Major Developments in North Korea's Nuclear Issue Since 2002
ROK Ministry of Unification
2004-07-15
1. Phase 1: North Korea's Nuclear Issue Emerges (Oct. 3 - Nov. 14, 2002)
¡à Beginning of North Korean Nuclear Issue: HEU Program
¡Û After James Kelly, the special envoy of US President George W. Bush, visited North Korea from October 3 to 5, 2002, North Korea's nuclear issue emerged as an international controversy.
- Kelly announced that North Korea had admitted to be carrying out an enriched uranium-based nuclear development program (Oct. 16, 2002).
¡à Negotiations to Resolve North Korean Nuclear Issue:
US: "Abandon Nuclear Program" vs. DPRK: "Sign Non-aggression Treaty"
¡Û To resolve the issue, North Korea suggested to "first sign a non-aggression treaty and then, resolve the security-related concerns of the US (Discourse by the spokesperson of the North's Foreign Affairs Ministry on Oct. 25, 2002)."
- The US, on the other hand, demanded that North Korea should first abandon its nuclear development program before any dialogue takes place (White House Spokesperson on Oct. 25, 2002 and other persons).
¡Û The heads of states of South Korea, the US, and Japan held a summit on October 26, 2002 (Los Cabos, Mexico), and:
- Urged North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons program in a swift and verifiable manner, and fully fulfill all its international obligations.
2. Phase 2: Tensions Rise on the Korean Peninsula (Nov. 14, 2002 - Jan. 10, 2003)
¡à Deterioration of North Korea's Nuclear Issue (Nov. 14 - Dec. 12, 2002): Termination of Nuclear Freeze
¡Û KEDO made a statement on November 14, 2002 that it will cease the provision of heavy oil to North Korea from December, which had been carried out as a result of the 1994 US-DPRK Geneva Accord or the Agreed Framework.
- North Korea, in reply, argued that the 1994 Agreed Framework between North Korea and the US was terminated as the delivery of heavy oil had been suspended, and responded with a declaration on the termination of the nuclear freeze (discourse by the spokesperson of the North's Foreign Affairs Ministry on Dec. 12, 2002).
¡à Climax of the North Korean Nuclear Crisis (Dec. 12, 2002 - Jan. 10, 2003): Withdrawal from NPT
¡Û Since it declared the termination of the nuclear freeze, North Korea has insisted that a non-aggression treaty be signed between the DPRK and the US, and gradually elevated tension related to the crisis.
- i) Sealed the storage facilities of spent fuel rods and removed surveillance cameras (Dec. 22, 2002); ii) loaded new fuel rods in the nuclear reactors in Yeongbyeon (Dec. 26, 2002); iii) announced the resumption of the construction of nuclear power plants and the operation of a radioactive chemical laboratory (Dec. 27, 2002); iv) expelled IAEA inspectors (Dec. 31, 2002); and v) announced a government statement to withdraw from the Non-Proliferation Treaty (Jan. 10, 2003).
¡Û The US reconfirmed its previous position that it cannot improve relations with North Korea until the North's violation of obligations is resolved (Statement of the Department of State, Dec. 24, 2002)
- US President George W. Bush continuously expressed his resolve that North Korea's nuclear issue could be peacefully resolved through diplomacy (Dec. 31, 2002; Jan. 2, 2003; & Jan. 7, 2003).
3. Phase 3: International Efforts to Resolve the Nuclear Issue (Jan. 10 - Apr. 16, 2003)
¡à Efforts toward Dialogue (Jan. 10 - Feb. 12, 2003): Suggestion of Various Resolution Measures
¡Û The US defined North Korea's withdrawal from the NPT as a serious challenge to the international nuclear non-proliferation regime, and mentioned the need for a "new agreed framework"¡¡between the US and North Korea (Secretary of State Colin Powell on Jan. 12, 2003).
- US President George W. Bush vowed to seek multilateral efforts to resolve North Korea's nuclear issue (Press conference on Jan. 14, 2003).
¡Û North Korea emphasized that its nuclear development activities are limited to peaceful purposes such as generation of electricity (Report by the (North) Korean Central News Agency, Jan. 21, 2003) and:
- Expressed its position that it opposes any attempts to internationalize the nuclear issue and that it would not participate in any form of multilateral talks (Press conference by the spokesperson of the North's Foreign Affairs Ministry on Jan. 25, 2003).
¡à Full-Scale Discussions for Resolution (Feb. 12 - Apr. 16, 2003):
Forward to the UN Security Council & Consensus for Multilateral Talks
¡Û The IAEA adopted a resolution to refer North Korea's nuclear issue to the UN Security Council (Feb. 12, 2003).
¡Û The UN Security Council held a meeting behind closed doors on April 9, 2003, but ended the meeting without adopting any official documents.
¡Û The US repeatedly expressed its position that North Korea's nuclear issue should be resolved under a multilateral framework since it is a regional issue (Press conference by US President George W. Bush on Apr. 13, 2003).
¡Û North Korea hinted the possibility of accepting multilateral talks (Press conference by the spokesperson of the North's Foreign Affairs Ministry on Apr. 12, 2003).
- "If the US has the will to boldly change its DPRK policy so as to resolve the nuclear issue, the form of dialogue will not be a big problem."
4. Phase 4: Beginning of Dialogue for the Resolution of the Nuclear Issue (Apr. 16, 2003 - Present)
¡à Opening of the Three-Party Talks (Apr. 23 - 24, 2003)
¡Û The three-party talks between North Korea, China, and the US took place in Beijing between April 23 and 24.
- The US stressed that North Korea's nuclear weapons development program should be dismantled in a verifiable and irrevocable manner, and expressed its position that South Korea as well as Japan must participate in future talks (Daily briefing of the State Department on Apr. 25, 2003).
¡Û North Korea announced that it had presented to the US the three principles of i) simultaneous action; ii) legal guarantee of non-aggression; and iii) securing physical deterrence measures (Comment from the Labor Newspaper on Apr. 27, 2003).
Note: Before the talks, North Korea announced that it would reprocess 8,000 spent fuel rods (Press conference by the spokesperson of the North's Foreign Affairs Ministry on Apr. 18, 2003). And during the talks, North Korea once again mentioned its "possession of nuclear weapons" to the US delegation, aggravating the situation.
¡à Efforts to Hold Expanded Multilateral Talks (Apr. 27 - Aug. 27, 2003)
¡Û The US expressed its consistent position of demanding a "complete, verifiable, and irrevocable dismantlement" of the North's nuclear weapons program (Spokesperson of the State Department on May 5, 2003).
- The US maintained its position that five-party talks including South Korea and Japan, or six-party talks adding Russia should be held (Daily briefing by the spokesperson of the State Department on Jul. 29, 2003).
¡Û During the DPRK-US meeting in New York on July 31, North Korea expressed its position to "hold bilateral talks within the six-party talks" (Press conference by the spokesperson of the North's Foreign Affairs Ministry on Aug. 1, 2003).
- Meanwhile, the North mentioned its possession of nuclear deterrence (Press conference by the spokesperson of the North's Foreign Affairs Ministry on Jun. 6, 2003), and notified the "completion of reprocessing" to the US via its New York channel on July 8, 2003.
¡à Six-Party Talks (Aug. 27 - 29, 2003)
¡Û Six-party talks (South and North Korea, the US, Japan, China, and Russia) took place in Beijing (Diaoyutai Guest House) from August 27 to 29.
- Korea, the US, and Japan urged North Korea to dismantle its nuclear program in a verifiable and irrevocable manner, whereas North Korea reiterated its refusal to dismantle its nuclear program or to accept early inspections.
- After the six-party talks, North Korea expressed its position that it can no longer have any interests or expectations in the six-party talks (Press conference by the spokesperson of the North's Foreign Affairs Ministry on Aug. 30, 2003).
¡à Second Six-Party Talks (Beijing, Feb. 25 - 28, 2004)
¡Û The second six-party talks took place in Beijing (Diaoyutai Guest House) from April 25 to 28.
- South Korea, the US, and Japan expressed its CVID position (Complete, verifiable, and irreversible dismantlement), and asserted that "all nuclear programs and nuclear weapons based on plutonium and uranium" should be included.
Note: South Korea, China, and Russia expressed their will to provide energy to the North in exchange for a nuclear freeze.
- North Korea emphasized that the US must abandon its hostile policy against North Korea and denied the existence of highly-enriched uranium (HEU).
¡Û Through the chairman's statement, China made the following announcements:
- China supports a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula and the peaceful resolution of the nuclear issue.
- In dealing with the nuclear issue and other related matters of interest, mutually-coordinated measures should be sought and carried out.
- Within the second quarter of 2004, the 3nd six-party talks should be held in Beijing and a working-level group should be organized.
¡à Third Round of the Six-Party Talks (Beijing, Jun. 23-26, 2004)
¡Û The First and Second Round of Working Group Meeting were held on May 12 to 15, and on June 21 to 22, respectively in Beijing. During the Third Round of the Six-Party Talks held on June 23 to 26 in Beijing, the participating nations issued the following Chairman's Statement:
The six nations reconfirmed their commitment to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and take every necessary steps to achieve that goal at an early possible date.
They agreed to hold another working group meeting as soon as possible, through which they will determine the scope of freezing, inspection method and period, and compensation measures. They also agreed to propose the result of the meeting to the Fourth Round of the Six-Party Talks.
Though there still remain some differences over major concerns such as the scope and specific method of freezing, selection of inspection group and compensation measure, the talks were meaningful in that they made a real progress.
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