the credibility of Washington’s claim regarding the uranium program. David Albright, who visited the North earlier and is head of the Institute for Science and International Security, said at a news conference on Wednesday that “it may be another case of lack of evidence.” He argued, according to Reuters, that “it’s long overdue for the United States to revisit that assessment.”
• Update on the Six-Party Talks
  Ambassador Christopher R. Hill Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs
  Moderator: Carlos Pascual Vice President and Director, Foreign Policy Studies, The Brookings Institution Featured Speaker: Christopher R. Hill Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, U.S. Department of State
  Thursday, February 22, 2007 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. The Brookings Institution Event Information
  UNCORRECTED TRANSCRIPT AMB. CHRIS HILL: It is a great opportunity here to come and talk about this, what is known now as the February 13th Initial Action Agreement, to tell you what it is and what it isn't because to be sure, there has been a lot of commentary on it. From the right, we have heard people like John Bolton who said this is nothing but the agreed framework. From the left, we have heard this is nothing but the agreed framework. And so, I would like to explain that, in fact, it is different from the agreed framework. [HEU] [Evidence] [Agreement070213]
• U.S. acknowledges gaps on N.Korea nuclear program
  By Carol Giacomo, Diplomatic Correspondent Reuters Thursday, February 22, 2007; 3:50 PM
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Thursday acknowledged gaps in its knowledge about the covert uranium enrichment program it has long accused Pyongyang of pursuing. Chief U.S. negotiator Chris Hill said such a program, which could produce fuel for nuclear weapons, would require "a lot more equipment than we know that they have actually purchased" as well as "some considerable production techniques that we're not sure whether they have mastered."
  He also raised the possibility that aluminum tubes the United States believes North Korea acquired for an enrichment program several years ago may have gone "somewhere else." But Hill, speaking at the Brookings Institution, insisted "the North Koreans made certain purchases of equipment which is entirely consistent with a highly enriched uranium program." A former U.S. official told Reuters the data gaps cited by Hill have existed since 2002 when the Bush administration first disclosed the enrichment program but this may be the first time they have been publicly acknowledged. [HEU][Evidence][Financial sanctions] [toolkit]
• A Lack of Courage In Their Convictions
  By George F. Will Thursday, February 22, 2007; A19 Indiscriminate criticism of President George W. Bush is an infectious disease. Some conservatives seem to have caught it, but congressional Democrats might be crippled by it. Consider some conservatives' reflexive rejection of the administration's achievement -- with China, Russia, South Korea and Japan -- of an agreement that might constrain North Korea's nuclear weapons program. Voicing the obvious with a sense of originality, critics exclaim that North Korea is a serial liar. And, echoing the equally reflexive disparagement of the agreement by some liberals, these conservatives say it is not significantly different from President Bill Clinton's 1994 agreement, which failed. The new agreement might not bring Pyongyang to heel. It is, however, unlike that of 1994, in three particulars. First, China was infuriated by North Korea's October nuclear test, which fizzled but expressed defiance of China. So now China seems amenable to serious pressure on its mendicant neighbor, which is substantially dependent on China for food and energy. Second, the new agreement, like the 1994 pact, is an attempt to modify behavior using bribery. But under the 1994 agreement, North Korea got the bribe -- energy assistance -- before being required to change its behavior. Under the new agreement, North Korea will receive just 5 percent of promised oil -- 50,000 of 1 million tons of heavy fuel oil -- before it must fulfill, in 60 days, the first of the many commitments it has made. Third, the administration believes it found, in Banco Delta Asia, a lever that moved Pyongyang. The Macau bank was pressured into freezing 52 accounts holding $24 million -- yes, million, not billion -- of North Korean assets because Pyongyang has been using them for illicit purposes. If Pyongyang flinched from being deprived of $24 million -- less than Americans spend on archery equipment in a month -- Pyongyang's low pain threshold suggests how fragile, and hence perhaps how containable, that regime is. [Agreement070213]
• The North Korean Plutonium Stock, February 2007
  By David Albright and Paul Brannan Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) February 20, 2007
  This report is the latest in a series by ISIS examining North Korea’s plutonium production activity and providing our assessment of its current stocks of separated plutonium.1 This type of plutonium is weapons-usable and provides an indication of the potential size of North Korea’s nuclear arsenal. This report also discusses in more detail the number and type of nuclear weapons North Korea could have. The plutonium estimates draw upon information gained on a recent visit by David Albright and Joel Wit to North Korea.
• U.S. urged to reassess claim against North Korea
  Wed 21 Feb 2007 7:17 PM ET By Carol Giacomo, Diplomatic Correspondent WASHINGTON, Feb 21 (Reuters) - The United States should reexamine a questionable charge that North Korea has a covert uranium enrichment program, a key American complaint against Pyongyang that could complicate the new nuclear weapons deal, experts said on Wednesday. Physicist David Albright, who recently visited the isolated communist state, likened the enrichment program charge to the "fiasco" of flawed U.S. intelligence that mistakenly concluded Iraq had a secret nuclear weapons program in the runup to war. [HEU] [Evidence]
• Can the New Nuclear Deal with North Korea Succeed?
  By C. Kenneth Quinones
  Policy Forum Online 07-015A: February 20th, 2007
  . Kenneth Quinones, former State Department North Korea Director, writes, "Reaction understandably has been mixed. Paradoxically the strongest advocate appears to be President Bush, along with China and South Korea. Prime Minister Abe promptly voiced his displeasure. In Washington, both opponents and advocates of negotiations with North Korea have expressed substantial reservations. Even Pyongyang has emphasized publicly the agreement's tentative nature. Ultimately, the lack of political support in many capitals and the new accord's complexity and numerous areas of ambiguity will make successful implementation extremely difficult." [Agreement070213]
• Intelligence Brief: North Korea Deal Welcomed by China
  21 February 2007 The February 13 deal on the North Korea nuclear program resulted from a strategic concession made by the Bush administration. The administration is struggling to create stability in Iraq and Afghanistan, and, at the same time, is trying to prevent Iran from advancing its nuclear research program. The North Korean problem proved to be one issue too many, and one that the administration was more interested in stabilizing than solving. Pyongyang's inflammatory rhetoric and its test of a nuclear weapon threatened to constantly draw attention to its program, which is why the Bush administration felt some form of an agreement had to be reached in order to at least stabilize the situation temporarily. [Agreement070213]
• Seoul Believes N.Korea Has Uranium Program
  National Intelligence Service Director Kim Man-bok on Tuesday said his agency believes North Korea does have a secret uranium enrichment program, as the United States has long claimed. Kim made the admission at a closed-door session of the parliamentary Intelligence Committee, members said. They said Kim answered in the affirmative to a question whether North Korea runs a uranium-based nuclear program. Uri Party lawmaker Sun Byong-ryul quoted Kim as saying an agreement reached in six-party talks on the North's nuclear program on Feb. 13 reconfirmed a statement of principles of September 2005 and therefore includes North Korea's uranium enrichment program, which would be discussed in follow-up working groups. He made the remark in response to a question if the agreement deals with the uranium program. According to the U.S., North Korea in 2002 admitted to having such a program but later denied it, causing the second nuclear crisis. During a visit to Korea, former U.S. defense secretary William Perry told reporters Tuesday that the uranium enrichment program issue could yet lead to the collapse of nuclear negotiations. The defense chief of the Clinton administration during the first North Korean nuclear crisis in 1994, Perry said the Beijing agreement was a small step on a very long road toward making the Korean Peninsula nuclear-free. Ultimately, the success of the agreement was up to whether North Korea is sincere in scrapping its nuclear program, and the North's sincerity has not been tested, he added. Meanwhile, the NIS said North Korea enacted an anti-money laundering law in late October last year. According to the NIS, Pyongyang's anti-money laundering system meets the international financial standard and was enacted after the U.S. froze North Korean accounts with the Macau-based Banco Delta Asia in September 2005. The law defines money laundering as a crime and bans all activities to set up illegal funds through foreign currency counterfeiting and sale of drug and weapons. The NIS dismissed rumors of the confinement of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, a massive exodus of political prisoners and a military drill to quell a coup, saying there had been no unusual activities detected in the North. [HEU] [Evidence]
• S. Korea believes N. Korea has uranium-enriching program
  South Korea's intelligence agency said Tuesday it believes North Korea is running a clandestine uranium-enriching program, an allegation that has been surfacing as a key source of contention on a nuclear disarmament deal reached last week. "We believe (the program) exists," Kim Man-bok, head of the National Intelligence Service, told a parliamentary committee, according to lawmakers who participated in the closed-door meeting. Kim was answering a question about whether the North is operating a highly-enriched uranium (HEU) program, the lawmakers said, on condition of anonymity. [HEU] [Evidence]
• Ex-U.S. official: the key to deal is North's disclosure of uranium
  February 21, 2007     Former U.S. Defense Secretary William Perry, right, talks with Chung Dong-young, former Uri chairman and a presidential contender, yesterday at the Lotte Hotel in Seoul. By Cho Yong-chul Whether Pyongyang fully describes its alleged uranium-based nuclear program could be a "deal breaker" in the coming months, as North Korea takes its first steps toward denuclearizing, former U.S. Defense Secretary William Perry said yesterday. [HEU]
• The Plan That Moved Pyongyang
  By Philip Zelikow Tuesday, February 20, 2007; Page A13 In 2006, the headlines from North Korea were depressing. Pyongyang was headed down the path of escalation: missile tests in July, testing a nuclear weapon in October. Now, 2007 has opened with encouraging news -- a breakthrough in Beijing. In effect, the agreement announced last week was answering the bomb test with a successful test of diplomacy. But this deal makes more sense if we understand the broader strategy, set in motion some time ago, that is starting to play out. In 2005, the United States energized its flagging North Korea efforts on two tracks. One was diplomatic, the other defensive. The diplomatic strategy was never just about North Korea. The Korean Peninsula has repeatedly been a battleground for the great powers in Northeast Asia. The United States, particularly Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her deputy, Robert Zoellick, saw a way to break this mold: China, Japan and Russia were flexing new diplomatic muscle. The North Korean problem could be an opportunity to unite potential rivals in common effort, an enterprise without precedent in Northeast Asia.
  The defensive approach responded to North Korea's outlaw strategy for economic survival. Protecting the integrity of the international financial system was just one of the ways to show the North's leaders that trafficking in contraband was not a sustainable solution to their problems.
• Don't Expect Miracles in North Korea Deal
  [Analysis] Compromise brought results, but will this new approach succeed?  
  James Goodby and Markku Heiskanen (internews) Published 2007-02-20 11:44 (KST)
  "The Bushies finally got it!" That was the reaction of Korea watchers like us who have argued for years that the nuclear issue could only be definitively solved in the larger framework of a settlement of the Korean War. "More for more," some said. "Enlarge the problem," was the way we put it. Now the U.S. administration has adopted this approach and it finds itself under fire from left and right. Naturally, we believe this approach should have been taken earlier, even in the last Democratic administration. But it is not correct to say that there is nothing new in it.
    The agreement reached in Beijing on Tuesday by the six powers involved in the resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue could mark the first step towards a new era in Northeast Asia, a region where Cold War structures still remain.
• N Korea nuclear accord a 'solid step forward' says US
  By Anna Fifield in Beijingand Daniel Dombey in London Published: February 14 2007 02:00 | Last updated: February 14 2007 02:00 The Bush administration yesterday began moving towardsnormal relations with North Korea - a country it had labelled part of the "axis of evil" - in a sweeping and potentially historic deal over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programme. Under the deal, which cemen-ted China's emergence as a significant power broker, North Korea agreed to close its main nuclear reactor within two months and allow international inspectors to verify the process.
  Under the accord, the US will also "resolve" the dispute over $24m (£12m) in North Korea-linked accounts frozen 18 months ago as part of a Washington-led crackdown on counterfeiting and money laundering. [Agreement070213] [Financial sanctions]
• The North Korean Nuclear Crisis Regional Perspectives
  Social Science Research In the United States, news coverage of North Korea's nuclear program, as well as U.S. policy toward the North and reactions of U.S. allies and others in Northeast Asia, tend to reflect the Bush administration's interpretation of events. With six-party talks on the nuclear crisis about to resume, this forum seeks to offer instead some regional perspectives on the crisis. The Social Science Research Council has commissioned papers from distinguished experts from three of the countries involved in the six-party talks
• Tug of war with shorter rope
  Hard-liners working to trip up nuclear talks
  By Leon V. Sigal Published February 15, 2007
  The Bush administration has struck a deal to get North Korea to suspend making plutonium for more nuclear weapons. It can get farther down the road to denuclearization if it continues to engage in direct diplomatic give-and-take and reconcile with the North.
  But not if the hard-liners in Washington have their way. They insist Pyongyang will never live up to its pledge, made in the September 2005 round of six-party talks, to abandon "all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs." Their belief is faith-based. How can they be so sure?
  The fact is, nobody knows, with the possible exception of Kim Jong Il, and the only way for Washington to find out is to proceed, reciprocal step by reciprocal step, in sustained negotiations. If it were up to hard-liners, Washington would never find out how far it can get with Pyongyang. They have blocked negotiations at every turn. Neither China nor South Korea would go along, however. They knew that pressure would only provoke the North to arm sooner than to change course or collapse. Regime change, if it ever came, would be destabilizing if not downright explosive. [Agreement070213] [Neocons] [Toolkit]
• North Korean Nuclear Agreement: Annotated
  John Feffer, IRC | February 14, 2007 Editor: Emily Schwartz Greco, IPS Foreign Policy In Focus www.fpif.org Just in time for Valentine’s Day, the United States and North Korea bridged their differences and produced a preliminary agreement to resolve their outstanding conflicts. The accord is not exactly a declaration of love. It’s not even a bunch of roses and big box of chocolates. But it’s the friendliest the two countries have gotten in the last six years. The February 13 agreement freezes North Korea’s nuclear program in exchange for 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil. The agreement is interesting as much for what it doesn’t say as for what it does. Here’s a provision-by-provision analysis. [Agreement070213]
• The Audacity of Rearmament: Complex 2030
  Travis Sharp | February 14, 2007 Editor: Miriam Pemberton, IPS Foreign Policy In Focus www.fpif.org More than 15 years since the end of the cold war initiated a new era finally making major advances in nuclear disarmament possible, the Bush administration is proceeding with a radical plan to design new nuclear weapons and rebuild the U.S. nuclear weapons complex. This radical plan--known as Complex 2030--may come under increased congressional scrutiny with the new Democratic majority in place this year, but activists and concerned citizens need to become familiar with Complex 2030 now in order to equip themselves to intelligently oppose yet another misguided Bush administration policy. [Nuclear weapons]
• FREEZE MINUS
  By Jon Wolfsthal, Senior Fellow, International Security Program February 13, 2007
  If the new agreement painstakingly negotiated by the United States, North Korea, and the other participants of the six party talks holds, it will be an important milestone in efforts to denuclearize North Korea. But in and of itself, the deal is a nuclear freeze on North Korea’s program. It contains only the promise, unspecified in time and scope, with no guarantee that the next step will ever be taken. This is neither surprising nor unwelcome. Given the total lack of trust between the United States and North Korea, the two sides have to gain some basic momentum before moving forward. We have to crawl before we can walk. U.S. government spokesmen will claim in every way possible that this deal is entirely different from the one struck by the Clinton administration in 1994, but the facts speak for themselves – a freeze is a freeze is a freeze.
  When the Clinton administration concluded the Agreed Framework in 1994, a Republican controlled congress undermined the agreement by restricting funds to provide North Korea with heavy fuel oil and accused those who negotiated and supported the agreement as being either naïve or un-American. Now, a Congress controlled by Democrats will have to determine how it will respond when put in the same situation. No one likes the fact that North Korea has forced the U.S. to accept an incomplete and imperfect deal. Everyone would have preferred for North Korea to immediately turn over all its nuclear weapons instead of stopping first (and hopefully now forever) on a nuclear freeze. The temptation to score easy (and even gratifying) political points over the about-face taken by the Bush administration will be strong. But for the sake of stability in East Asia, America’s reputation in the region, and in the interest of seeing if nuclear rollback in North Korea is possible, every effort should be made to support the agreement. If it fails, let it be because North Korea did not live up to its part of the bargain, not because America did not. [Partisan] [Agreement070213] [Dissension]
• North Korea Tests a Nuke and Returns to the Six-Party Talks
  Donald G. Gross North Korea made good on its long-time threat to conduct a nuclear test when it exploded a small nuclear device of less than a kiloton on Oct. 9. The test generated political shock waves and led to comprehensive sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council Oct. 14. Under tremendous pressure from the international community and China, in particular, North Korea announced Oct. 31 it would return to the Six-Party Talks. The core problem in the negotiation remains the question of “sequencing” actions by the U.S. and North Korea. [Sequencing]
• Deciding on the Enemy Worth Talking To
  By DAVID E. SANGER Published: February 18, 2007 WASHINGTON Skip to next paragraph Behrouz Mehri/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Speak Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad could be ready to negotiate. WHEN it comes to finding a way to disarm your enemies, here is a puzzle: How do you decide which dictatorial, nuke-building regimes to negotiate with, and which to freeze out, sanction or intimidate with a couple of aircraft carriers? That, in a nutshell, is a looming question raised by last week’s long-delayed deal with North Korea. Even while hardliners and conservatives were assailing the administration last week for “selling out” to Kim Jong Il, some in the administration were wondering whether there are lessons here for dealing with Iran. [Agreement070213] [Bilateral] [US NK negotiations]
• Report: IAEA Official to Visit N.Korea
  The Associated Press Saturday, February 17, 2007; 4:52 AM TOKYO -- A top official at the International Atomic Energy Agency is expected to visit North Korea within two weeks to discuss details of nuclear reactor inspection that Pyongyang agreed to during the recent international disarmament talks, a Japanese newspaper reported Saturday. In a breakthrough deal reached in Beijing on Tuesday, North Korea agreed to shut down its main nuclear reactor and allow U.N. inspectors back into the country within 60 days in return for energy and other support from the other nations participating in the six-party talks _ the U.S., South Korea, Russia, China and Japan.
  A delegation headed by IAEA Deputy Director General Olli Heinonen, also head of the safeguards department, will hold talks within 14 days with North Korean officials to decide details including inspection procedures and a schedule to nuclear dismantlement, the Asahi newspaper reported, citing unidentified IAEA sources.
• North Korea Likely Forced Into Nuclear Deal: Envoy
  By REUTERS Published: February 16, 2007 Filed at 3:51 a.m. ET Skip to next paragraph SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea was probably pushed to take a deal to shut down its nuclear reactor in return for aid because of its faltering economy and limited diplomatic options, a senior South Korean official said on Friday. In a breakthrough deal, impoverished North Korea agreed this week to seal its main nuclear reactor and the source of its weapons-grade plutonium in return for an initial 50,000 tonnes of fuel or economic aid of equivalent value. ``I think they may have exhausted all the cards they had with the nuclear test,'' South Korea's chief nuclear envoy, Chun Yung-woo, told a forum. ``Considering how difficult the North's economy and its energy situation are, they would have to think long and hard before giving up on this scale of benefits.''
• Rice Is Said to Have Speeded North Korea Deal
  By DAVID E. SANGER and THOM SHANKER Published: February 16, 2007 WASHINGTON, Feb. 15 — To win approval of a deal with North Korea that has been assailed by conservatives inside and outside the administration, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice bypassed layers of government policy review that had derailed past efforts to negotiate an agreement, several senior administration officials said this week.
  After a meeting in Berlin in mid-January with her top negotiator on North Korea, Christopher R. Hill, who had just held lengthy sessions with his North Korean counterparts, Ms. Rice called back to Washington to describe the outlines of the deal to Stephen J. Hadley, the national security adviser, and then to President Bush. But to some, it seemed the usual procedures were cut short — vetting the details though an interagency process that ordinarily would have brought in Vice President Dick Cheney’s office, the Defense Department and aides at the White House and other agencies who had previously objected to rewarding North Korea before it gives up its weapons.
• Bush 'Mastermind Behind Six-Party Agreement'
  President George W. Bush apparently directly instructed U.S. delegates in negotiating over North Korea’s nuclear program in six-nation talks in Beijing. Abandoning pressure and hostility for dialogue and negotiations, Bush was briefed about the development and results of the nuclear negotiations in detail and approved every move. This was confirmed by a press conference he gave at the White House on Wednesday, where he showed a firm grasp of the jargon -- “shut down”, “seal” and “disable” -- of the complicated agreement defining the two phases of actions.
• Seoul hopes 6-way process will eventually address nuclear arsenal, HEU project: Chun
  South Korea hopes that the six-party nuclear talks will eventually address North Korea's nuclear arsenal and even the highly enriched uranium (HEU) project the North has vehemently denied, South Korea's top nuclear envoy said Friday. The remarks by Chun Young-woo come against the backdrop of criticism that the agreement signed at the end of the six-day multinational nuclear talks in Beijing Tuesday aims at dismantling the North's plutonium-producing nuclear reactor alone without touching at least several nuclear bombs the North is believed to possess. "This round of talks dealt with what we will do first to achieve our main goal, which is to have North Korea give up all of its nuclear weapons and nuclear programs," Chun said in a forum organized by the Korea Press Foundation.
• Seoul aide: Uranium is not forgotten
  February 17, 2007 Pyongyang is aware that it has to clear up suspicions about an alleged program to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons, Chun Young-woo, Seoul’s chief negotiator at the six-party talks, told reporters yesterday at a forum sponsored by the Korea Press Foundation. Under the agreement earlier this week to begin the implementation of a broader 2005 pact, North Korea is obliged to “discuss” a list of all its nuclear programs within 60 days of the agreement. In the succeeding phase, it is committed by the agreement to “declare” all its nuclear programs. The Agreed Framework of 1994, which ended the first nuclear crisis on the Korean Peninsula, collapsed in October of 2002 when a U.S. negotiator, James Kelly, confronted North Korean officials in Pyongyang with evidence that they were running a clandestine uranium enrichment program. Washington claims that those officials defiantly confirmed those suspicions, although Pyongyang has denied publicly that it did so. Given that history, a resolution of U.S. suspicions could be one key to whether the new agreement holds or collapses.
  Mr. Chun said yesterday that the North’s six-party representative, Kim Gye-gwan, was reminded by U.S. officials about those American charges in talks in Berlin that prepared the way for the recent round of formal talks that resulted in the new agreement. In Berlin, Mr. Kim again denied those charges of a uranium program, Mr. Chun said yesterday. The South Korean official suggested that the dispute could hinge on differing definitions of what the word “program” means, but he emphasized, “All suspicions need to be cleared up.” [HEU] [Admission] [Evidence]
•   ‘Nuke Talks to Address Uranium Program’
  By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter Seoul hopes that six-party talks will eventually address North Korea's nuclear weapons as well as its suspected highly enriched uranium (HEU) program, Seoul’s top nuclear envoy said yesterday. Deputy Foreign Minister Chun Young-woo said in a forum that the latest nuclear disarmament deal requires North Korea to submit a report to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) a list of all its nuclear programs, including uranium-based ones. ``North Korea must report (the amount of) plutonium it has produced...so we would also have an idea how much progress the country has made on its uranium program,’’ Chun told the forum organized by the Korea Press Foundation. Chun’s remarks came amid criticisms about the nuclear pact signed at the end of the six-party talks, involving the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia, in Beijing Wednesday. The agreement calls for the dismantling of the North's plutonium-producing nuclear reactor but fails to deal with several nuclear bombs the North is believed to possess and its alleged uranium enrichment program. The status of Pyongyang’s alleged enrichment efforts are unknown. But Washington asserts North Korea has created such a program with the help of the same nuclear black market that allowed Iran to develop its enrichment activities to the point where the nation was slapped with U.N. sanctions because of fears it would use the program to develop nuclear arms. Pyongyang, however, has long denied having a uranium-based program and appears least likely to admit it now. [HEU]
• washingtonpost.com's Daily Politics Discussion: Michael Abramowitz
  Washington Post White House Reporter Friday, February 16, 2007; 11:00 AM
  Washington Post White House reporter Michael Abramowitz was online Friday, Feb. 16, at 11 a.m. ET to discuss the latest political news and The Post's coverage of politics.
  Minneapolis: On foreign policy, do you think Secretary of State Rice finally has figured out how to outmaneuver Cheney, especially now that he doesn't have Rumsfeld? Seems to be some evidence on North Korea and maybe even Iran.
  Michael Abramowitz: Great question! I have been wondering about this myself -- I certainly think many conservatives in town believe this. I think interestingly Cheney probably has been hampered by the loss of his top aide, Scooter Libby, to the perjury trial. Whatever his faults may be, Libby was considered a very skilled bureaucratic player who well advanced the vice president's interests. [Dissension]
• Bush seeks to tamp down revolt on North Korea deal
  By Steve Holland Reuters Thursday, February 15, 2007; 7:57 PM WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House tried to convince conservatives, including a top aide, on Thursday that a breakthrough deal with North Korea would not free Pyongyang anytime soon from a list of countries that sponsor terrorism. [Agreement070213] [Dissension]
• Full Text of Denuclearization Agreement
  The following is the full text of “Initial Actions for the Implementation of the Joint Statement” adopted at the latest round of six-nation negotiations over North Korea's nuclear weapons program in Beijing on Feb. 13. [Agreement070213]
• A Denuclearization Deal in Beijing
  The prospect of ending the 20th Century in East Asia
  Gavan McCormack
  Published 2007-02-15 10:35 (KST) 
     On Feb. 13, 2007, a historic deal was struck in Beijing commencing the process of the denuclearization of Korea, comprehensive regional reconciliation, ending the Korean War, and normalizing relations between North Korea and its two historic enemies, Japan and the United States. The agreement is complex, and its implications are enormous, not just for the peninsula. The following paper offers a preliminary analysis. [Agreement070213]
• Conservatives Assail North Korea Accord
  Deal Could Get Nation off Terrorism List By Glenn Kessler Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, February 15, 2007; Page A01 The White House yesterday found itself fending off a conservative revolt over the North Korea nuclear deal, even scrambling to mollify one of its own top officials who expressed sharp disagreement with a provision that could spring Pyongyang from the list of countries that sponsor terrorism, U.S. officials said yesterday. Elliott Abrams, a deputy national security adviser, fired off e-mails expressing bewilderment over the agreement and demanding to know why North Korea would not have to first prove it had stopped sponsoring terrorism before being rewarded with removal from the list, according to officials who reviewed the messages. [Dissension] [Agreement070213]
• U.S. Flexibility Credited in Nuclear Deal With N. Korea
  By Glenn Kessler and Edward Cody Washington Post Staff Writers Wednesday, February 14, 2007; Page A11 The six-nation deal to shut down North Korea's nuclear facility, four months after Pyongyang conducted its first nuclear test, was reached yesterday largely because President Bush was willing to give U.S. negotiators new flexibility to reach an agreement, U.S. officials and Asian diplomats said yesterday. Ever since the North Korean nuclear crisis erupted in 2002 after the discovery of a clandestine nuclear program, the Bush administration has insisted that North Korea should not be rewarded for its bad behavior -- and many of the U.S. offers have required Pyongyang to give up a lot before it could receive anything in return.
  Now Bush has signed off on a deal that accepts North Korea's original position -- a "freeze" of its Yongbyon nuclear facility -- and requires Washington to move first by unfreezing some North Korean bank accounts. The agreement leaves until later dealing with such vexing issues as the dismantlement of the facility, North Korea's stash of weapons-grade plutonium and even North Korea's admission of the nuclear program that started the crisis in the first place. [Admission] [Agreement070213]
• Initial Actions for the Implementation of the Joint Statement 2007/02/13 [Text of the Agreement of 13 February 2007]
  The Third Session of the Fifth Round of the Six-Party Talks was held in Beijing among the People's Republic of China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation and the United States of America from 8 to 13 February 2007. [Agreement070213]
• Chinese Delegation Spokesperson Jiang Yu Holds the Second Briefing on the Fifth Round of Six-Party Talks
  2006/12/20 Sorry to keep you waiting. The afternoon meeting of the heads of delegations just concluded. Prior to the meeting, Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing met with the heads of delegations. Li stressed that the Joint Statement is important progress of the six-party talks. It considers the concerns of all parties and deserves to be cherished. Li also added that new consensus was reached based on the arduous efforts of the parties over the past few days. First, all parties reaffirmed their adherence to the September 19 Joint Statement. Second, all parties reaffirmed their positions of peacefully resolving the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula through dialogues. Third, all parties reaffirmed their adherence to the common goal of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula. I hope that all parties could continue to exploit their political wisdom and creativity in the coming days so as to gradually build up trust, expand consensus, and achieve positive results. Now I'd like to take your questions.
• Is Kim Jong-il Serious This Time?
  Did North Korean leader Kim Jong-il make the strategic decision to give up his nuclear program? Or did he just make what short-term concessions he needed to overcome financial sanctions and a food shortage? These were the first questions many asked after the latest round of six-party talks reached agreement in Beijing on Tuesday. North Korea has a solid history of making and going back on agreements on its nuclear program: the 1991 inter-Korean Joint Declaration on the Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, the 1994 Geneva Accords, and the September 2005 statement of principles in the six-party talks. None of them stopped the North’s nuclear development, right up until the nuclear test last October. [Agreement070213]
• Joint Statement: Six-Party Talks on N. Korea Disarmament
  Tuesday, February 13, 2007; 11:07 AM Joint statement following Six-Party Talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons program, as released by the People's Republic of China: Initial Actions for the Implementation of the Joint Statement [Agreement070213]
• Nuke Drama Opens ‘2nd Act’s 1st Scene’
  By Park Song-wu Korea Times Correspondent Kim Gye-gwan, North Korean envoy to the six-party talks, left, holds hands with Chinese chief negotiator Wu Dawei and U.S. envoy Christopher Hill after reaching an agreement in Beijing, Tuesday, to dismantle North Korea's nuclear programs. /Yonhap BEIJING _ A day after this round of the six-party talks began in Beijing last Thursday, President Roh Moo-hyun and his U.S. counterpart George W. Bush reportedly had to cancel a prearranged telephone conversation that was supposed to celebrate progress in the denuclearization talks
• US, NK to Open Normalization Talks
  Pyongyang Will Begin Denuclearization but Keep Nuclear Weapons By Park Song-wu Korea Times Correspondent South Korea’s Chun Yung-woo, second from left, holds hands with other negotiators after reaching an initial agreement to dismantle North Korea's nuclear facilities in Beijing, Tuesday.  /Yonhap BEIJING _ The latest agreement in the six-party talks on Tuesday produced a 60-day timetable under which North Korea will take initial steps toward denuclearization in return for energy and economic aid. But Pyongyang will continue to keep its nuclear weapons and weapons grade material needed to produce them until further negotiations take place [Agreement070213]
• N.Korea Agrees to Disable Nuclear Facilities
  The U.S. and four other nations in six-party talks on Tuesday agreed to provide up to 1 million tons of heavy fuel oil worth W400 billion (US$1=W940) and economic support to North Korea if the Stalinist country disables its nuclear facilities. Chief negotiators from North and South Korea, China, Japan, Russia and the U.S. at a plenary meeting in Beijing reached accord over the implementation of a statement of principles signed by the countries in September 2005. [Agreement070213]
• N.Korea Says Rewards Are for ‘Temporary’ Nuke Freeze
  North Korea's state-run news agency reported Tuesday the country stands to get 1 million tons of heavy fuel oil for a mere “temporary” suspension of its nuclear activities, a claim at loggerheads with the text of an agreement reached in six-party nuclear talks in Beijing. The Korea Central News Agency on the night of the agreement said the five countries “decided to provide economic and energy aid equivalent to 1 million tons of heavy fuel oil in connection with [North Korea's] temporary suspension of operation of its nuclear facilities.” But that is less than the “shutdown” of the nuclear facilities and “canning” of spent fuel rods North Korea undertook within 60 days of the agreement, in the lead-up to “disabling” its nuclear facilities. The shutdown entitles North Korea to 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil, with the rest depending on how far it goes on the road to disabling the facilities. [Agreement070213]
• How Long Will Denuclearization of the Peninsula Take?
  The accord reached in six-party talks in Beijing on Tuesday is merely a first step toward divesting North Korea of its nuclear program and facilities. The real process of dismantling them will start only after the agreement is put into practice. [Agreement070213]
• U.S., N.Korean Nuke Envoys to Exchange Visits
  U.S. and North Korean top nuclear envoys will likely visit each other’s country after reaching agreement in six-nation nuclear talks in Beijing on Tuesday, sources said Wednesday. Diplomatic sources in Seoul said U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill and his North Korean counterpart Kim Kye-gwan discussed exchanging visits in Berlin last month and during the latest round of the six-party nuclear talks. The sources predicted the visits will come soon after the two chief negotiators discuss the matter with their governments. Kim will visit the U.S. first, the sources said. [Agreement070213]
• Bombs Left for Final Stage of Nuke Talks
  A high government official said Wednesday that the issue of North Korea's existing nuclear weapons would be dealt with at the very last stage of the nuclear dismantlement program. In regard to indications that nuclear weapons were not dealt with in the accord reached by the six-party talks on Tuesday, the official responded, “It would not make sense for North Korea to give up nuclear weapons which it has been developing for years for just one million tons of fuel oil.” The statements marked the first time a high-level official has revealed the government’s position on discussing North Korea's existing nuclear weapons. The South Korean government believes that the North has two to three nuclear bombs right now. During his keynote speech at the six-party talks held immediately following North Korea's nuclear experiments last December, North Korean nuclear envoy Kim Kye-gwan blocked any discussion of disarming, saying that if the talks moved in that direction, then there would have to be calls for mutual disarmament. Meanwhile, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov, who heads the Russian delegation at the six-party talks, said Tuesday that the participating countries had agreed to avert any actions that might derail the situation, and cited joint military training exercises between South Korea and the U.S. as an example. [Agreement070213] [Joint US military]
• Bad behaviour works
  Leader Wednesday February 14, 2007 The Guardian One note yesterday soured the perfect cadence that greeted North Korea's decision to shut down its main nuclear reactor at Yongbyon, and take the first step towards dismantling its nuclear-weapons programme. Characteristically, it was sounded by John Bolton, who has lost his job as US ambassador to the United Nations, but not his voice. Advising George Bush to reject the deal negotiated by the state department undersecretary Christopher Hill, Mr Bolton said the deal sent the wrong signal to would-be proliferators around the world: hold out long enough and you will eventually be rewarded. Mr Bolton was right. The way to get yourself off the axis of evil is to get a working nuclear device and then test-fire it. Behaving badly with America does pay. But he was also supremely wrong. The agreement yesterday takes Washington back to where it was with North Korea in 1994, when President Bill Clinton struck a deal that was dismantled by the Bush administration in October 2002. Yesterday America went back to the future. If this is a bad lesson for other would-be proliferators like Iran, it is even worse for the neoconservatives who advised Mr Bush to jettison Mr Clinton's policy. North Korea has now got most of what it originally wanted - normalisation of relations, aid, the removal of sanctions - and it has still got the bomb. If Pyongyang agreed to freeze its plutonium-based programme, it has not yet acknowledged the existence of a programme to enrich uranium. This was the issue that sparked the crisis in 2002. [HEU] [Agreement070213]
• Agreement at six-party talks welcomed
  [Editorial] The agreement the countries participating in the six party talks arrived on February 13 in Beijing is very significant in that it is the first agreement that signifies the actual implementation of the joint statement of September 19, 2005. The long march to resolving the North Korean nuclear issue and building peace on the Korean peninsula and in Northeast Asia has begun. Each nation needs to carry out what has been agreed to swiftly and in good faith, and lead the way in establishing a new framework for peace. [Agreement070213]
• Today’s scoreline: George W. Bush 1, Kim Jong II
  February 14, 2007 Ignore the spin, this was a victory for North Korea Richard Lloyd Parry Early on in his presidency, George W. Bush dropped a few broad hints that the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Il, was not quite his cup of tea. There was the time he described him as a “pygmy”, for example, and compared him with “a spoilt child”. There was the famous occasion when he lumped North Korea in with Iraq and Iran as the “Axis of Evil”. Or there was the moment when he put it most simply of all. “I loathe Kim Jong Il,” he told the journalist Bob Woodward, who describes the President “waving his finger in the air”. So George Bush doesn’t like Kim Jong Il — but Kim Jong Il doesn’t care. And wherever he is lurking now, in the isolated, impenetrable dictatorship that he rules, Kim Jong Il must be laughing at the humiliation that he has heaped on the world’s most powerful man. For that is what yesterday’s six-party agreement in Beijing represents — a just humiliation for Washington, the collapse of four years of arrogance and misjudgment in a chaos of U-turns and compromises. [Agreement070213]
• Political parties hail North Korea nuclear deal
  South Korea's political parties were unanimous in welcoming the agreement reached in Beijing on Tuesday over dismantling the North's nuclear facilities, calling it an important step toward denuclearization on the peninsula and boosting inter-Korean relations. "The agreement achieved important progress in resolving the dispute over North Korea's nuclear weapons program," Rep. Woo Sang-ho, spokesman for the ruling Uri Party, said in a briefing. North Korea agreed Tuesday to eventually dismantle its nuclear facilities in return for up to one million tons of heavy fuel oil and other economic and diplomatic benefits. The burden for the aid will be equally shared by the other parties involved in the six-party talks -- South Korea, the United States, China, Japan and Russia, according to a joint statement. [Agreement070213]
• Pyongyang puts some spin on 6-way talks agreement State media say it will close nuclear facilities ‘temporarily’
  February 15, 2007 Pyongyang’s state-controlled media have given what may be a signal that Pyongyang is prepared to reinterpret Tuesday’s agreement at the six-party nuclear talks in Beijing even before the ink on it is dry. The Korean Central News Agency, hours after the nuclear deal was reached, reported that participants had agreed to supply North Korea with 1 million tons of heavy fuel oil in return for a “temporary” suspension of operations at the North’s nuclear facilities. It also reported that Washington and Pyongyang would begin discussions possibly leading to diplomatic relations, but did not describe the rest of the agreement, in which the closing of the North’s facilities was intended as a prelude to their “disablement.” The shipment of all but 50,000 tons of crude oil supplies was contingent on that complete shutdown, a declaration of all the North’s nuclear programs and international inspections of those facilities. It was not clear, however, whether the reports were intended as a definitive statement of North Korea’s interpretation of the agreement or, as one South Korean official suggested yesterday, a bit of domestic propaganda to demonstrate to its populace that its nuclear programs had boosted the nation’s prestige. Some private analysts in Korea concurred. Koh Yoo-hwan, a North Korean specialist at Dongguk University, contended that because of the North’s tight control of information, even the most senior military leaders in the North would not be able to see easily the entire text of the agreement. “So the announcement focused on what the North would get,” he concluded But a diplomatic source in Seoul was not fully convinced, noting that sometimes agreements were struck only by deliberately vague diplomatic language. “Different interpretations lead to agreements,” he said. “Shaky ones.” [Agreement070213]
• Third Phase of Fifth Round of Six-Party Talks Held
     Beijing, February 13 (KCNA) -- The third phase of the fifth round of the six-party talks took place in Beijing from February 8 to 13.     The talks that proceeded in a sincere atmosphere discussed the ways of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula.     At the talks the parties decided to offer economic and energy aid equivalent to one million tons of heavy fuel oil in connection with the DPRK's temporary suspension of the operation of its nuclear facilities.     And the DPRK and the United States agreed to solve their pending issues and kick off the bilateral talks aimed at opening full diplomatic ties.     At the just-concluded talks the parties agreed to have the sixth round of the six-party talks in the future.
• Russian Orthodox Church Presents Vehicles to Kochang Co-op Farm
     Pyongyang, February 13 (KCNA) -- The Russian Orthodox Church presented vehicles to the Korea-Russia Friendship Kochang Co-op Farm.     Russian Ambassador to the DPRK Valery E. Sukhinin handed over the vehicles to the farm at a meeting Monday. Present there were Ryu Sung Rim, vice-chairman of the Korea-Russia Friendship Association, officials of the farm and staff members of the Russian embassy in Pyongyang.
• Nuclear Deal Costly for Seoul
  By Lee Hyo-sik Staff Reporter South Korea is expected to shoulder over one trillion won each year to provide energy and economic aid to North Korea once the latest agreement in the six-party talks on North Korea’s nuclear development program becomes effective. But analysts say that the Beijing accord will have a positive impact on the world’s 11th largest economy as it will help lessen uncertainties stemming from geopolitical risks involving North Korea, and raise the country’s sovereign credit rating. Lee Cheol-yong, a researcher at the LG Economic Research Institute, said Tuesday’s nuke accord has eased geopolitical concerns related to the North’s nuclear program, which will help draw more foreign investment.
  North Korea is also expected to ask Seoul to resume aid shipments of rice and fertilizer, which were suspended last October when the North conducted its first nuclear test. South Korea shipped 500,000 tons of rice and 300,000 tons of fertilizer annually to the North as part of an agreement reached at the inter-Korean summit in June 2000, costing taxpayers some 300 billion won. In addition, South Korea promised in July 2005 to supply around two million kilowatts of electricity to North Korea per year _ estimated to cost some 10 trillion won over the next 10 years _ if Pyongyang scrapped its nuclear weapons programs,. The government projected that the electricity generation will cost about 8 trillion won with an additional 2 trillion won for the construction of electricity transmission facilities. Furthermore, South Korea’s financial burden will surge if the two light-water reactor projects under a 1994 bilateral agreement between Washington and Pyongyang in Geneva are revived. The $4.6 billion plan for the two reactors by the New York-based Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO) was terminated last year due to the North’s non-compliance with the agreement. A total of $1.54 billion was poured into the KEDO project since 1995, with South Korea contributing 70 percent of the cost. If the project is resumed, Korean taxpayers are projected to pay a minimum $1.2 billion. leehs@koreatimes.co.kr 02-14-2007 17:44 [Agreement070213] [KEDO]
• Nuke Accord Heightens Possibility of Pope’s Visit to Koreas
  By Ryu Jin Korea Times Correspondent VATICAN CITY _ Could Pope Benedict XVI be the first head of the Roman Catholic Church to make a visit to South and North Korea? Chances are being heightened after a breakthrough was made in the North Korean nuclear standoff on Tuesday. [Agreement070213]
• Bush hails North Korea pact
  By Brian Knowlton, Helene Cooper and Jim Yardley Tuesday, February 13, 2007 WASHINGTON President George W. Bush and his top deputies on Tuesday hailed a pact reached in Beijing in which the United States, China, South Korea and Russia agreed to provide food and fuel aid to Pyongyang in exchange for a commitment from the North to close its main nuclear reactor. If the breakthrough agreement holds — and pacts with North Korea have a long history of falling through — it could put the United States and Japan on a path toward normalizing relations with the isolated North, which Bush in 2002 proclaimed a pillar of the "axis of evil," along with Iraq and Iran, and which tested a nuclear device just four months ago. But even while proclaiming the agreement a victory for diplomacy, administration officials were on the defensive, with critics at both ends of the political spectrum. From the right, national security hard-liners argued that the United States should have held out for a broader deal in which North Korea agreed to declare and dismantle its entire nuclear program. From the left, Democrats argued that the deal reached was no better than one that the United States could have gotten four years ago, long before North Korea's nuclear program advanced to the point of a nuclear test. [Partisan][ Dissension] [Agreement070213]
• Outside Pressures Broke Korean Deadlock >
  By DAVID E. SANGER Published: February 14, 2007 WASHINGTON, Feb. 13 — It is hard to imagine that either George W. Bush or Kim Jong-il would have agreed even a year ago to the kind of deal they have now approved. The pact, announced Tuesday, would stop, seal and ultimately disable North Korea’s nuclear facilities, as part of a grand bargain that the administration has previously shunned as overly generous to a repressive country — especially one that has not yet said when or if it will give up its nuclear arsenal.
  North Korea agreed to freeze operations at Yongbyon, its main nuclear facility, seen here in a 2004 photo, and to allow inspectors there. But in the past few months, the world has changed for both Mr. Bush and Mr. Kim, two men who have made clear how deeply they detest each other. Both are beset by huge problems, and both needed some kind of breakthrough. [Agreement070213]
• In Shift, Accord on North Korea Seems to Be Set
  By JIM YARDLEY and DAVID E. SANGER Published: February 13, 2007 BEIJING, Tuesday, Feb. 13 — The United States and four other nations reached a tentative agreement to provide North Korea with roughly $400 million in fuel oil and aid, in return for the North’s starting to disable its nuclear facilities and allowing nuclear inspectors back into the country, according to American officials who have reviewed the proposed text. [Agreement070213]
• Private Talks Held in Berlin Spurred Sides to Reach Deal
  By JIM YARDLEY Published: February 14, 2007 BEIJING, Wednesday, Feb. 14 — On a Friday night in late December, the tortuous three-year diplomatic effort to end North Korea’s nuclear weapons program finally seemed dead. Two months earlier, North Korea had conducted its first nuclear weapons test, and five days of talks in Beijing had just ended in failure and acrimony. But that evening, the American team sent a messenger to the gated North Korean Embassy. Would the North be interested in a private, bilateral meeting outside Beijing? A few days later, the North agreed and chose a location — Berlin. [Agreement070213]
• Pact With North Korea Draws Fire From a Wide Range of Critics in U.S.
  By HELENE COOPER and JIM YARDLEY Published: February 14, 2007 WASHINGTON, Feb. 13 — The deal that could lead North Korea to shut its main nuclear reactor came under criticism from both ends of the political spectrum immediately after it was announced on Tuesday.
  From the right, hardliners argued that the United States should have held out until North Korea agreed to fully declare and dismantle its entire nuclear program. From the left, Democrats argued that the deal was no better than one they said the United States could have gotten four years ago, before North Korea tested a nuclear bomb. [Partisan] [Agreement070213]
• The Lesson of North Korea
  Published: February 14, 2007 It is welcome news that North Korea has agreed to move toward dismantling its nuclear weapons program in exchange for fuel oil and international acceptance — including the hope of eventual recognition by the United States. When dealing with Pyongyang (and for that matter, the Bush administration), a lot can slip betwixt the cup and the lip. But if all goes as agreed, the world will be safer. The obvious question to ask is: What took so long? And even more important: Will President Bush learn from this belated success? Will he finally allow his diplomats to try negotiation and even compromise with other bad and undeniably dangerous governments? Mr. Bush could probably have gotten this deal years ago, except that he decided he didn’t have to talk to anyone he didn’t like. [Agreement070213] [Partisan]
• Nuclear Talks on North Korea Hit Roadblock
  By JIM YARDLEY and DAVID E. SANGER Published: February 12, 2007 BEIJING, Feb. 11 — Negotiations on a step-by-step deal that the Bush administration hopes will lead North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons program appeared near collapse on Sunday over North Korea’s demands for huge shipments of fuel oil and electricity before agreeing to a schedule for turning over its nuclear weapons and fuel. [Agreement070213]
• Deal to Shut Major North Korean Nuclear Facilities Appears Closer
  By JIM YARDLEY and DAVID E. SANGER Published: February 10, 2007 BEIJING, Feb. 9 — North Korea and the United States appeared on Friday to be inching closer to a deal that would establish a schedule for the North to shut down and seal its main nuclear facilities within two months, in return for shipments of fuel oil from South Korea and the beginning of talks over normalization of relations with Washington [Agreement070213]
• Bush Hails Progress in Six-Party Talks
  President discusses North Korea agreement, Iraqi security, Iran
  By David McKeeby USINFO Staff Writer 14 February 2007   President Bush holds a news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington February 14. Bush hailed the six-party agreement on North Korea's nuclear program as a victory for multilateral diplomacy. "The best diplomacy is diplomacy in which there is more than one voice," Bush said. (© AP Images) President Bush holds a news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington February 14. (© AP Images) Washington -- President Bush February 14 hailed the six-party agreement on North Korea’s nuclear program as a victory for multilateral diplomacy. “The best diplomacy is diplomacy in which there is more than one voice,” Bush told reporters during a February 14 press conference.  “And so we had a breakthrough as a result of other voices than the United States saying to the North Koreans, ‘we don't support your nuclear weapons program and we urge you to get rid of it in a verifiable way.’” [Agreement070213]
• Press Conference by the President
  The East Room President's Remarks 11:01 A.M. EST Before I'm going to take some questions, I'd like to comment about one other diplomatic development, and that took place in the Far East. At the six-party talks in Beijing, North Korea agreed to specific actions that will bring us closer to a Korea Peninsula that is free of nuclear weapons. Specifically, North Korea agreed that within 60 days it will shut down and seal all operations at the primary nuclear facilities it has used to produce weapons-grade plutonium. It has agreed to allow international inspectors to verify and monitor this progress. It is committed to disclosing all of its nuclear programs as an initial step toward abandoning these programs. In exchange, five other parties at the table -- that would be China, Russia, Japan, South Korea and the United States -- have got commitments. We will meet those commitments as this agreement is honored. Those commitments include economic, humanitarian and energy assistance to the people of North Korea. This is a unique deal. First of all, unlike any other agreement, it brings together all of North Korea's neighbors in the region, as well as the United States. The agreement is backed by a United Nations Security Council resolution. That resolution came about -- the sanctions came about as a result of the resolution because of a unanimous vote in the Security Council. This is good progress. It is a good first step. There's a lot of work to be done to make sure that the commitments made in this agreement become reality, but I believe it's an important step in the right direction [Agreement070213]
• North Korea Nuclear Deal a “Breakthrough,” Rice Says
  Agreement hailed as first step toward nuclear-free Korean Peninsula By Stephen Kaufman and David McKeeby USINFO Staff Writers    U.S. negotiator Christopher Hill stands with his counterparts from Japan, South Korea, North Korea, China and Russia at the closing ceremony of the Six-Party Talks on North Korea's nuclear program February 13 in Beijing. This round of talks resulted in an agreement that calls for North Korea to close a nuclear reactor and allow reentry of U.N. inspectors. (© AP Images) U.S. envoy Christopher Hill joins his counterparts at the closing ceremony of the Six-Party Talks in Beijing February 13. (© AP Images) Washington -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says North Korea's decision to dismantle its nuclear weapons in exchange for energy aid is a “breakthrough step.” [Agreement070213]
• The Beijing Deal is not the Agreed Framework”
  By Peter Hayes February 14th, 2007 Peter Hayes, Nautilus Institute Executive Director, writes, “In short, whatever its shortcomings, the critics of the Beijing Deal who denounce it as simply the revival of the logic and scope of the old Agreed Framework have got it completely wrong. We are nowhere near a comprehensive agreement that captures the DPRK nuclear weapons program. Nor did the DPRK achieve a victory over the United States in Beijing. Rather, both sides wrestled the other ...to the end.” [Agreement070213]
• Weapons Unclear in Korean Deal
  Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2007 By AP/ALEXA OLESEN BEIJING — A hard-won disarmament pact that the United States struck with North Korea on Tuesday requires the communist nation to halt its nuclear programs in exchange for oil while leaving the ultimate abandonment of those weapons projects to a potentially trouble-filled future. In a sign of potential problems to come, North Korea's state news agency said the country was receiving 1 million tons of oil for a "temporary suspension" of its nuclear facilities — and failed to mention the full disarmament for which the agreement calls. [Agreement070213]
• Pyongyang Heads Back to the Future
  [Analysis] New-old agreement on North Korean nukes leaves difficult issues to later rounds
  Timothy Savage (yamanin) 
     Email Article  Print Article  Published 2007-02-14 11:53 (KST)    The chief negotiators of the six-party talks pose for the cameras at the conclusion of an agreement in Beijing, Tuesday afternoon. ©2007 Yonhap If the "new" agreement negotiated at the latest round of six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear program has an air of familiarity to it, it should. By agreeing to shut down its Yongbyon nuclear reactor in exchange for heavy fuel oil shipments, North Korea has basically returned to the situation that prevailed under the 1994 Agreed Framework, until it was scuttled by the Bush administration at the end of 2002. The primary difference is that, in the interim, North Korea reprocessed several kilograms of plutonium and held a nuclear test. [Agreement070213] [Agreed Framework
• North Korea Agrees to Stop Nuclear Weapons Pursuit
  (Update7) By Heejin Koo and Allen T. Cheng Feb. 13 (Bloomberg) -- North Korea pledged to end its pursuit of nuclear weapons in exchange for energy aid and promises from the U.S. and Japan for steps to normalize relations. Under the agreement, North Korea will shut down its Yongbyon nuclear reactor within 60 days, at which time it will receive the equivalent of 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil in energy aid. Implementation of the agreement would begin ``a month from now,'' said Christopher Hill, the chief U.S. negotiator. ``It's not the end of the process, it's the beginning,'' he said in Beijing. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in Washington the U.S. expects North Korea to ``seal the Yongbyon nuclear facility for the purpose of abandonment'' and eventually to disclose its full program and disable all related installations. The deal, if it holds, would defuse a global crisis touched off by North Korea's Oct. 9 detonation of a nuclear device. At the same time, its terms -- exchanging tangible aid to the communist state for promises of good behavior -- mirror a 1994 agreement that failed to keep North Korea from continuing to develop nuclear weapons in secret. The official North Korean news agency described the accord late today in Asia as North Korea's ``temporary suspension of the operation of its nuclear facilities,'' according to the English translation of its story. The North Korean account went on to say that the North Korean government and the U.S. had agreed to talks ``aimed at opening full diplomatic ties.'' `No Nuclear Technology' President George W. Bush's spokesman, Tony Snow, was specific today in Washington that the U.S. views the agreement as a first step aimed at abolishing North Korea's nuclear capability. ``When this is concluded, there will be no nuclear technology in North Korea, period,'' Snow told reporters. [Agreement070213]
• Elbaradei says no proof that Iran is after nuclear weapons programme
  Brussels, Feb 12, IRNA Belgium-ElBaradei-Iran The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohammed ElBaradei, Monday ruled out any military solution to Iran's nuclear issue and stressed that there was no evidence of a nuclear weapons programme in Iran. Speaking to reporters after talks with Belgian prime minister Guy Verhofstadt Monday afternoon, the IAEA chief said that he did not see any military solution to the Iranian nuclear issue. "We do not know if Iran has the industrial capacity to enrich uranium. We haven't seen any complete proof of a nuclear weapons programme. I don't see what people mean when they talk about military solution." ElBaradei said Iran is very much interested in dialogue and in reaching a solution. The sticking point, he said, is the issue of suspension of enrichment as confidence building measure. [Evidence]
• Nuclear Officials Seek Approval for Warhead
  Design Would Require No Live Testing By Walter Pincus Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, February 7, 2007; A06 Officials of the National Nuclear Security Administration, which runs the nuclear weapons complex, said yesterday that they hope to receive administration and congressional authorization by the end of 2008 for the development and production of a warhead that could be deployed on submarine-launched intercontinental ballistic missiles. The NNSA requested $88 million in the fiscal 2008 Energy Department budget -- up from $27 million this year -- to complete detailed planning with the Navy based on a design produced in December by the nation's two nuclear weapons laboratories. The new funds would support design concept testing and could lead to production of the warhead for the Navy's D5 missile, 24 of which are carried on each U.S. Trident submarine. A key aspect of the Reliable Replacement Warhead program is that the warhead could be certified to enter the U.S. nuclear stockpile without testing, acting NNSA Administrator Thomas D'Agostino and other officials said during a session with reporters. U.S. moves to develop a new warhead come as the Bush administration is attempting to stop Iran and North Korea from developing nuclear weapons and trying to keep other countries, such as India and Pakistan, from expanding their stockpiles. [Double standards]
• Substantial step taken in "action-to-action" phase
  Third phase of the fifth round of the six-party talks have been crowned with success, attracting overall attention from around world. If the joint statement of Sept. 19, 2005 is said to the conclusion of the "promise-to-promise," or ¡®word-to-word" phase, then the joint document released this time ushers in the start of the "action-to-action" phase. [Sequencing] [Agreement070213]
• Six-party talks end with joint document
  The six-party talks on Tuesday ended with a joint document on the first step toward the denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula. Under the document, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) will shut down and seal the Yongbyon nuclear facility, including the reprocessing facility and invite back IAEA personnel to conduct all necessary monitoring and verifications. The parities agreed to the provision of emergency energy assistance to the DPRK in the initial phase, and the assistance equivalent to 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil will commence within 60 days, said the document. [Agreement070213]
• Lost in Translation Why has North Korea never sued the media for misquoting?
  Sunny Lee (sunnylee)   
    Published 2007-02-13 03:11 (KST)    Unlike most other nations' envoys at the nuclear talks in Beijing who often use their hotel lobby for short press comments, North Korean delegates don't stay at a hotel. They find their home at the North Korean embassy compound. So during the six-nation talks, the international press crews usually wait near the embassy gate for North Korea's chief negotiator. That is a reasonable bet because the top negotiator, Kim Kye-gwan, has held spot press briefings there before. At such an occasion, standing next to Kim, one could also see a female translator, looking to be in her early 30s. By all accounts she was a very good interpreter. Those who have undergone the grueling graduate-school program for interpretation understand the sensitivity involved in translations in negotiations, particularly for one like the ongoing talks on North Korean nuclear disarmament, where every single word from a chief negotiator is carefully analyzed by political analysts from Beijing to Washington, from Seoul to Pyongyang, from Tokyo to Moscow. Yet so good was her linguistic grasp that she didn't add redundant bits, nor did she unnecessarily simplify the chief negotiator's words. She was usually standing next to Kim, but often one step behind him. When Kim spoke, she took notes and as soon as Kim finished speaking, she started to speak in a flowing voice without pause or interruption. But the interpreter doesn't always follow Kim or any of the other North Korean negotiators when they encounter the international press crew. Who then translates for the North Koreans? Often it is the media. [Media]
• Talks Produce Draft Nuclear Accord With North Korea
  (Update2) By Heejin Koo and Allen T. Cheng Feb. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Negotiators produced a draft accord early today aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear-bomb program, the chief U.S. negotiator, Christopher Hill, said in Beijing. Hill said the text, which he described as an ``excellent'' first step toward the dismantlement of the North Korean program, was being sent to the capitals of the six nations involved in the talks. The diplomats plan to regroup afterward at the talks, hosted by China, ``and we'll see if we can get approval for this thing,'' he said. China announced progress in the talks less than an hour before Hill spoke, signaling that the U.S., South Korea, Japan, China and Russia had broken an impasse with North Korea. The bargaining focused on how much oil North Korea would receive in exchange for taking steps toward shutting down its nuclear program.
• US urges N Korea to make decision
  Mr Hill said everything had now been put on the table The chief US negotiator has urged North Korea to stop stalling and accept a deal at six-party talks on Pyongyang's nuclear programme. "We have put everything on the table," said Christopher Hill. "They just need to make a decision." The current round of talks began on Thursday with a sense of optimism and renewed determination from both sides. But negotiations faltered over the amount of energy aid the North was demanding in exchange for disarming. The stop-start six-nation negotiations - designed to persuade Pyongyang to give up its nuclear programme - have now been going on for more than three years, but little progress has been made. Analysts say questions are already being asked about the usefulness of continuing the talks, if there are no tangible results again this time round.
• North Korean nuclear talks could see another day
  Reuters Published: February 12, 2007 BEIJING: The United States and North Korea haggled on Monday over energy aid the North would receive in exchange for ending its nuclear arms ambitions as six-party talks looked likely to straggle into an extra day. The initially promising session of talks has faltered over North Korea's demand for a huge infusion of energy aid, but envoys from Washington and Pyongyang met one-on-one on Monday, raising hopes for a last-minute deal. "Talks are expected to continue tomorrow because discussions are ongoing in depth in an ever more serious mood," a South Korean official said of the meetings that were initially to conclude Monday.
  Hill suggested failure to make progress would have repercussions. "There's a certain life cycle to these negotiations," he said. "I think there will be some political climate change, if not in the U.S., maybe in some other countries," if there was no agreement, he said.
• Six-party talks enter final day amid dispute over energy aid
  The South Korean and U.S. nuclear envoys painted a gloomy picture of six-party nuclear disarmament talks on Monday, saying that the future of the negotiating forum depends on the communist North. South Korea's top nuclear negotiator Chun Yung-woo and his American counterpart Christopher Hill were visibly downcast as they headed for what was expected to be a final day of negotiations in the talks which opened five days ago
• Deadlocked talks in Beijing may continue today
  Pyongyang reportedly demands ‘excessive’ aid for initial steps February 13, 2007 BEIJING ? The North Korea nuclear talks here will probably be extended by at least one day, a South Korean government official said yesterday evening. The talks appeared to be heading for another inconclusive ending yesterday because of what some negotiators called Pyongyang’s excessive demands for compensation in return for initial steps in implementing a tentative accord reached in September 2005. It was clear from comments by officials of the five governments facing Pyongyang at the negotiating table that they had reached the limit of what they collectively were prepared to offer for those first steps by North Korea. “It’s up to the North Koreans,” said Christopher Hill, the U.S. representative to the talks. “I think we’ve put everything on the table. They just need to make a decision. I don’t think there’s any need to do any more bargaining. I don’t want to predict this is the last chance or something, but I think at this moment we have to see whether the DPRK is interested in this opportunity or not.”
• Energy Issue Stalls Progress in Nuclear Talks
  By Park Song-wu Korea Times Correspondent BEIJING _ The latest round of the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons programs began on a rosy note Thursday. But envoys saw a single issue _ the amount of energy assistance to the North _ blocking progress again on Monday.
  Over the past five days of negotiations, South Korea and the United States reportedly told the North Koreans that Pyongyang can receive a much larger amount of energy aid if it ``disables'' the nuclear reactor in Yongbyon, rather than ``freezing'' or ``shutting it down.'' Such a proposal was made apparently because the U.S. administration is worried that freezing or shutting down the 5 megawatt reactor will allow for it to be restarted as it was done in 2003. Initially, the North demanded five other parties provide energy aid reportedly amounting to 2,255 electrical megawatts. The North's calculation of its energy demand comes from the fact that the United States agreed in 1994 to provide two light water reactors with a combined generating capacity of 2,000 megawatts. Also added into the formula were the cost of not running the 5-megawatt reactor in Yongbyon and stopping construction of the 50-megawatt and 200-megawatt reactors at Yongbyon and Taechon, respectively. It takes roughly 500,000 tons of heavy oil to generate 255 megawatts of electricity. That was why the United States promised under the 1994 Agreed Framework to provide 500,000 tons of heavy oil to North Korea annually until the first of the two light water reactors became operational.
• Tentative Deal Reached With North Korea, Envoy Says
  By JIM YARDLEY Published: February 12, 2007 BEIJING, Tuesday, Feb. 13 — Negotiators reached a draft agreement early Tuesday morning on a deal to begin disarming North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, the chief American negotiator to the talks said. “We feel it’s an excellent draft,” said the American envoy, Christopher R. Hill, an assistant secretary of state.
  The deal is now being reviewed by the governments of the six nations involved in the talks — the United States, North Korea, South Korea, Japan, China and Russia — and could be announced as soon as late morning. Negotiators agreed to reconvene at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday in Beijing (9:30 p.m. Monday, Eastern time). “We’ll see if we can get approval of this,” he added. “It’s been a long day.” The negotiations on the step-by-step deal, which the Bush administration hopes will lead North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons program, appeared near collapse on Sunday over North Korea’s demands for huge shipments of fuel oil and electricity before agreeing to a schedule for turning over its nuclear weapons and fuel. No details were released about the agreement early Tuesday in Beijing, but presumably it involves a compromise on those demands.
• Nuclear Talks on North Korea Hit Roadblock
  By JIM YARDLEY and DAVID E. SANGER Published: February 12, 2007 BEIJING, Feb. 11 — Negotiations on a step-by-step deal that the Bush administration hopes will lead North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons program appeared near collapse on Sunday over North Korea’s demands for huge shipments of fuel oil and electricity before agreeing to a schedule for turning over its nuclear weapons and fuel.
  The chief American envoy, Christopher R. Hill, said he and North Korea’s envoy, Kim Kye-gwan, held a “lengthy and very frank” meeting on Sunday. But Mr. Hill seemed much less optimistic that a deal could be struck. Negotiators are planning to end the talks on Monday, and other envoys were pessimistic that any breakthrough would emerge on the final day. Meanwhile, a summary of the proposed agreement being circulated among senior policy makers in Washington makes it clear that even if the North agreed to take the listed first steps — sealing its main nuclear reactor and inviting international inspectors back into the country — there was no specified time period during which it would be required to turn over any nuclear weapons or weapons fuel that it has produced in recent years. And such a turnover would happen only after reaching another agreement. In essence, the agreement Mr. Hill, an assistant secretary of state, is negotiating could prevent the North from producing more weapons, but defers discussions over the weapons and fuel it has stockpiled. Mr. Hill had earlier suggested that if there was agreement, follow-up talks could be set up in March and April. [Sequencing]
• DPRK Delegation Leaves for Six-party Talks
     Pyongyang, February 8 (KCNA) -- The DPRK delegation led by Kim Kye Gwan, vice-minister of Foreign Affairs, left here today to attend the six-party talks to be held in Beijing from Feb. 8. The delegation was seen off at the airport by Kim Hyong Jun, vice-minister of Foreign Affairs, and other officials, Guan Huabing, minister-councillor of the Chinese embassy here, and Vladimir Arkhipenko, councillor of the Russian embassy here.
• U.S. Double Standards Blasted
     Pyongyang, February 8 (KCNA) -- The U.S. unjustifiable policy of double standards must never be allowed, says Rodong Sinmun Thursday in a signed article. Noting that the U.S. applies unwarrantable double standards to the nuclear issue, openly pursuing a policy of nuclear blackmail in disregard of the requirements of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty and its commitments under the international law, the article goes on:     The U.S. is the chief violator of the NPT. It has neither justification to demand other countries to scrap their nuclear programs nor the qualification to "judge" others.     Japan, with the patronage and connivance of the U.S., has stockpiled plutonium enough to manufacture thousands of nuclear weapons. [Japanese nuclearisation]
• Tentative Agreement Reached in N. Korea Talks By Edward Cody
  Washington Post Foreign Service Monday, February 12, 2007; 5:30 PM BEIJING, Feb. 13 -- Envoys from six nations reached a tentative agreement early Tuesday on the first steps toward North Korea's nuclear disarmament, a potential breakthrough in talks that have faltered repeatedly since 2003. The chief U.S. negotiator, Assistant Secretary of State Christopher R. Hill, qualified the draft accord as "excellent" but declined to provide details. He said it was being submitted to all six governments and, pending their formal approval, would be ratified at a meeting scheduled later Tuesday in Beijing.
  "We would like to think that we can all agree on this," Hill said in a briefing for reporters. "We feel it is an excellent draft, so I don't think we would be the problem. "
• U.S urges North Korea to stop haggling
  By Jack Kim and Lindsay Beck Reuters Monday, February 12, 2007; 12:29 AM BEIJING (Reuters) - Washington urged North Korea on Monday to stop haggling and seal a deal on ending its nuclear arms ambitions after six-party talks snagged on Pyongyang's demand for energy aid worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Negotiators from North and South Korea, the United States, Russia, Japan and China have agreed on most of a plan that would oblige Pyongyang to shut down nuclear facilities in return for economic and security assurances.
  But the initially promising session of the talks has faltered over North Korea's demand for a huge infusion of energy aid, which has left other countries suspicious that Pyongyang may then be unwilling to fully scrap its nuclear arms capabilities. "I don't think there's any need to do any more bargaining. They just need to make a decision," Washington's chief envoy, Christopher Hill, told reporters before heading into the fifth and final day of negotiations in Beijing.
• Further N.Korea talks planned, deal may be on cards
  By Jack Kim and Teruaki Ueno Reuters Monday, February 12, 2007; 1:57 PM BEIJING (Reuters) - Delegates to six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons program agreed to hold further talks on Tuesday, after meeting into the early hours, suggesting a deal may be in the offing. The United States and North Korea haggled on Monday over energy aid the North would receive in exchange for ending its nuclear arms ambitions, but it looked like some sort of an agreement in six-party talks was emerging.
  An initial session faltered over North Korea's demand for a huge infusion of energy aid, but envoys stayed up into the early hours of Tuesday, improving prospects of a last-minute deal.
• First Technical Steps for North Korean Denuclearization
  Article by Jungmin Kang Jungmin Kang, Nautilus Institute Senior Associate and Science Fellow at the Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC) at Stanford University, describes the first steps that can be taken by the DPRK to "irreversibly dismantle its plutonium production programs and move the Six Party Talks forward." In response, he argues, the other five nations should take corresponding actions that might include, "a significant albeit partial lifting of economic sanctions imposed to North Korea by the US, energy and food assistance to North Korea by the other five countries, and legally binding security assurances to North Korea [Sequencing]
• Nuclear Talks Aim to Reach Early Accord
  By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter BEIJING _ The six-party talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear weapons program resumed in Beijing on Thursday, with envoys beginning to review a draft agreement that has been prepared by China to implement a 2005 deal. Expectations for progress are high, given that the two key parties _ North Korea and the United States _ have held ``proactive'' talks, including those in Berlin last month, and have hinted that they have laid the groundwork for a way forward. ``We think the possibility of producing a written agreement is more than 50 percent,'' a Seoul official said on condition of anonymity.
  When asked about North Korean negotiator Kim Gye-gwan's readiness to move the talks forward, Hill said, ``Certainly I have every reason to believe that, but it's really between him and his boss.'' If the five other parties to the talks _ South Korea, the United States, China, Russia and Japan _ are successful in confirming the North's willingness to take all the necessary steps, they could get to the point of discussing ``technical matters'' by setting up working groups, Hill said at the St. Regis Hotel in Beijing yesterday. The optimal result of this round of talks would be a written agreement that synchronizes the North's actions for an ``early harvest'' with the other parties' provision of reciprocal measures, including aid in the form of energy and economic support, over a specific period of time. [sequencing]
• Kim Jong Il's Nuclear Ambitions
  Article by Nicholas Eberstadt Policy Forum Online 07-010A: February 6th, 2007 CONTENTS Nicholas Eberstadt, Henry Wendt Scholar in Political Economy at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), writes, "The Dear Leader and his team understand very well that the Six-Party 'denuclearization' farce now provides perfect international diplomatic cover for an unobstructed North Korean nuclear arms buildup. What the other parties in the talk do not seem to understand--or in the case of an increasingly weakened Bush Presidency, perhaps fear to face--is that the only "solutions" to the North Korean nuclear crisis worthy of the name require a better class of dictator in Pyongyang." [Regime change]
• N Korea talks 'stall over energy'
  Mr Sasae said North Korean demands were "excessive" Talks on North Korea's nuclear programme face problems due to Pyongyang's "excessive" energy demands, a Japanese delegate has said. Six-nation talks on the nuclear programme are entering a fourth day in the Chinese capital Beijing. At stake is a draft agreement under which Pyongyang would reportedly close nuclear facilities in exchange for aid.
  But Japan's chief negotiator Kenchiro Sasae, expressed doubts over a deal. It's a bit unreasonable to expect there'll be a breakthrough today South Korean delegate Chun Yung-woo "The gulf between North Korea and us is considerably large, and whether we can fill in the gap solely depends on North Korea," he said. "Although we are going to have discussions today, we are not in a situation where we can be optimistic ... With respect to energy aid, the problem is North Korea has excessive expectations. Unless North Korea changes their expectations, it will be difficult to reach an agreement."
  Chinese officials drafted their outline plan after Pyongyang agreed to take initial steps towards disarmament. The one-page plan reportedly involves calls for the shutting down of Pyongyang's plutonium-producing reactor at Yongbyon within two months and the return of international inspectors, in exchange for deliveries of fuel oil.
• Seoul Wants 6 Nations to Shoulder Burden for Energy Aid to NK
  By Park Song-wu Korea Times Correspondent BEIJING _ South Korea is thinking of chairing a working group for energy aid to North Korea as the United States is trying to differentiate this round of the six-party talks from a 1994 process, a Seoul official said on Sunday. But Seoul has a firm position that all parties should jointly pay the ``tax'' for peace, he said. ``Denuclearization will benefit all parties, so the burdens should be shared jointly,'' he said. ``But we are thinking of taking the lead in the working group for energy aid, considering the circumstances of the other parties.''
  Since it was signed by Robert Gallucci and Kang Sok-ju in Geneva on October 21, 1994, Washington provided 500,000 tons of heavy oil annually to Pyongyang over the following seven years. But the North's promise to freeze its graphite-moderated reactors in return for two light-water reactors was not obeyed, causing the Bush administration to criticize the deal as a diplomatic failure of his predecessor, Bill Clinton. After that, U.S. diplomats even avoided meeting their North Korean counterparts bilaterally.
  But one thing that has not changed is the U.S. hope of not repeating the ``mistake'' it made with the Geneva agreement. From 1994 to 2002, Pyongyang received 3.56 million tons of heavy oil, equivalent to $500 million, from the now-defunct Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO), and the United States shouldered the largest share of $347 million. To shake off that bad memory, Washington wants to use the term ``shut down'' instead of ``freezing'' and even wants to avoid providing fuel oil to the North, reportedly citing the possibility that it can be used for military purposes. [Disinformation] [Media] [Agreed Framework]
• North Korea’s New Deal
  Shim Jae Hoon    11 February 2007 The US makes extraordinary concessions as North Korea ponders backing away from its nuclear ambitions The United States and North Korea are on the threshold of striking a new deal under which Pyongyang would halt its development of nuclear weapons in exchange for aid and diplomatic normalization with the US and, eventually, with Japan. The aim is to push the North into implementing the 19 September 2005 Joint Statement, which provides for dismantling its nuclear weapons program as a condition for receiving economic aid and diplomatic recognition. It was signed by all six countries represented at the Beijing talks – the US, Russia, China, Japan, and North and South Korea. The so-called six-party talks have been in progress since August 2003. This is a kind of grand bargain, and the North appears willing to consider it.
  But the outlook on the final accord remains tough. Ever a hard bargainer, Pyongyang demands a simultaneous sequencing of the dismantlement process: an arrangement it calls word-for-word, action-for-action. At each stage US will be offering compensatory steps: a written statement of security guarantee in exchange for a freeze; economic aid (oil and food) for opening of the existing or potential nuclear program; diplomatic normalization for IAEA verification; and signing of a peace treaty on dismantling the entire program. For its part, the US insists on a total, irreversible and verifiable dismantling of all nuclear facilities, including four to six bombs the US suspects the North may have already produced from available plutonium. It wants explicit wording to this effect in the draft agreement now in circulation by China.
• North Korea Nuclear Negotiators Struggle to Reach Consensus
  By Allen T. Cheng and Heejin Koo Feb. 9 (Bloomberg) -- The six countries trying to negotiate an end to North Korea's pursuit of nuclear weapons are struggling to agree on a set of reciprocal actions that will start the process of denuclearizing the Korean peninsula. ``The fundamental issues we're OK on,'' Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, the chief U.S. negotiator, said at a briefing in Beijing, after a day of meetings in which the principals poured over a proposal presented by host China for implementing a 2005 declaration. ``We managed to get through a lot of the things we thought were tough to agree to. We do have some issues, and we also realize that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed.''
• N Korea talks enter crucial phase
  Expectations had been building ahead of the talks Delegates at six-party talks in Beijing have held a second day of negotiations on North Korea's nuclear programme. They are discussing a draft agreement which reportedly calls on Pyongyang to shut down its nuclear facilities in the next two months, in exchange for aid.
• N.Korea Talks Bogged Down Over Cost Sharing
  Top nuclear envoys spent Sunday in grueling discussions over the amount and timing of aid each of the five is to shoulder once North Korea halts its nuclear program. North Korea wants alternative energy aid equivalent to 2 million kw a year if it takes steps to scrap its nuclear program by shutting down facilities, according to a source in Beijing, way more than the 500,000 tons of heavy fuel set out in a 1994 agreement. “Tomorrow will be the last day,” U.S. chief negotiator Christopher Hill said after returning to his hotel, hinting that an agreement is in sight, although the talks snagged on the amount of energy assistance Pyongyang would receive as a reward. He said the issue should be discussed by a working group, as proposed by China, since it would be appropriate to have experts discuss the amount of energy aid. The U.S. told other participants Hill could visit North Korea if an accord is reached in this round.
• .Korea Could Switch Off Reactor Within Two Months
  N.Korea Talks Bogged Down Over Cost Sharing North Korea on Friday reportedly agreed in principle to halt operations at its main nuclear facility within two months under an agreement drafted by China. The key issue on the second day of renewed six-nation talks in Beijing was apparently whether North Korea will simply halt operations or shut down the facility. The U.S. wants the 5 MW graphite reactor at Yongbyon shut down, which would make it impossible to restart it within a month or two. But North Korea is said to be demanding a two-step process, first “ceasing” operations and then shutting it down. [Sequencing]
• Hopes of Nuclear Freeze as Six-Party Talks Resume
  Six-nation talks resume at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on Thursday amid hopes that North Korea can be persuaded to freeze its nuclear program. On arriving at Beijing airport on Wednesday, the chief U.S. delegate Christopher Hill told reporters, "I want to emphasize the real success is we complete the joint statement of 2005" whereby the North agreed to dismantle the program in return for aid and security guarantees. "So we are not going to finish that this week. We will maybe just make a good first step,” he added. Chief North Korean negotiator Kim Kye-gwan is to arrive on Thursday morning. The official schedule starts with a meeting of chief delegates in the afternoon, without a plenary session. "There will be a succession of bilateral negotiations,” a South Korean government official said. “Once agreements are produced, we will hold a plenary session."
• N.Korean Nuke Crisis Becoming a Chronic Disease
  The six-party nuclear talks open in Beijing on Thursday. Ahead of this round of talks, Assistant U.S. Secretary of State Christopher Hill and North Korea’s Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan held three days of talks in Berlin in January and a working-level Banco Delta Asia meeting took place in late January to resolve the frozen North Korean assets held by the Macau-based bank. During those meetings, North Korea and the U.S. reportedly reached a significant level of understanding, raising hopes of progress during the latest round of six-party nuclear talks. The focus is on whether North Korea will take the initial steps to dismantling its nuclear program and whether the other five countries involved in the talks will provide concrete, corresponding measures. The United States is approaching the problem seeking to freeze North Korea’s nuclear program, while resolving the problem from that point. As a first step, if North Korea halts operations of the 5 MW reactor in Yongbyon and promise to open its nuclear facilities to international inspection, the other five countries will offer rewards. This is a repeat of the Geneva Agreement of 1994. This is not a complete and irreversible dismantlement of North Korea’s nuclear program as stipulated in the September 2005 statement of principles.
• Six-party talks stall over excessive N. Korean demand
  Six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear program were dragged into a fourth day on Sunday, as negotiators vented increasing frustration at what they believed excessive North Korean demand for energy aid in exchange for its first steps to disarm. Japan's chief delegate Kenichiro Sasae confirmed that the North's drastically upped compensation demand is a single last remaining hurdle to this round of talks which began on Thursday.
• U.S. vowed to lift financial sanctions within 30 days: pro-NK paper
  The United States has promised to lift financial sanctions imposed on North Korea within 30 days in return for the North taking the first steps toward dismantling its nuclear weapons programs within 60 days, a pro-Pyongyang newspaper based in Japan said Sunday. The U.S. made the agreement at the end of the one-on-one talks with North Korea in Berlin last month, according to the Choson Sinbo, a Korean-language newspaper published by the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan. The report comes as nuclear envoys to the six-nation talks are haggling over a Chinese draft accord in Beijing. Quoting a source, the paper said, "The issue (of energy aid) is a matter to be solved, not numerically but politically. The main goal of North Korea is to determine whether the U.S. has the will to change its policy toward North Korea through energy aid." [Financial sanctions]
• The limitations placed on the six-party talks
  By Lee Jong-seok, Senior Fellow at the Sejong Institute and Former Minister of Unification The six-party talks have begun again. Since the talks held in December of last year were mostly about different sides feeling each other out, these become the first substantial talks since the joint statement signed in Beijing on September 19, 2005. Considering how North Korea has engaged in its first nuclear test, you might say these current talks are just about the last crossroads between ruin and a peaceful resolution.
  First of all, there needs to be bold give-and-take. North Korea needs to abandon its nuclear program once and for all, and in response, the United States and the other countries party to the process need to assure the North that its system is safe from threat and offer an economic aid package. We will get nowhere if things continue as they have, where the North and the United States wrangle over every last petty issue as if neither could care less about the ultimate goal of abolishing Pyongyang’s nuclear program. Moreover, the principle of "action for action" must be maintained; the issue is not going to be resolved with one-sided demands that the other side surrender everything first. [Sequencing]
• Strong diplomacy needed at six-party talks
  By Lee Jong-won, professor of International Affairs at Rikkyo University, Japan The six party talks get underway again in Beijing on February 8. There are a lot of expectations for some tangible "progress." In the meantime, it’s a little hard to side with this optimism, especially when you consider how expectations have repeatedly led to disappointment in the three years since the first round in August 2003. Last week, the United States and North Korea held working-level talks in Beijing to discuss U.S. financial measures, which Pyongyang says have to be resolved in order to talk nukes at the six-party talks. Pyongyang hasn’t said anything official in response to that meeting. However, on February 5, the Choson Sinbo, the official publication of the pro-Pyongyang Chongryeon, the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, had this to say: "If it is determined that the American side has settled on the right kind of direction and has established a breakthrough for discussing the nuclear issue, [North] Korea will respond proactively." It went on to say that the "issue of financial measures must not be emphasized as an obstacle" if the six-party talks "are going to move forward smoothly." What you notice is that this stance seems quite different from the North’s prior one, which called the removal of financial sanctions a "precondition" for progress at the six-party talks. The choice of phrasing sounds much more flexible. [Financial sanctions]
• In 6-party talks, participants look to Japan to practice restraint
  Tokyo’s hard-line stance toward Pyongyang seen as possible barrier to agreement
  According to many familiar with the six-party talks aimed at ending North Korea’s nuclear program, if Japan continues to act as a maverick, the negotiations will face difficulty.
  Negotiators from the six-party talks have accused Japan of sticking dogmatically to its hard-line policy against North Korea. On February 7 in Beijing, Hill said that the success of the six-party talks depends on all six nations, perhaps referring to the need for Japan’s cooperation in bringing about a resolution to the three-year-running North Korea nuclear issue.
  This is a sea change from the days when the U.S.’s only comments about the talks were aimed at North Korea’s stance. [Abductees] [Friction]
• Energy aid is called key to 6-way talks
  February 12, 2007 Chun Young-woo BEIJING - North Korea nuclear negotiations that began Thursday continued yesterday without a breakthrough in what appeared to be a deadlock over the scope of economic aid for the communist country and how such benefits would be shouldered by the participants involved in the nuclear talks. Envoys involved in the talks have suggested that the differences have been narrowed to one or two issues.
• 6-Party Talks Enter Final Day Amid Dispute Over Energy Aid
  The six-nation talks, designed to end North Korea's nuclear weapons program, entered the final day of negotiations in Beijing on Monday to clear last-minute hurdles over Pyongyang’s demand for massive amounts of energy aid. China proposed that Monday be made the financial day of negotiations in the new round of talks which began on Thursday, chief U.S. negotiator Christopher Hill said Sunday night.
• US Vows to Lift Financial Sanctions Within 30 Days: Pro-NK paper
  SEOUL (Yonhap) _ The United States has promised to lift financial sanctions imposed on North Korea within 30 days in return for the North taking the first steps toward dismantling its nuclear weapons programs within 60 days, a pro-Pyongyang newspaper based in Japan said on Sunday. The U.S. made the agreement at the end of the one-on-one talks with North Korea in Berlin last month, according to the Choson Sinbo, a Korean-language newspaper published by the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan. The report comes as nuclear envoys to the six-nation talks are haggling over a Chinese draft accord in Beijing. Quoting a source, the paper said, ``The issue (of energy aid) is a matter to be solved, not numerically but politically. The main goal of North Korea is to determine whether the United States has the will to change its policy toward North Korea through energy aid.’’
• US, North Korea Struggle to Reach Nuclear Deal
  U.S. and North Korean negotiators for the denuclearization talks held their third-day meeting in Beijing on Saturday in an effort to strike a deal to end Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program. Chun Young-woo, South Korean envoy to the six-nation talks said the American and North Korean delegates were trying to narrow differences on a China-drafted deal, including initial steps to be taken by Pyongyang toward dismantling its nuclear program in return for economic aid.
  Sources said that the North Korean side has demanded the provision of energy sources equivalent to 2 million kilowatts of electricity which could be used for the first 60 days while taking the initial steps toward nuclear dismantlement. They added that the impoverished communist country virtually wants the oil supply to ease an acute fuel shortage. As for the wording of the nuclear deal, the North is reportedly sticking to the usage of the term ``freeze.'' However, the sources said that the North has hinted that the word ``shut down'' might be used if the U.S. and three other countries offer a higher level of aid and security guarantees.
• Still No Deal in North Korean Talks
  By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: February 11, 2007 Filed at 12:55 p.m. ET BEIJING (AP) -- Talks on dismantling North Korea's nuclear programs were on the verge of foundering Sunday as negotiators failed to overcome differences on the North's demands for energy aid but scheduled a final day of meetings. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said the talks had snagged on the amount of energy assistance Pyongyang would receive as an inducement for disarming. But he said that a deal could still be reached Monday, the last scheduled day for the negotiations. ''I'm not here telling you the negotiations have failed. We have another day,'' Hill told reporters after a fourth day of meetings in Beijing. The current round of six-nation talks began on a promising note, after the United States and North Korea signaled a willingness to compromise. But since the talks entered the second day, envoys have said negotiations were becoming stuck on a single issue: energy assistance. ''We're not interested in an energy deal. We're interested in a de-nuclearization deal,'' Hill said, adding that he had a ''lengthy and very frank'' discussion with the North Koreans on the issue.
• Six-Party Talks Resume
  [Analysis] Expectations high for progress in Beijing
  Timothy Savage (yamanin) 
     Published 2007-02-08 02:33 (KST)    The six-party talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear program resume in Beijing tomorrow (Feb. 8) amid high expectations that, for the first time since September 2005, concrete results may be achieved. Indeed, many observers believe that a deal between the U.S. and North Korea was already struck at recent talks in Berlin. While some expect the current rounds to be merely a rubber-stamp endorsement of that deal, however, pitfalls remain that could derail the progress toward a deal. Since coming into office, the Bush administration's North Korea policy has been hampered as much by internal disputes as by Pyongyang's legendary intransigence. This was evident as early as then South Korean President Kim Dae-jung's visit to Washington in March, 2001. After meeting with Kim, then Secretary of State Colin Powell told reporters that the U.S. planned to continue to support engagement of North Korea, only to be publicly contradicted by Bush shortly afterwards.
  Washington insiders are in general agreement that opposition to engagement of North Korea has been led by a clique around Vice President Dick Cheney. This group included former Undersecretary of State and U.N. Ambassador John Bolton and Robert Joseph, who served as Deputy National Security Advisor before replacing Bolton at State.
  Because of Cheney and Co.'s unrelenting hostility toward bilateral dialogue with North Korea, President Bush has insisted on cloaking negotiations within the multilateral framework of the six-party talks. The hardliners, however, have sought to thwart the talks success at every turn. For the first three rounds, chief U.S. negotiator Jim Kelly was essentially barred from making any concrete proposals to North Korea, instead limited to essentially laying out accusations against Pyongyang and demanding capitulation.
  Japan has also made clear that it won't provide any aid to North Korea unless the issue of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea is dealt with. The abductee issue was used by Japanese hardliners to undermine Koizumi's attempt to normalize relations with Japan. Current Prime Minister Shinzo Abe rose to political prominence through his championing of the cause, and he seems unlikely to reverse himself now, particularly when his approval ratings hover only slightly above those of Bush.[Dissension] [neocon]
• Talks With N. Korea Extended to 4th Day
  At Issue Is Compensation for Disarming By Edward Cody Washington Post Foreign Service Sunday, February 11, 2007; Page A17 BEIJING, Feb. 10 -- Despite three days of hard bargaining, North Korean nuclear disarmament talks remained stuck Saturday over the energy aid North Korea would receive in return for closing its main nuclear reactor, diplomats said. Discord over the compensation cast a pall over what had been high hopes that the six-nation talks could produce swift agreement on the first steps toward eliminating North Korea's nuclear weapons and dismantling the nuclear facilities that produce its fissionable material.
  "I think it may take another day or two to get through" the dispute over compensation, said Christopher Hill, the chief U.S. negotiator at the talks. As a result, diplomats from the six nations -- North and South Korea, Japan, Russia, China and the United States -- made plans to return to the negotiating table at the Chinese government's secluded Diaoyutai guest compound here for additional sessions of negotiations Sunday and perhaps into next week. "It's definitely an issue that has prevented us from sealing the deal right now," said Assistant Secretary of State Christopher R. Hill, the chief U.S. negotiator, without revealing the terms of the dispute. "I think it may take another day or two to get through this." The stakes are high, Hill suggested, because another failure would again raise questions about the utility of the Chinese-sponsored six-party process, which has been underway off and on since August 2003 without results on the ground.
• Analysis: N.Korea Not Immune to Debates
  By BURT HERMAN The Associated Press Sunday, February 11, 2007; 2:56 AM BEIJING -- North Korea is a totalitarian state where simply mishandling a portrait of leader Kim Jong Il is considered a crime. That doesn't mean there is no internal debate as the regime weighs whether to dismantle its nuclear weapons program. At the North Korean nuclear negotiations in Beijing, the U.S. envoy alluded to disputes in the communist nation over whether the regime can give up its most potent weapons without sacrificing its security.
  Some in the North "understand that these weapons have done more to isolate and endanger and impoverish the DPRK than they will ever do to protect" it, Christopher Hill said Friday, referring to North Korea by the initials of its official name. "Alas, I don't think this is a universal view in the DPRK." Hill said there was one group with a "very antiquated, and I would say isolated view that somehow nuclear weapons of this kind can create prestige." He did not give names. But analysts widely believe there are divisions between North Korean military and diplomats, a tug-of-war that sends mixed signals to an outside world with little information about the country's internal policy struggles. [Dissension]
• Six Party Talks Resume, No Progress Reported
  by Scott Rembrandt (sr@keia.org) Korea Economic Institute Volume 9, Number 1 January 2007 KOREA INSIGHT At press time, 83 days have passed since North Korea tested a nuclear device on October 9, 2006 and 751 days remain in the Bush Presidency. If the stalemate at the latest round of Six Party Talks is any indication, the North Koreans may be counting.
• U.S., N.K. end talks on 'productive' note
  U.S. and North Korean financial officials meeting in Beijing ended discussions on financial sanctions yesterday, describing their talks as "productive." The two sides agreed to meet again but did not set a date. "The focus of today's talks was the issue of Banco Delta Asia, and we got a lot of information that is helpful to us," chief of U.S. delegation to the talks Daniel Glaser told reporters Wednesday evening. "Now we have to take the information we have, put it all together and try to determine what an appropriate way is to move forward with respect to the bank," he said. Pyongyang did not release any official comments on the latest round of talks.

• N. Korea Nuclear Talks at `Beginning,' S. Korea Says (Update3)
  By Heejin Koo Jan. 31 (Bloomberg) -- Six-nation talks aimed at dismantling North Korea's nuclear weapons program will take more than one more round to result in a final agreement, South Korea's Foreign Minister Song Min Soon said. ``We won't be able to complete the agreement in one go,'' Song told reporters at a briefing held in Seoul today. ``We're just at the beginning.''
• Negroponte says N.K. sanctions serve as leverage, leaves open Hill's N.K. visit
  A top U.S. intelligence official endorsed sanctions against North Korea, saying Tuesday they serve as leverage and helped persuade Pyongyang's leaders to reconsider their nuclear gambit. John Negroponte, nominated as deputy secretary of state, did not rule out the possibility of the U.S. chief nuclear negotiator going to North Korea, depending on diplomatic developments. Testifying at his nomination hearing, Negroponte said the main focus for North Korea is to get the country to commit to freezing its nuclear program and subjecting it to international inspections. "I wouldn't want to raise false hopes here," Negroponte told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "But I do think there's some grounds for optimism that we can move that issue forward."
  Now the national intelligence director, Negroponte is expected to take over the Asia portfolio when he moves to the State Department.
• U.S. and North find financial accord tough
  February 01, 2007 U.S. and North Korean officials met in Beijing for a second day to address the dispute over what Washington calls “illicit financial activities” by Pyongyang. No breakthrough was hinted at yesterday. In Washington, a senior U.S. intelligence officer called the U.S. financial pressure on North Korea effective in persuading it to give up its nuclear arms programs. Daniel Glaser, a U.S. deputy assistant treasury secretary, met first on Tuesday with a North Korean delegation and resumed the talks yesterday at the North Korean Embassy in the Chinese capital. After the Tuesday meeting, Mr. Glaser told reporters that two U.S. experts on counterfeit banknotes were in his delegation and had presented what Washington believes is evidence of North Korean culpability in counterfeiting.
• Seoul Wants Written Accord From Nuke Talks
  By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter Seoul wants to see the upcoming six-party talks produce a written accord under which Pyongyang pledges to implement first-step measures designed to denuclearize North Korea, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Song Min-soon said Wednesday. But he was not fully optimistic about reaching the accord during the talks that are planned to begin in Beijing on Feb. 8.
• N. Korea May Accept Deal in Nuclear Talks
  By Glenn Kessler Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, January 31, 2007; Page A12 North Korea appears increasingly willing to bargain over the terms of ending its nuclear programs, prompting cautious optimism that some sort of agreement may be reached when the six-nation disarmament talks reconvene next week in Beijing, U.S. and Asian officials close to the talks said. With just two years left in President Bush's term, State Department officials appear to have been given new freedom to explore different outcomes and proposals with their North Korean counterparts, most recently during unusual bilateral talks held in Berlin. North Korean officials have responded in kind, for the first time moving beyond quibbles about the wording in communiques and actually talking specifically about what they might do to end their nuclear programs, the officials said.
  Green, a Japan expert, added that there is increasing nervousness among Japanese officials that the Bush administration is getting soft on North Korea because of the turmoil in Iraq.
• North Korean nuclear talks to resume Feb. 8, China says
  Six-nation talks on persuading North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons program will reopen early next month, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Tuesday. Jiang Yu, a spokesman for the ministry, told a regular press briefing that the nuclear disarmament talks will "resume Feb. 8." She did not give any other details.
• Bush tells U.S. Treasury to cooperate on sanctions
  January 30, 2007 President George Bush has told the Treasury Department, which has been handling financial sanctions regarding North Korea, to cooperate with the State Department regarding the six-party talks, sources in Washington said. Nevertheless, the cooperation comes with a catch. Washington has said the Treasury Department should cooperate only when Pyongyang promises at the next round of the six-party talks to take measures to “disable” its Yongbyon nuclear reactor. [Dissension] [Financial sanctions]
• Six-Party Talks to Resume in Beijing on Feb. 8
  Six-nation talks on dismantling North Korea's nuclear weapons program will reopen in Beijing on Feb. 8, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Tuesday
  However, analysts are taking an optimistic note as the United States is reportedly considering unfreezing about $13 million in North Korean assets in a Macau bank. The move came after South Korea asked the U.S. to unfreeze ``legitimate'' North Korean bank accounts to resolve the nuclear standoff. [Financial sanctions] [In denial]
• Western Media's Rumor about Nuclear Cooperation Refuted
  Pyongyang, January 27 (KCNA) -- A spokesman for the DPRK Foreign Ministry gave the following answer to the question put by KCNA on Jan. 27 as regards the rumor about the "DPRK's nuclear cooperation with Iran" floated by Western media: In a bid to mislead public opinion, some Western media recently spread the rumor that the DPRK is cooperating with Iran in nuclear development. Their assertion is nothing but a sheer lie and fabrication intended to tarnish the image of the DPRK by charging it with "nuclear proliferation". As solemnly declared more than once by the DPRK, it will continue to sincerely honor its duty it had assumed before the international community in the field of nuclear non-proliferation as a responsible nuclear weapons state.
• U.S., N.K. open talks on BDA
  Officials from Washington and Pyongyang are in Beijing today for their second round of talks on U.S. financial sanctions against North Korea. The discussions are likely to set the tone for the upcoming round of six-party talks scheduled to resume early next month. The agenda is thought to include North Korea's acknowledgement of illicit financial activity, a pledge to prevent any reoccurrence, and the lifting of a U.S. embargo on North Korean accounts at a Macau bank. Washington imposed financial restrictions against Banco Delta Asia after charging the bank with helping North Korea launder counterfeit dollars and funds raised from smuggling restricted goods. The move prompted Pyongyang to boycott the six-party talks process in 2005. Upon returning to the six-party process in December last year, North Korea demanded it must first solve the financial issue before discussing the nuclear question. The United States remains adamant that the financial measures were separate from the nuclear issue but has offered to discuss it on the sidelines of the nuclear talks. The U.S. side is led by Daniel Glaser, the Treasury Department's deputy assistant secretary for terrorist financing and financial crimes. The North Korean team is led by Oh Gwang-chul, president of the Foreign Trade Bank of Korea, the reclusive regime's window for foreign banking.
• Japan’s Wishful Nuclear Thinking: What Price Power?
  By Tony Barrell
  Nuclear power stations now produce about 17% of the world’s electricity. In France and Lithuania nearly 80%, in Britain about 25%. Popular attitudes to nuclear power in other countries vary from apathy and indifference to fear and loathing. For the most part it would be fair to say, that as long as they don’t contaminate the environment, and there are no blackouts, nuclear reactors must be a good thing. What has been the record of the countries that have been using nuclear power for decades?
  Japan’s Nuclear Power Industry The one country I know something about is a front line nuclear power – Japan. There are now 55 working nuclear power stations — known in Japan by the acronym genpatsu — which generate about a third of the country’s electricity.
  More aggressive opponents of the MOX option say it will never use up all the plutonium being created in Japan and so will therefore lead, inevitably to a stockpile, which could be used in sweapons.
  Japan’s Quest for Nuclear Weapons So, the elephant in the tatami room is, of course, nuclear weapons, or at least the capability and capacity that the exponential generation of spent fuel, and its re-processing might enable, if Japan were to make the political decision to become a true nuclear power — closer now than it has been at any time since the Nakasone era of the mid-1980s. Not everyone believes Japan will not stockpile plutonium, a perception which could undermine Japan’s record as an enthusiastic supporter of nuclear non-proliferation, one already tarnished by its dogged support for US nuclear policies. Anti-nuclear campaigner Takashi Hirose recently claimed that the only reason North Korea had thrown its scarce resources into developing nuclear bombs and rocketry, was because it perceived Japan to be a definite nuclear threat [Nuclear energy] [Nuclearisation]
• . Korea denies sharing nuke secrets with Iran
  Sunday, January 28, 2007 - ©2005 IranMania.com LONDON, January 28 (IranMania) - North Korea expressed outrage at a British newspaper's report that Pyongyang was sharing its nuclear weapons technology with Iran, dismissing it as a "bid to mislead public opinion", CNN reported. http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2007/01/29/200701290001.asp Concerns grow over missile links between N. Korea, Iran International concerns are growing over reported links between North Korea and Iran and their possible collaboration in the proliferation in weapons of mass destruction. Western media reports recently highlighted fastening ties between the two "axis of evil" countries in the fields of missile and nuclear development.
• Nuclear plans in chaos as Iran leader flounders
  Boasts of a nuclear programme are just propaganda, say insiders, but the PR could be enough to provoke Israel into war Peter Beaumont, foreign affairs editor Sunday January 28, 2007 The Observer Iran's efforts to produce highly enriched uranium, the material used to make nuclear bombs, are in chaos and the country is still years from mastering the required technology. Iran's uranium enrichment programme has been plagued by constant technical problems, lack of access to outside technology and knowhow, and a failure to master the complex production-engineering processes involved. The country denies developing weapons, saying its pursuit of uranium enrichment is for energy purposes.
  Despite Iran being presented as an urgent threat to nuclear non-proliferation and regional and world peace - in particular by an increasingly bellicose Israel and its closest ally, the US - a number of Western diplomats and technical experts close to the Iranian programme have told The Observer it is archaic, prone to breakdown and lacks the materials for industrial-scale production. [Media]
• Nuke Deal May Include Freeing N. Korea Funds
  In effort to resume stalled six-way talks on eliminating North Korea's nuclear weapons program, the U.S. may soon put forward a package deal that includes easing financial sanctions on North Korea. Government sources said that the deal includes unfreezing North Korea’s accounts with the Macau-based Banco Delta Asia (BDA). ? Unfreezing BDA funds part of package deal A government official said that the goal of the six-way talks is to persuade North Korea to totally scrap its nuclear weapons, not just halt Pyongyang’s nuclear program. The U.S. has changed its stance and is leaving a side door open as the North has maintained that there would be no progress in the talks if its accounts with the Macau bank remain frozen. In making the six-party talks workable, the easiest way for North Korea is to turn off a 5-MW nuclear reactor, which is now in operation. Such a task would not be difficult for Pyongyang. North Korea turned off the reactor in 1994 and put it back into operation again in 2003. For the U.S., including the BDA issue in the deal means unfreezing North Korean accounts worth US$10-13 million, which are assumed to be legal. The U.S. froze North Korea’s accounts with the Macau-based bank, accusing them of being used for illegal activities like money laundering. Nam Sung-wook, a North Korean studies professor at Korea University, said that the U.S. will be able to continue its investigation into other accounts even if it unfreezes the accounts in question. Unfreezing the accounts would not be a serious loss of face for the U.S., because they can say that the measure was merited by the results of their investigation.
• U.S., N. Korea set to discuss financial issue ahead of nuclear talks
  Signaling hopes for a much-needed breakthrough in six-nation negotiations on stripping North Korea of its nuclear weapons, financial officials from the U.S. and North Korea are set to open a new round of talks in Beijing this week to discuss U.S. sanctions on the communist nation. Washington insists its sanctions on Pyongyang over the latter's illicit financial activities have nothing to do with the nuclear disarmament talks, but the financial dispute has long hobbled the nuclear negotiations.
  Reports over the weekend said the Treasury may be considering unfreezing about $13 million worth of the North Korean funds. U.S. officials are refusing to call the financial talks a negotiation process, saying the meeting would only involve "discussions," not concessions. [Financial sanctions]
• 6-Party Talks Due Before Feb.10 : Song
  Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, right, talks with South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Song Min-soon in Beijing, Friday. They agreed to closely cooperate to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue. /Reuters-Yonhap Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Song Min-soon said Friday that the next round of six-way talks over North Korea's nuclear weapons program could be held before Feb. 10. Speaking to reporters in Beijing, Song also said Seoul wants the next meeting to lead to a real action plan to get Pyongyang to end its nuclear ambitions.
• U.S. said to mull partial lifting of sanctions on Macau bank: report
  The United States is considering the partial lifting of its financial curbs on a Macau bank at the center of its standoff with North Korea, in a bid to push forward the six-way talks on ending the communist regime's nuclear weapons program, a Japanese newspaper reported Sunday. If the report is true, it would mark a turnaround in the U.S. position and raise hopes for a breakthrough in its protracted row with Pyongyang over Banco Delta Asia (BDA). The two sides are set to resume discussions between their financial experts in Beijing on Tuesday prior to a new round of nuclear talks expected to be held early next month [Financial sanctions]
• U.S.-North Korea financial sanctions talks to reopen next week in Beijing
  The United States and North Korea will hold the next round of financial sanctions talks in Beijing from Jan. 30, the Treasury said Friday. This will be the follow-up talks to the first session held in December, also in Beijing, to discuss actions taken against a Macau bank accused of laundering money for North Korea. Daniel Glaser, deputy assistant Treasury secretary, will again lead the U.S. delegation to the talks.
• Seoul, Beijing to Put N. Korea Reward Package in Writing
  Foreign Minister Song Min-soon and his Chinese counterpart Li Zhaoxing agreed Thursday to set down in writing an initial reward package for North Korea if it starts dismantling its nuclear program after the next round of six-nation talks. The document would aim to boost the binding power for South Korea, the U.S. and China when they give support to the North once it admits nuclear inspectors and freezes nuclear activities. In a meeting with Song in Beijing, Chinese State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan said China aims for the six-party talks to start before the Lunar New Year's holiday on Feb. 18 and is willing to continue through the holidays if necessary. It was a show of China’s determination to reach a breakthrough in the next round. [Realignment][Friction]
• 6-Party Talks Due Before Feb.10 : Song
  Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, right, talks with South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Song Min-soon in Beijing, Friday. They agreed to closely cooperate to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue. /Reuters-Yonhap Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Song Min-soon said Friday that the next round of six-way talks over North Korea's nuclear weapons program could be held before Feb. 10.
• South Korea, China see progress in run-up to next six-party talks
  The foreign ministers of South Korea and China shared the view Thursday that there are signs of progress in the run-up to the next round of six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear ambitions, saying their countries would cooperate in the upcoming negotiations. Song Min-soon met with his Chinese counterpart Li Zhaoxing on the first day of his three-day visit to China.
• N. Korea-Iran nuclear alliance dismissed by U.S. researcher: RFA
  SEOUL, Jan. 25 (Yonhap) -- A U.S. arms control expert questioned a claim that North Korea has agreed to share its nuclear weapons test technology with Iran, a Washington-based radio station said Thursday. "I think for anybody making a claim like this reporter or whoever, you need a certain amount of evidence given how serious that claim is and there just isn't any," Paul Kerr, a researcher at the Washington-based U.S. Arms Control Association, said in an interview with Radio Free Asia (RFA). Kerr's comment came a day after the Daily Telegraph, quoting an unidentified European defense official, reported that North Korea has agreed to help Iran carry out its own nuclear weapons test.
• Iran, North Korea Deepen Missile Cooperation
  Paul Kerr North Korea has long been known to be a key supplier of missile technology to Iran. Concern about this cooperation, however, has increased in recent months as both countries have expanded their nuclear and missile programs. Pyongyang launched a series of ballistic missiles in July 2006 and tested a nuclear device about three months later. (See ACT, November 2006.) For its part, Tehran has continued to develop both ballistic missiles and its uranium-enrichment program. It is not clear whether Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapons program. (See ACT, December 2006.)
• North Korea Warns of New Tests As Nuclear Standoff Intensifies
  North Korea has warned that increased US pressure over its reported nuclear test would be considered an act of war. We get analysis from North Korea expert and University of Chicago professor Bruce Cumings. [includes rush transcript]
• N Korea helping Iran with nuclear testing
  By Con Coughlin Last Updated: 3:23pm GMT 24/01/2007
  North Korea is helping Iran to prepare an underground nuclear test similar to the one Pyongyang carried out last year. Under the terms of a new understanding between the two countries, the North Koreans have agreed to share all the data and information they received from their successful test last October with Teheran's nuclear scientists. Nuclear partners? Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Kim Jong il of N Korea North Korea provoked an international outcry when it successfully fired a bomb at a secret underground location and Western intelligence officials are convinced that Iran is working on its own weapons programme. A senior European defence official told The Daily Telegraph that North Korea had invited a team of Iranian nuclear scientists to study the results of last October's underground test to assist Teheran's preparations to conduct its own — possibly by the end of this year. There were unconfirmed reports at the time of the Korean firing that an Iranian team was present. Iranian military advisers regularly visit North Korea to participate in missile tests. Now the long-standing military co-operation between the countries has been extended to nuclear issues. advertisementAs a result, senior western military officials are deeply concerned that the North Koreans' technical superiority will allow the Iranians to accelerate development of their own nuclear weapon. "The Iranians are working closely with the North Koreans to study the results of last year's North Korean nuclear bomb test," said the European defence official. "We have identified increased activity at all of Iran's nuclear facilities since the turn of the year," he said. "All the indications are that the Iranians are working hard to prepare for their own underground nuclear test." The disclosure of the nuclear co-operation between North Korea and Iran comes as Teheran seems set on a collision course with the West over its nuclear programme, although it insists it is entirely peaceful. Both countries were named in President George W Bush's famous "axis of evil" State of the Union speech in 2002. The United Nations Security Council has unanimously authorised the imposition of "smart" sanctions against Iran. This is because of its refusal to suspend its uranium enrichment programme, which most Western intelligence agencies believe is part of a clandestine nuclear weapons programme. France expressed concern yesterday over an Iranian decision to bar 38 UN nuclear inspectors from Iran, claiming that Teheran appeared to be singling out westerners from the inspection team. Intelligence estimates vary about how long it could take Teheran to produce a nuclear warhead. But defence officials monitoring the growing co-operation between North Korea and Iran believe the Iranians could be in a position to test fire a low-grade device — less than half a kiloton — within 12 months. The precise location of the Iranian test site is unknown, but is likely to be located in a mountainous region where it is difficult for spy satellites to pick up any unusual activity. Teheran successfully concealed the existence of several key nuclear sites — including the controversial Natanz uranium enrichment complex — until their locations were disclosed by Iranian dissidents three years ago. Western intelligence agencies have reported an increase in the number of North Korean and Iranian scientists travelling between the two countries. The increased co-operation on nuclear issues began last November when a team of Iranian nuclear scientists met their North Korean counterparts to study the technical and political implications of Pyongyang's nuclear test. The Iranians are reported to have been encouraged by the fact that no punitive action was taken against North Korea, despite the international outcry that greeted the underground firing. This has persuaded the Iranian regime to press ahead with its own nuclear programme with the aim of testing a low-grade device, which would be difficult for international inspectors to detect.
• DPRK Delegation Back Home
  Pyongyang, January 24 (KCNA) -- A delegation of the DPRK headed by Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Kim Kye Gwan returned home Wednesday after participating in the DPRK-U.S. talks in Berlin from Jan. 16 to 18. It was greeted at the airport by Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Kim Hyong Jun, officials concerned, Chinese Ambassador to the DPRK Liu Xiaoming and Russian Charge d' Affaires AI here Alexander Matsegora.
• U.S. Moves for Modernization of Nukes under Fire
  Pyongyang, January 24 (KCNA) -- The U.S. moves for the modernization of nuclear weapons are aimed not at safely storing nuclear warheads as claimed by the Bush forces but updating them as required by their nuclear war strategy in the new century. Rodong Sinmun Wednesday observes this in a signed commentary. The U.S. modernization of the nuclear weapons is basically aimed to increase the explosive and destructive power of nuclear warheads, the commentary notes, and goes on: Its objective is to win blitzkrieg with less force and combat equipment.
• Song in Beijing to Boost Mood for Nuke Talks
  By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter Song Min-soon China's State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan said in Beijing on Thursday that his government plans to resume the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons program before Lunar New Year's Day that falls on Feb. 18.
• Russia, India Cement Nuclear Ties
  By NIRMALA GEORGE The Associated Press Thursday, January 25, 2007; 8:12 AM NEW DELHI -- Russian President Vladimir Putin offered on Thursday to build four new nuclear reactors for energy starved India, cementing his country's traditional role as India's main nuclear benefactor. A memorandum of understanding on the plants was signed by the heads of the Russian and Indian nuclear agencies after a meeting between Putin and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
• North aide sings praises of cooperative Americans
  January 24, 2007 South Korea¡¯s chief negotiator at the six-nation nuclear talks, Chun Yung-woo, center right, and Kim Gye-gwan, center left, speaking to journalists after their meeting in Beijing yesterday. [YONHAP] North Korea¡¯s nuclear negotiator sounded positively giddy in remarks yesterday about recent negotiations with the United States. ¡°Everything can change,¡± said Kim Gye-gwan, North Korea¡¯s vice foreign minister and the chief negotiator at the six-nation nuclear talks. He was speaking to reporters after meeting his South Korean counterpart, Chun Yung-woo, in Beijing. Asked if his earlier meeting with Christopher Hill of the United States in Berlin last week resulted in any progress on freeing frozen North Korean assets at a Macao bank, Mr. Kim told reporters smugly, ¡°Wait and you will see.¡± Mr. Kim said he was satisfied with the outcome of the Berlin meeting. He said he had seen ¡°positive¡± changes in the U.S. attitude. [Financial sanctions]
• US claims credit as North Korea softens line on nuclear talks
  Julian Borger, diplomatic editor Tuesday January 23, 2007 The Guardian Hopes were rising yesterday that North Korea would return to the negotiating table next month to discuss its nuclear programme, but the US maintained a tough line, accusing the Pyongyang government of siphoning off millions from UN development aid.
  A senior US diplomat at the UN, Mark Wallace, claimed that Pyongyang, with "the complicity of the UNDP", had perverted UN programmes "for the benefit of the Kim Jong-il regime". In a written response to Mr Wallace obtained by the Guardian, the UNDP's associate administrator, Ad Melkert, said the organisation was operating in North Korea according to guidelines agreed with its executive board, and he challenged some of the US claims. There was "no problem" the row had spilled into the public domain, Mr Melkert wrote, "as long as there is respect for the facts". He denied US allegations that North Korean government employees performed sensitive tasks on the allocation of funds without international supervision. He also said UNDP had not paid North Korean suppliers in cash.
  The UN's new secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, has called for an inquiry into the activities of UN funds and programmes. [Toolkit] [Diversion] [Ban Ki-moon]
• Hopes revive for N Korea talks
  Talks in December made no real breakthrough North Korea has shown "flexibility" during recent meetings on its nuclear ambitions, the South has said. Seoul's foreign minister Song Min-soon indicated that Pyongyang may be willing to discuss scrapping its nuclear programme in exchange for aid. His remarks follow a series of meetings aimed at reconvening six-party talks on the North's nuclear ambitions. The talks are expected to take place in early February, but no exact date has yet been set.
• North Korea talks could resume in February – Russia
  Mon Jan 22, 2007 7:50am ET By Chris Buckley BEIJING, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear program could resume in February, Russia's chief negotiator said on Monday, with a senior U.S. envoy seeing potential for progress. The sense of urgency in the six-party talks has grown since the reclusive North defied international warnings in October with its first nuclear test, triggering U.N. sanctions.
  Russian negotiator Alexander Losyukov, who is also a deputy foreign minister, said Pyongyang was optimistic about resuming the negotiations after a meeting in Berlin last week with U.S. officials, the Interfax news agency reported. "If they continue in the same atmosphere as in Berlin then we could see the resumption of the six-party process in February, and possibly in the first half of February," Losyukov was quoted as saying.
• India-Pakistan to ink pact on reducing nuke accident risk
  By Indo Asian News Service New Delhi, Jan 18 (IANS) India and Pakistan will next month sign an agreement on reducing the risk from accidents relating to nuclear weapons, it was announced here Thursday.
• Seoul Optimistic Over Nuke Talks
  By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Song Min-soon on Wednesday did not rule out the possibility that North Korea could repeat its demand for the United States to lift its financial sanctions before discussing denuclearization. But he was positive about prospects of the upcoming six-party talks that are likely to resume in Beijing in the second week of February.
• ‘Half of World Disapproves of US Handling of NK Nukes’
  About 54 percent of people disapprove of the U.S. handling of North Korea's nuclear program, Yonhap News Agency reported Wednesday. The figures were the result of a survey of people in 25 countries that was released Tuesday. In a Washington dispatch, Yonhap said a majority of those polled in South Korea, China and Russia, all members of the six-party talks aimed at resolving the nuclear issue, disapproved of the U.S. treatment of the issue. The poll canvassed 26,381 people in 25 countries between November and January, Yonhap said. It was conducted by GlobeScan and the Program on International Policy Attitudes for the BBC World Service. Forty-nine percent of people saw U.S. influence in the world as ``mostly negative,’’ while 32 percent deemed it ``mostly positive,’’ according to Yonhap. Nineteen percent answered ``don't know.’’ In South Korea, 54 percent said U.S. influence was mostly negative, compared to 35 percent who said it was positive. Last year 44 percent of South Koreans said U.S. influence was positive. jckim@koreatimes.co.kr 01-24-2007 20:10 [Public opinion] [Friction]
• N.Korea 'Ready to Suspend Nuclear Activities'
  North Korea has reportedly agreed to halt nuclear activities including operations at a reactor in Yongbyon, and allow on-site monitoring by the International Atomic Energy Agency as the first steps to abandoning its nuclear program. The agreement came during a meeting of the chief nuclear negotiators of the U.S. and North Korea that ended Friday in Berlin, sources said. According to diplomatic sources in Seoul and Beijing, North Korea’s top nuclear envoy Kim Kye-gwan told his U.S. counterpart Christopher Hill that North Korea will yield in return for economic and energy aid from the U.S. and assurances that the U.S. will seek to unfreeze North Korea’s US$24 million in accounts with the Macau-based Banco Delta Asia. [BDA]
• According to North, meeting with U.S. has borne fruit
  With six-party talks expected to restart soon, Pyongyang’s top negotiator says ‘an agreement’ has been made
  Kim Kye-gwan, North Korea’s top nuclear negotiator, and Christopher Hill, his U.S. counterpart, said that they reached an agreement on certain matters at bilateral talks held in Berlin on January 16 to 18. Meanwhile, Chun Young-woo, South Korea’s top negotiator in the six-party talks aimed at ending the North’s nuclear program, will visit China as early as January 22 to discuss with his Chinese counterpart Wu Dawei ways to resume and progress the nuclear talks, according to a high-ranking official of the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
  Asked about the talks with Hill at Berlin’s Tegel Airport on his way back to Pyongyang, Kim said that "North Korea and the United States have reached an agreement on various matters, such as removing obstacles to the six-party talks, including U.S. financial sanctions," according to a report by Japan’s NHK news service. "We have decided to resume the nuclear talks as soon as possible," Kim was reported as saying.
• China set to announce date for fresh round of North Korean nuclear talks
  Host China is set to announce the date for a new round of international negotiations on ridding North Korea of its nuclear weapons, with the top U.S. nuclear negotiator hoping to see the negotiations reconvene in two or three weeks. "China is expected to announce the date for the new round either today or tomorrow," an official at the Foreign Ministry said Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity.
• `US Considering Unfreezing North Korean Accounts'
  The United States is considering releasing some frozen North Korean accounts at Banco Delta Asia (BDA) in Macau if Pyongyang takes a step toward dismantling its nuclear weapons program, the Yonhap New Agency reported Monday. In a dispatch from Washington, D.C., the South Korean news agency quoted a diplomatic source saying that the U.S. side obtained information about five North Korean accounts at the BDA, which are presumed to be legitimate. [BDA] [Separation] [Financial sanctions]
• Russia tells U.S.: lift N.Korea financial sanctions
  Wed Jan 17, 2007 1:35 PM GMT MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia on Wednesday urged the United States to scrap financial sanctions against North Korea, Russia's new chief negotiator at six-party talks said.
  "The United States should make some steps towards the (North) Koreans by lifting financial sanctions," Alexander Losyukov told RIA news agency in an interview.
  Washington in 2005 imposed sanctions to squeeze Pyongyang's access to the world financial system in punishment for what it said were illicit activities, such as printing fake U.S. banknotes worth in total about $550 million each year. [Counterfeiting]
• Spokesman for DPRK Foreign Ministry on Results of DPRK-U.S. Talks
  Pyongyang, January 19 (KCNA) -- A spokesman for the Foreign Ministry of the DPRK Friday gave the following answer to a question put by KCNA as regards the DPRK-U.S. talks held in Berlin: The talks between the DPRK and the U.S. were held in Berlin in accordance with the agreement reached between the two sides. The talks took place from Jan. 16 to 18 in a positive and sincere atmosphere and a certain agreement was reached there. We paid attention to the direct dialogue held by the DPRK and the U.S. in a bid to settle knotty problems in resolving the nuclear issue.
• US Denies Rare Talks With Pyongyang Signal Policy Shift
  U.S. officials denied Thursday that a rare series of meetings between senior U.S. and North Korean diplomats marked a break with the Bush administration’s long-standing refusal to negotiate directly with the Stalinist regime, according a media report. Agence France-Presse (AFP) quoted Tony Snow, spokesman for U.S. President George W. Bush, as saying, ``This is not an instance of bilateral negotiations.’’
• Report: Jordan King Wants Nuclear Peace
  By MATTI FRIEDMAN The Associated Press Friday, January 19, 2007; 11:47 AM JERUSALEM -- Jordan's King Abdullah II told an Israeli newspaper his country wants its own atomic program, a development he said came in response to desires expressed by other countries in the region to become nuclear powers. In an interview with the daily Haaretz published Friday, Abdullah said his desert kingdom, which borders Israel and has a peace agreement with it, wanted nuclear power "for peaceful purposes" and was already discussing its plans with Western countries. "The rules governing the nuclear issue have changed in the entire region," the Jordanian leader told Haaretz, noting that Egypt and several Gulf states have declared their desires for nuclear programs for peaceful purposes. Though Jordan would prefer for the Middle East to remain nuclear-free, he said "every desire we had on this issue has changed." [nuclear energy][Media] [Double standards]
• N.Korea: Deal Reached in U.S. Nuke Talks
  By BURT HERMAN The Associated Press Friday, January 19, 2007; 11:59 AM SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korea said it reached an agreement with the U.S. during talks this week on its nuclear program, and the top U.S. nuclear envoy expressed optimism Friday that progress could be made when wider arms negotiations reconvene. North Korea's Foreign Ministry said three days of talks in Berlin between U.S. envoy Christopher Hill and North Korea's main nuclear negotiator Kim Kye Gwan had been held "in a positive and sincere atmosphere and a certain agreement was reached there." No further details were given.
  In Washington, the State Department offered a more muted assessment of the Berlin talks, saying no issues had been resolved. The talks involved an exchange of information designed to "prepare the way for real negotiations" once the six-nation negotiations resume, deputy spokesman Tom Casey said.
• North Korea agrees to resume nuclear talks soon
  By Jack Kim Reuters Friday, January 19, 2007; 11:36 AM SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea has agreed to resume six-country talks aimed at winding up its nuclear arms program soon, the U.S. envoy to the thorny negotiations said on Friday. "There was an agreement that we felt we can make progress and we should go ahead and try to schedule a six-party session," Christopher Hill told reporters in Seoul, commenting on meetings he held with the communist state's negotiator earlier this week.
  North Korea, which conducted a nuclear test last October, said only that it had reached a "certain agreement" with the United States at the talks in Berlin. But it praised the direct dialogue between the two bitter foes. In a statement, Pyongyang's Foreign Ministry said: "The talks took place from January 16 to 18 in a positive and sincere atmosphere and a certain agreement was reached there." "We paid attention to the direct dialogue held by the DPRK (North Korea) and the U.S. in a bid to settle knotty problems in resolving the nuclear issue," the official KCNA news agency quoted a ministry spokesman as saying.
  But the United States has denied the Berlin meeting amounted to bilateral negotiations -- which Pyongyang has long demanded -- saying they were talks about resuming talks. [Bilateral]
• U.S. ends talks with N.Korea
  By Louis Charbonneau Reuters Thursday, January 18, 2007; 9:38 PM
  BERLIN (Reuters) - U.S. and North Korean officials ended three days of discussions in Berlin on Thursday with no word on chances of a breakthrough at six-party talks on the communist state's nuclear weapons program. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, the chief U.S. delegate to those talks, left the German capital for Asia, the U.S. Embassy said. He made no statement after his informal discussions with his North Korean counterpart, Kim Kye-gwan.
  In Washington, the White House denied the sessions in Berlin were bilateral discussions as Pyongyang has long demanded. "We have not had bilateral talks. What you had ... this week in Berlin were talks with Chris Hill and a North Korean representative as preparations for the six-party talks," White House spokesman Tony Snow told reporters. "This is not an instance of bilateral negotiations on the side." [Bilateral]
• Six-Party Talks Likely to Resume Soon
  Three days of talks between high-level U.S. and North Korean envoys have raised hopes that the stalemated six-way negotiations on the North Korean nuclear problem will resume soon. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill and North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan held a series of exclusive meetings in Berlin from Jan. 16.
  The U.S. chief negotiator proposed to his North Korean counterpart that the talks, which would see the North abandon its nuclear program and relations between the countries normalized, be broken into 30 categories. Those categories would then be bundled into in five or six packages. Diplomatic sources said that the two sides are close to an initial agreement in which North Korea temporarily halts the operations of its nuclear facilities including one in Yongbyon, in return for U.S. fuel aid to the Communist country
• U.S., N. Korea agree to get six-way talks moving 'very soon': U.S. negotiator
  Washington's top nuclear negotiator said Friday that North Korea is "absolutely" prepared to return to international negotiations on dismantling its nuclear weapons program. The rare positive outlook follows three days of talks between the U.S. negotiator, Christopher Hill, and his North Korean counterpart Kim Kye-gwan in Berlin, during which, according to Hill, the sides agreed to hold a new round of the six-way nuclear talks in the very near future.
  The talks took place from Jan. 16 to 18 in a positive and sincere atmosphere, and a certain agreement was reached there," the North's Foreign Ministry official said. Hill agreed the talks were positive. "Certainly in discussing the issues and discussing what is important to get done (during the next round of the nuclear talks), we certainly agreed with my DPRK counterpart on a number of issues," Hill told reporters after his meeting with the South Korean foreign minister and Chun. He earlier said at the airport that he was not sure what the North's Foreign Ministry spokesman was referring to as an agreement. A South Korean official, speaking anonymously, later quoted him as telling Chun that his discussions with the North Korean were very substantive and specific.
• U.S. says no new proposals discussed at Berlin contact with N. Koreans
  The United States offered no new proposals or alternatives at the latest talks with North Korea, with discussions focused on exchanging views, State Department spokesman Tom Casey said Thursday. Chief U.S. nuclear negotiator Christopher Hill and North Korean counterpart Kim Kye-gwan met for a third day in Berlin, adding an unplanned session before Hill's departure to Asia. The meeting lasted less than an hour, Casey said.
  "There were a number of proposals that were made, everyone agreed to go back and look at them," Casey said. The sessions in Germany were "to exchange views on where people saw things as being," he said. There have been no proposals or alternatives at the sessions, the spokesman said. "There's been no change between yesterday and today in terms of anybody's views or thoughts on this."
• Bilateral talks in Berlin show revised U.S. stance toward N.K.
  North still mulling U.S. denuclearization proposal, sources say » North Korean envoy Kim Kye-gwan and other officials seeing the U.S. envoy Christopher Hill off at the North Korea Embassy to Berlin after their talks on January. (Yonhap) The bilateral discussions between U.S. and North Korean negotiators in Berlin on January 16 and 17 indeed took place within the framework of the six-party talks aimed at ending the North’s nuclear program. This is in keeping with the position maintained in recent years by the George W. Bush administration that there will be no independent North Korea-U.S. talks. But it is significant that the talks occurred outside of a direct round of six-party talks. It also should be noted that the bilateral meeting occurred in Berlin, not Beijing, where the six-party talks have taken place. Berlin holds diplomatic significance for the two nations, which used to hold discussions in Berlin before the launch of the Bush administration. The high-ranking talks held in the same city in September 1999 regarding a moratorium on the North’s long-range missile tests. The move would seem to suggest that Washington is now showing increased flexibility regarding the matter.
  The U.S. has also been discussing the confirmation of legal bank accounts held by North Korea at Macau-based Banco Delta Asia (BDA), and the subsequent lifting of sanctions on those accounts.
• North Korea and U.S. reach an ‘agreement’
  Six-way talks are expected to resume within a month Published : January 20, 2007 In a positive sign for the nuclear talks, meetings earlier this week between the United States and North Korea in Berlin have brought about “a certain agreement,” the North’s Foreign Ministry said yesterday.
• North Korea and U.S. Differ on Nuclear Arms Talks
  By CHOE SANG-HUN Published: January 19, 2007 SEOUL, South Korea, Jan. 19 — The North Korean Foreign Ministry said today that it had reached a “certain agreement” with Christopher Hill, the lead American negotiator, during talks in Berlin this week over its nuclear arms program. But Mr. Hill’s version of events was different. While “we had very useful discussions” in Berlin, he said, as for the North Korean spokesman’s talk of an agreement, “I’m not really sure what he’s referring to.”
  For years, the regime in Pyongyang has wanted direct, one-to-one talks with the United States, which it regards as a necessary demonstration that it is taken seriously in Washington. But the United States has refused, saying instead that it would only negotiate with North Korea if the talks also included the South and other neighboring nations. Though American officials said the Hill-Kim meetings in Berlin were informal and meant to prepare for the six-nation talks, the meetings were nonetheless widely seen as a departure from Washington’s previous multilateral-only policy. Chon Hyun Joon, a North Korea expert at the Korea Institute for National Unification in Seoul, said the “certain agreement” may concern North Korea’s demand that Washington ease sanctions imposed on a bank in Macao, Banco Delta Asia, that holds deposits and handles transactions for the North Korean state. [Financial sanctions] [BDA]
• Briefing in Berlin, Germany
  Christopher R. Hill, Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs
  Hotel Adlon Berlin, Germany January 17, 2007
  AMBASSADOR RICHARD C. HOLBROOKE: It’s now my pleasure to introduce a close friend and an outstanding American, civil and public servant, Ambassador Christopher Hill, the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. Chris joined the Foreign Service in 1977 after a tour as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Cameroons and his career exemplifies the very best in American public service. I was privileged to have him work with me on the negotiating team in the Balkans that negotiated the Dayton Peace Agreement in November of 1995, he has subsequently been Ambassador to Macedonia, Ambassador to Poland, Ambassador to the Republic of Korea and now is Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian Pacific Affairs, a job that I held in the Carter Administration.
  QUESTION: I wonder if you could give us a bit more substance of what issues and specifics you talked about with your North Korean counterpart, and I'm interested in particular in the question of North Korean assets that have been frozen in Macau. It was mentioned in December that that was an obstacle to continuing. Did that come up today? I mean yesterday. Do you expect it to come up, and is there progress on that that might sort of help to smooth the way? ASSISTANT SECRETARY HILL:Well look, first of all, I don't want to go into the specifics of what I talked about with Minister Kim Gye-gwan. Those are private discussions. It's in the framework of efforts to engage our partners bilaterally in the process of the six parties. I'll be going to the ROK, to Seoul, I think tomorrow, I'll be going to Tokyo and Beijing as well, and we'll be having those discussions, and our aim -- the aim of all of these bilateral meetings -- is to make sure that when we convene again in the six parties that we can make real progress. We had hopes for progress at the end of December. There were some hopeful conversations at the end of December, and we'll follow those up. With regard to the issue of the funds in the Banco Delta Asia (BDA) and Macau, for those of you who don't follow this every day, the rest of us refer to BDA several times a day actually. We have an ongoing process with the DPRK, with North Korea, to have a bilateral effort to discuss the issues, discuss the problems that led to this, and, actually, to seek a resolution. So this is a process led on the U.S. side by the Treasury Department. Certainly the Treasury Department keeps us very well informed, and we work very closely together. But it’s a separate process from denuclearization and the Six-Party Talks. We do expect that after two meetings that took place on December 20th, I believe, 20th and 21st or 19th and 20th, we expect another set of meetings to begin on January - the week of January 22nd, which is next week. And we'll determine where the meetings take place, whether it's in Beijing or in New York. My understanding from my Treasury colleagues is that these were very good and substantive discussions. There have been some additional questions that the U.S. side asked of the DPRK side, and they look forward on following up on some of those when they meet again next week. [BDA] [Financial sanctions]
• Follow through scant on U.N. resolution
  Few countries step up sanctions, bans on N.K. transactions
  A U.N. resolution adopted just after North Korea’s nuclear weapons test in October has made little real impact, as the international community has not prepared plans to efficiently and effectively carry out the bans and sanctions specified. Only 45 of the U.N.’s 192 member countries, including South Korea, the U.S., and Japan, submitted their plans for execution of the U.N. sanctions within a month of the resolution’s October 14 adoption, a requirement stipulated in its terms. This figure includes only one-fourth of the nations in the European Union. In fact, U.N. committee in charge of carrying out the resolution has not prepared an execution plan itself, either [Sanctions] [Friction]
• U.S. will consider N.K.'s demand for lifting of financial sanctions: minister
  Seoul and Washington may consider Pyongyang's position on U.S. financial sanctions against it in future talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons program, though the two issues are not directly related, South Korea's top diplomat said Wednesday. "I believe it would be most appropriate (for the United States and North Korea) to separately discuss the financial issue and the issue of ways to implement the September 19 agreement," Song Min-soon said in a regular press briefing, referring to a 2005 agreement from the nuclear talks in which Pyongyang agreed to give up its nuclear ambitions in return for economic benefits and security guarantees. [Transfer] [Bilateral]
• U.S. and North Koreans in nuclear talks in Berlin
  Published : January 18, 2007 The senior six-party nuclear negotiators from the United States and North Korea have met several times in Berlin as part of a broader effort to revive the stalled talks, the U.S. State Department announced yesterday. Song Min-soon, Korea’s foreign minister, said yesterday that the Berlin talks were intended to set the stage for another full round of talks in Beijing. Despite what U.S. and South Korean officials called careful preparations for the last round of six-way talks in December, however, that session ended inconclusively without even a firm date set for the next session. Mr. Song said he was hopeful that the Berlin sessions would be fruitful. He said he thought it likely that Pyongyang had given Washington a response to the detailed compensation offer the Americans reportedly gave Pyongyang before the December six-way round.
• North Is Back With Answer to US Nuke Offer
  By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter
  Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Song Min-soon Seoul on Wednesday hoped that a meeting in Berlin between nuclear negotiators from North Korea and the United States could lay the groundwork for the implementation of ``early-phase measures'' designed to denuclearize North Korea. ``North Korea and the United States are now trying to solidify the basis for tangible results to be made when the six-party talks resume sometime soon,'' Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Song Min-soon said at a weekly press briefing in Seoul. His remarks came a day after Christopher Hill, the U.S. envoy to the six-party talks, and his North Korean counterpart, Kim Gye-gwan, held meetings at the U.S. Embassy in the German capital. It was the first time they had met since the end of the last round of the denuclearization talks in Beijing in December.
• US Considering Release of N. Korea Funds
  The U.S. Treasury Department is scrutinizing $24 million in North Korean accounts frozen in a Macau bank to see whether some of the money could be released to Pyongyang, Reuters quoted U.S. officials as saying Tuesday. Reuters said several officials told reporters that they believe the Bush administration is now trying to find a solution to the year-long dispute over the accounts in Banco Delta Asia, which Washington has called a ``willing pawn’’ in Pyongyang's counterfeiting and money-laundering activities.
  The news agency reported that experts say $7.5 million of the $24 million was from Daedong Credit Bank, a British bank representing foreign companies doing business in North Korea [Financial sanctions] [Evidence]
• U.S. and North Korean Envoys Hold Talks
  By MARK LANDLER Published: January 17, 2007 BERLIN, Jan. 17 — Seeking to revive stalled negotiations to end North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, the United States held two days of “substantive” talks with North Korean diplomats here on Tuesday and today, according to the chief American envoy, Christopher R. Hill. The unusual direct two-nation sessions — the first to take place anywhere other than Beijing during the Bush administration— signaled some progress since the last negotiations broke off in December. Those talks ended after North Korea demanded that Washington lift financial sanctions against its isolated regime in Pyongyang.
  Russia called on the United States today to undo them. “The United States should make some step towards the Koreans by lifting the sanctions,” the new Russian chief negotiator, Alexander Lusyakov, said in an interview with a Russian news agency, RIA. [Financial sanctions]
• U.S. to meet N.Korea again on nuclear program
  By Louis Charbonneau Reuters Wednesday, January 17, 2007; 6:11 AM BERLIN (Reuters) - U.S. and North Korean envoys will hold a second, and perhaps third, day of unprecedented talks on North Korea's nuclear arms ambitions, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said on Wednesday.
  Officials said Washington's willingness to talk directly with Pyongyang -- as North Korea has long demanded -- suggested it may now be ready to compromise over a crackdown on the communist state's finances, despite its defiant nuclear test by North Korea last October. Several officials in Washington said they believed the Bush administration was inclined to find a solution to the dispute over North Korea's accounts at a Macau bank, which it has called "a willing pawn" in Pyongyang's illicit financial deals. [Financial sanctions]
• Israel’s plans to Wage Nuclear War on Iran: History of Israel's Nuclear Arsenal
  Hundreds of nuclear warheads under the control of Israel's defense establishment
  by Michael Carmichael Global Research, January 15, 2007 The Planetary Movement and Global Research
  Expert opinions vary but some now rank Israel third or fourth behind only the USA, Russia and possibly France in holding the largest stockpile of nuclear weapons. In addition to the nuclear devices themselves, Israel has a formidable arsenal of delivery systems. Israel’s Shavit rocket has been used to launch satellites into orbit, and the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists reported that the Shavit could be converted to an ICBM with a range of 7,000 miles allowing an Israeli nuclear strike anywhere in the Middle East as well as eastern and western Europe and Central Asia. Additionally, Israel now has a fleet of Dolphin class submarines armed with cruise missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists reported that Israel may have developed nuclear artillery shells as well as nuclear land-mines that could be deployed in the Golan Heights to discourage Syrian designs on the region.
• KEDO Demands $1.9 Bil. Compensation From NK
  An international energy consortium has asked impoverished North Korea for nearly $1.9 billion in compensation for its defunct project to build two nuclear power plants in the North under the 1994 agreement on the North's freezing of its nuclear activities, Yonhap News Agency reported Tuesday, quoting diplomatic sources here. North Korea, however, has yet to respond to the claim, the report said, adding that analysts also said the North is unlikely to respond favorably, given its past record and current claims. The North claims the 1994 agreement, known as the Agreed Framework, was breached by the United States long before it withdrew from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in early 2003, and is demanding compensation for the unfinished reactors, it said. [Chutzpah] [Disinformation]
• North Korea billed $2 bln for scrapped nuclear deal
  Reuters Tuesday, January 16, 2007; 6:53 AM SEOUL (Reuters) - An international consortium has demanded North Korea pay almost $2 billion in compensation for a project to build two nuclear reactors that was scrapped after the United States accused Pyongyang of cheating on the deal.
• U.S., North Korean negotiators meet in Berlin
  By Arshad Mohammed Reuters Tuesday, January 16, 2007; 12:37 PM WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senior U.S. and North Korean officials met in Berlin on Tuesday to discuss how to pave the way for a resumption of six-party talks on ending North Korea's nuclear ambitions, the State Department said. North Korea, which carried out a nuclear test on October 9, has so far refused to implement a September 2005 six-party deal under which it agreed to abandon its nuclear programs in return for the prospect of economic aid and security guarantees. Tuesday's talks between U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Chris Hill and North Korean negotiator Kim Kye-gwan were designed to explore ways to revive talks among the six -- the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States. [Media]
• The Rise of U.S. Nuclear Primacy
  By Keir A. Lieber and Daryl G. Press From Foreign Affairs, March/April 2006 - Council on Foreign Relations [Editors Note: This article from early 2006 provides insight as to the Bush administrations strategy regarding U.S. hegemony and the use of nuclear weapons. See also - The National Security Strategy of the United States of America and The president's real goal in Iraq] 04/15/06 "CFR" -- -- Summary: For four decades, relations among the major nuclear powers have been shaped by their common vulnerability, a condition known as mutual assured destruction. But with the U.S. arsenal growing rapidly while Russia's decays and China's stays small, the era of MAD is ending -- and the era of U.S. nuclear primacy has begun.
  With the passing of MAD, they argue, Washington will have what strategists refer to as "escalation dominance" -- the ability to win a war at any level of violence -- and will thus be better positioned to check the ambitions of dangerous states such as China, North Korea, and Iran
• ElBaradei renews call for nuclear bomb-free world
  By William Maclean Reuters Tuesday, January 9, 2007; 10:25 AM
  ALGIERS (Reuters) - International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Mohammed ElBaradei renewed a call on Tuesday for a nuclear weapons-free world, saying atom bombs and missiles held by nine nations could "end life as we know it." In a speech to a conference in Algeria, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate added his agency enjoyed only "uneven authority" as it sought to curb the proliferation of nuclear weapons among nations who have pledged to respect its watchdog role. Building a new international system of security that shunned nuclear weapons and placed fresh emphasis on negotiations and fighting poverty could help put that right, he said.
• New Details Emerge on NK Nuclear Program
  Paul Kerr December 2006 Several weeks after North Korea’s early October announcement that it had successfully tested a nuclear device, new information is emerging about the test and Pyongyang’s plutonium-based nuclear weapons program. Still, much uncertainty remains about the status and scope of that program and a suspected North Korean uranium-enrichment program.
  Siegfried Hecker, a former director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, spoke with North Korean officials about the nuclear program when he visited the country Oct. 31 to Nov. 4. He discussed his findings in a report presented Nov. 15. Hecker was accompanied by John Lewis, a historian at Stanford University; Charles “Jack” Pritchard, former special envoy for negotiations with North Korea; and Robert Carlin, former senior policy adviser at the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization. Lewis and Hecker also discussed the North Korean nuclear program with various Chinese officials. In addition, a Department of State official also discussed the status of these programs during two interviews with Arms Control Today.
• Hubris, Intransigence, and the North Korean Nuclear Crisis
  By Anthony DiFilippo
  [Japan Focus 8 January 2007] The Republican loss in the November midterm election, most observers have maintained, was a rejection of President Bush’s failed Iraq policy. But the Bush administration’s North Korean policy (not to mention its botched Iran policy) has also been unsuccessful, since the six-party talks that were created more than three years ago, far from defusing the nuclear crisis with respect to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), has only deepened it. While there was no hard evidence that Pyongyang actually had a nuclear weapon before the North Korean nuclear crisis emerged in October 2002, there is irrefutable evidence now that it has restarted its plutonium-reprocessing plant at Yongbyon and that it has the technological know-how to detonate a nuclear device. Along with the missteps of Kim Jong Il’s regime in the DPRK, the Bush administration managed to demolish the 1994 Agreed Framework that froze the Yongbyon facility. It was the Bush administration’s unproven accusations that Pyongyang was maintaining, at a location that has yet to be identified, a clandestine uranium-enrichment program to produce nuclear weapons that precipitated the ongoing North Korean nuclear crisis.
• Nuclear progress
  [Photo] January 12, 2007 ? Kstar, a nuclear fusion research device being developed with Korean technology, could be complete in August. Yesterday Science Minister Kim Woo-sik, joined by senior government officials, pressed a button to raise the ridge beam on a Kstar cylinder at the nuclear fusion center in Daejeon. [YONHAP]
• Revealed: Israel plans nuclear strike on Iran
  The Sunday Times January 07, 2007 Uzi Mahnaimi, New York and Sarah Baxter, Washington
  ISRAEL has drawn up secret plans to destroy Iran's uranium enrichment facilities with tactical nuclear weapons. Two Israeli air force squadrons are training to blow up an Iranian facility using low-yield nuclear "bunker-busters", according to several Israeli military sources.
• A BIPARTISAN PLEA FOR NUCLEAR WEAPONS ABOLITION
  A World Free of Nuclear Weapons
  By GEORGE P. SHULTZ, WILLIAM J. PERRY, HENRY A. KISSINGER and SAM NUNN - With a Commentary By David Krieger
  Publication date : 5 January 2007 Below is an impassioned call for US leadership to abolish nuclear weapons by a bipartisan foursome of prominent former US Cold Warriors. The Wall Street Journal- January 4, 2007; Page A15 Nuclear weapons today present tremendous dangers, but also an historic opportunity. U.S. leadership will be required to take the world to the next stage — to a solid consensus for reversing reliance on nuclear weapons globally as a vital contribution to preventing their proliferation into potentially dangerous hands, and ultimately ending them as a threat to the world. Nuclear weapons were essential to maintaining international security during the Cold War because they were a means of deterrence. The end of the Cold War made the doctrine of mutual Soviet-American deterrence obsolete. Deterrence continues to be a relevant consideration for many states with regard to threats from other states. But reliance on nuclear weapons for this purpose is becoming increasingly hazardous and decreasingly effective. North Korea’s recent nuclear test and Iran’s refusal to stop its program to enrich uranium — potentially to weapons grade — highlight the fact that the world is now on the precipice of a new and dangerous nuclear era. Most alarmingly, the likelihood that non-state terrorists will get their hands on nuclear weaponry is increasing. In today’s war waged on world order by terrorists, nuclear weapons are the ultimate means of mass devastation. And non-state terrorist groups with nuclear weapons are conceptually outside the bounds of a deterrent strategy and present difficult new security challenges.
• Six-Party Talks Could Resume This Month: U.S.
  Six-party talks on the North Korean nuclear program could resume this month, the U.S. said Friday. “The signals are that they could reconvene this month -- January,” State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters. What the U.S. wants to do is “translate any will or desire on the part of the members of the six-party talks into concrete actions” and focus on “the specific things that they're going to do to try to get to a denuclearized Korean Peninsula” he said.
• Waiting For Another Nuclear Test With Our Hands Tied
  North Korea appears ready for another nuclear test, ABC News reports quoting U.S. defense officials. The U.S. broadcaster quoted a high-ranking Defense Department official as saying he believed North Korea had made all of the preparations needed to conduct another nuclear test without warning. Our government is saying North Korea will not immediately do this but is unable to rule it out either.
  North Korea was widely expected to use the threat of another nuclear test as a negotiating card. It will have judged by now that it had gained the strategic upper hand over South Korea and the U.S. with the first, and it seems Pyongyang actually believes its nuclear threats are softening Washington’s stance
• North Korea has to respond soon on resuming six-party talks: FM Song
  -- North Korea needs to respond soon on resuming six-party nuclear talks, and such a response is expected, South Korean Foreign Minister Song Min-soon said Friday. He said the parties cannot wait indefinitely for progress in the talks. "It is better to set an appropriate period," he told Korean correspondents. "But I will not limit the period specifically to a few weeks or months."
• Korea, US to Confer on Surveillance Plane Sale
  By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter The chief of South Korea’s weapons acquisition agency will meet senior U.S. defense officials to discuss the purchase of unmanned aerial vehicles, the Defense Ministry said yesterday. [Military balance]
• U.S. Selecting Hybrid Design for Warheads
  Sign In to E-Mail or Save This Print Single Page Reprints Share DiggFacebookNewsvinePermalink By WILLIAM J. BROAD, DAVID E. SANGER and THOM SHANKER Published: January 7, 2007 WASHINGTON, Jan. 6 — The Bush administration is expected to announce next week a major step forward in the building of the country’s first new nuclear warhead in nearly two decades. It will propose combining elements of competing designs from two weapons laboratories in an approach that some experts argue is untested and risky. The new weapon would not add to but replace the nation’s existing arsenal of aging warheads, with a new generation meant to be sturdier, more reliable, safer from accidental detonation and more secure from theft by terrorists. The announcement, to be made by the interagency Nuclear Weapons Council, avoids making a choice between the two designs for a new weapon, called the Reliable Replacement Warhead, which at first would be mounted on submarine-launched missiles. The effort, if approved by President Bush and financed by Congress, would require a huge refurbishment of the nation’s complex for nuclear design and manufacturing, with the overall bill estimated at more than $100 billion.
• N.Korea 'All Set for Second Nuke Test'
  What If N. Korea Conducts Second Nuke Test? North Korea appears ready to conduct another nuclear test around Gilju, North Hamgyeong Province, diplomatic sources in Seoul said Friday. “The North has apparently installed the necessary equipment and facilities to observe the test no more than a few kilometers away from where it conducted the last nuclear test” on Oct. 9, a source said. “It seems the only thing it needs to do is push the button.” Another source agreed that a second nuclear test within the foreseeable future cannot be ruled out.
• Seoul sees no immediate signs of second N. Korean nuclear test
  South Korean and U.S. intelligence have detected a series of unidentified movements near the site of a North Korean nuclear test in October, but there are no reasons or evidence to believe such activities are related to preparations for another test, an official at the Foreign Ministry said Friday.
• U.S. and Japan Warn North Korea Against 2nd Test
  By JOHN O’NEIL and CHOE SANG-HUN Published: January 5, 2007 The United States and Japan warned North Korea today against conducting a second nuclear test, as South Korean officials reported suspicious activities at the North’s test site but no evidence of preparations for a nuclear blast
• N. Korean nuclear disarmament to bring simultaneous rewards
  North Korea can expect to improve ties with the U.S. and get energy and other aid simultaneously with its moves to dismantle its nuclear program, South Korea's foreign minister said Monday. The remarks by Song Min-soon confirmed a set of improved incentives the U.S. reportedly had offered for North Korea to give up its nuclear intentions during the latest round of six-party talks that ended in Beijing 10 days ago. "When the process of dismantling nuclear programs begins, the process of normalization of U.S.-North Korea relations will be launched at the same time," Song told Yonhap News Agency in an interview. "The matter on the economic and energy assistance will also go together." [Transfer] [Sequencing]
• Nuclear Fusion Project Questioned
  By Kim Tae-gyu Staff Reporter A classified report, commissioned by the government, says that Korea's 2-trillion won effort to participate in an international nuclear fusion project is not commercially viable in the next 100 years, with its investment unlikely to be recovered.