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North Korea agrees to stop nuclear missile tests, allow inspections

N. Korea suspends nuclear testing, Inspections will also be allowed, News telegram, By Steven Lee Myers and Choe Sang-Hun THE NEW YORK TIMES WASHINGTON, 1 Mar 12,  —  North Korea announced Wednesday that it would suspend nuclear weapons tests and uranium enrichment and allow international inspectors to monitor activities at its main
nuclear complex, a step that raised the possibility of ending a diplomatic impasse that has allowed the country’s nuclear program to continue with no international oversight for years.

Although the Obama administration called the steps “important, if limited,” they nonetheless signaled that the country’s new leader, Kim Jong Un, is at least willing to engage with the United States, which pledged in exchange to ship tons of food aid to the isolated, impoverished nation. … http://www.telegram.com/article/20120301/NEWS/103019834/1116

March 2, 2012 Posted by | North Korea, politics international | Leave a comment

China, South Korea, Japan, welcome North Korea’s nuclear freeze deal

China backs US-N. Korea nuclear freeze deal, Google News, By Simon Martin (AFP) –1 March 12 SEOUL — China Thursday welcomed North Korea’s agreement to freeze nuclear activities in return for massive US food aid, a deal that raised cautious hopes of eased tensions under Pyongyang’s new young leader.

South Korea and Japan also hailed Pyongyang’s commitment to suspend its uranium enrichment programme along with nuclear and long-range missile tests, and to let UN nuclear inspectors monitor the deal. The announcement follows the death in December of longtime leader Kim Jong-Il and the transition to his untested son Jong-Un.

The deal could boost the son’s prestige in the run-up to a major celebration next month, marking 100 years since the birth of the Kim dynasty’s late founding leader Kim Il-Sung.
The breakthrough followed US-North Korean talks in Beijing last week,
the first under the new regime.
China, the North’s sole major ally and economic prop, welcomed the warmer relations between North Korea and its longtime foe the United States. “China is willing to work with relevant parties to continue to push forward the six-party talks process, and play a constructive role to realise long-term peace and stability on the Korean peninsula and
northeast Asia,” said foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei.

The six-nation nuclear disarmament talks have been stalled for some three years. But the two Koreas, Japan, China, Russia and the United States have been talking for months about ways to revive them…..
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jKKHWf-qQHojxMIQehsl0CPJaV6Q?docId=CNG.2c225bad7647d7052c9c04aa3cf15915.251

March 2, 2012 Posted by | North Korea, politics international | Leave a comment

Some progress in USA – North Korea nuclear talks

U.S. nuclear talks with N. Korea produce progress but no breakthrough, Washington Post,   By Chico Harlan,   February 24,  TOKYO — The United States’ nuclear negotiations with North Korea ended Friday with “a little bit of progress” but no breakthrough, said chief U.S. negotiator Glyn Davies, who hinted that a long and slow process will determine Pyongyang’s willingness to swap its weapons program for aid. Continue reading →

February 25, 2012 Posted by | North Korea, politics international | Leave a comment

USA and North Korea to resume talks

U.S. to Meet North Koreans for New Talks By STEVEN LEE MYERS NYT,  February 13, 2012  WASHINGTON — The Obama administration announced on Monday that it would hold its first talks with North Korea over its nuclear weapons program since the death of the
country’s leader, Kim Jong-il, in December.

The talks, to be held in Beijing on Feb. 23, will be the third since last summer to explore the
possibility of resuming negotiations to get North Korea to dismantle its nuclear arsenal. They will offer a chance to gauge whether Mr. Kim’s son and successor as supreme leader, Kim Jong-un, is more open, to diplomacy.

The United States, along with South Korea, Japan, Russia and China, has called on North Korea to suspend activities at its nuclear sites and allow international inspectors to verify a freeze as a condition for resuming talks on a broader agreement that would provide economic
and other assistance in exchange for dismantling the weapons program…. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/14/world/asia/united-states-to-hold-talks-with-north-korea-on-nuclear-program.html

February 14, 2012 Posted by | North Korea, politics international | Leave a comment

Kim Jong Un – an unknown quantity in charge of North Korea’s nukes

Understanding the youngest man who can launch a nuclear weapon Kim was ‘dim’ and a Chicago Bulls fan to his Swiss schoolmates Gulf News, By Malcolm MoorePublished: 00:00 January 7, 2012 Shanghai: Officially aged 29, but probably only 26 or 27, he is the youngest man in history with the power to launch a nuclear weapon.
But the man who appears to have risen smoothly to become North Korea’s “Supreme Military Commander”, the title bestowed on him on Friday and confirmed by the country’s ruling politburo on Thursday, is a worrying blank to most of the outside world…. Inside North Korea, the country’s secretive regime has begun honing propaganda messages about the new leader…. http://gulfnews.com/news/world/other-world/understanding-the-youngest-man-who-can-launch-a-nuclear-weapon-1.962297

January 7, 2012 Posted by | North Korea | Leave a comment

North Korea talking tough on nuclear weapons

N. Korea Vows to Reinforce Nuclear Program After South’s Offer , By Sangwon Yoon, Jan. 6 (Bloomberg) — North Korea responded to South Korean President Lee Myung Bak’s offer of “a window of opportunity” for inter-Korean dialog with a vow to “further reinforce” its status as a nuclear-weapons state……
“As long as the enemy is persistent in his moves for aggression, the DPRK will further reinforce the position of the nuclear-weapons state to protect its dignity and sovereignty,” it said. DPRK as an acronym of North Korea’s formal name, the Democratic People’s Republic of
Korea.
The committee responded to Lee’s New Year message, which expressed the possibility of a “new era” in inter-Korean relations if the North shows sincerity in denuclearizing.

The committee statement was the North’s first message on the status of the North’s nuclear weapons program since Kim Jong Il died and his son Kim Jong Un was installed as leader……
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-01-05/n-korea-vows-to-reinforce-nuclear-program-after-south-s-offer.html

January 6, 2012 Posted by | North Korea, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Speculation on who will control North Korea’s nuclear weapons

Who Is in Charge of N.Korea’s Nuclear Weapons? Chosin Ilbo, 2 Jan 11 “…..A South Korean intelligence officer said the North Korean military attaches the greatest importance to the nuclear arms, and Kim Jong-un is now in charge of them. The regime is believed to have about 50 kg of plutonium extracted and up to 10 nuclear bombs, and there was some anxiety abroad who would control them in the power vacuum after former leader Kim Jong-il died.

But some experts say the 29-year-old Kim Jong-un has no military background and cannot really be in charge of the nuclear arms. He is nominally only a vice chairman of the commission, appointed alongside Ri Yong-ho, the chief of General Staff. One South Korean government official speculated that Ri probably controls the regime’s weapons of mass destruction, including any nuclear bombs.
Others believe the commission is collectively in control because it includes all the top military brass. They believe that the first thing the regime did after Kim Jong-il’s death was to ensure control of the nuclear weapons. …..
http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2011/12/26/2011122601337.html

January 2, 2012 Posted by | North Korea, weapons and war | Leave a comment

North Korea developing uranium tipped missiles

North Korea closer to nuclear-tipped missile: US expert Business Recorder DECEMBER 29, 2011 North Korea likely is closer to mounting nuclear warheads on its ballistic missiles than generally reported, possibly only one or two years away, the US Congress’s former top expert on the issue has concluded.

Larry Niksch, who tracked North Korea for the non-partisan US Congressional Research Service for 43 years, concludes in a new paper that the North probably would need as little as one to two years to miniaturise and mount a nuclear warhead atop its medium-range Nodong
missile once it has produced enough highly enriched uranium as the warhead’s core fuel.

A North Korea armed with nuclear-tipped missiles would rattle East Asia and present new policy and military challenges to the United States and its allies….. Its nuclear and missile capabilities are once again in the spotlight as power passes to North Korea’s designated young leader, Kim Jong-un, after the December 17 death of his father, Kim Jong-il.

Pyongyang already may have produced enough highly enriched uranium (HEU) for a warhead or be close to doing so, Niksch and experts such as Siegfried Hecker, the former head of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, said in interviews with Reuters….. http://www.brecorder.com/general-news/single/599/172/1265893/

December 30, 2011 Posted by | depleted uranium, North Korea | Leave a comment

Death of Kim Jong Il raises fears about North Korea’s nuclear arsenal

Pyongyang’s Neighbors Worry Over Nuclear Arms, WSJ, 20 Dec 11  By KEITH JOHNSON WASHINGTON—For years, the biggest questions surrounding North Korea have involved the isolated country’s nuclear devices and its missiles, some of which could reach Alaska.

How the country’s leadership succession will unfold in the aftermath of dictator Kim Jong Il’s death—and what that means for North Korea’s huge military and its nuclear arsenal—has now emerged in sharp relief. Continue reading →

December 21, 2011 Posted by | North Korea, weapons and war | Leave a comment

USA and North Korea were close to agreement on uranium enrichment

U.S. will trade food for uranium agreement from North Korea, Negotiations yield several advances Detroit Free Press, Dec. 19, 2011 The U.S. is poised to announce a significant donation of food aid to North Korea this week, the first concrete accomplishment after months of behind-the-scenes diplomatic contacts between the two wartime enemies. An agreement by North Korea to suspend its controversial uranium enrichment program will likely follow within days.

A broad outline of the emerging agreement has been made known to the Associated Press by people close to the negotiations.

Discussions have been taking place since summer in New York, Geneva, Switzerland, and Beijing. They already have yielded agreements by North Korea to suspend nuclear and ballistic missile testing, readmit international nuclear inspectors expelled in 2009, and resume adialogue between North Korea and South Korea, according to the people,
who spoke on condition of anonymity because of sensitivity of the negotiations…..
http://www.freep.com/article/20111219/NEWS07/112190328/U-S-will-trade-food-uranium-agreement-from-North-Korea?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE%7Cs

December 21, 2011 Posted by | North Korea, politics international, Uranium | Leave a comment

Russia calls on North Korea to stop nuclear program

Russia Urges North Korea to Halt Nuclear Activities, VOA, December 1st, 2011  Russia has urged North Korea to halt its uranium enrichment program and re-admit United Nations nuclear monitors to pave the way for international disarmament talks.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement Thursday that consistent implementation of the uranium program in North Korea cannot but create serious worry. It called on Pyongyang to announce a moratorium on all of its nuclear activities including the uranium enrichment program.

Moscow is also urging its communist neighbor to invite inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency to examine its nuclear program and verify that it is purely peaceful. The call comes after North Korea Wednesday announced progress in producing enriched uranium for its light-water nuclear reactor at the Yongbyon nuclear facility.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called on North Korea Wednesday to take concrete steps to abandon its nuclear program and promote peace and stability….. http://blogs.voanews.com/breaking-news/2011/12/01/russia-urges-north-korea-to-halt-nuclear-activities/

December 3, 2011 Posted by | North Korea, politics international, Uranium | Leave a comment

USA prepared to act on any nuclear proliferation activities by North Korea

Obama: US will act vs NKorea nuke proliferation Google News, (AP) –17 Nov 11 CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — President Barack Obama said Thursday that the United States will act firmly against any nuclear proliferation activities by North Korea. Continue reading →

November 19, 2011 Posted by | North Korea, USA, weapons and war | Leave a comment

The two Koreas to discuss nuclear disarmament

Korea Envoys to Discuss Resuming Nuclear Talks, NYT, By , September 16, 2011, SEOUL, South Korea — The top nuclear negotiators from North and South Korea plan to meet next week in Beijing to discuss terms of restarting the long-stalled six-nation talks aimed at ending North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, a senior government official here said Friday. Continue reading →

September 17, 2011 Posted by | North Korea, politics international, South Korea | Leave a comment

Cautious optimism of a nuclear thaw on the Korean peninsula

The Two Koreas’ Long Slog over Nuclear Weapons


Asia Sentinel,  by Lee Byong-chul   
, 19 AUGUST 2011 There is cautious optimism in Washington DC and other capitals about a possible nuclear thaw on the Korean peninsula since the visit of North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan to New York to discuss nuclear proliferation, and a later meeting in Bali between nuclear negotiators for both North and South Korea. 

The Bali meeting, on the side of a regional meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, was the first since disarmament talks collapsed in 2008. The two events have generated at least some hope that an armed and dangerous North Korea could somehow be controlled. They appear to be at one with a three-step plan by China for resumption of the Six-Party talks. They have been accomplished so relatively quickly and painlessly that they appear to suggest that step three – the resumption of the talks, is right around the corner. …http://www.asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3399&Itemid=182

August 19, 2011 Posted by | North Korea, politics international | Leave a comment

Meeting between North and South Korea

Two Koreas meet to discuss nuclear issue, By Jack Kim and Andrew Quinn, SEOUL/NUSA DUA, Indonesia   Jul 22, 2011 (Reuters) – The nuclear envoys of South and North Korea met on the sidelines of an Asian forum in Bali on Friday, an official in Seoul said, in the first high level contact since tensions spiked on the Korean peninsula last year….. Continue reading →

July 24, 2011 Posted by | North Korea, politics international, South Korea | Leave a comment

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