U.S. set to lift sanctions on N. Korea

Posted on : 2008-06-27 13:46 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
Nuclear declaration brings quick response from U.S.

North Korea handed over a declaration that details how much plutonium it has produced, and nuclear activities at its main reactor facility in Yongbyon, to China, the host of the six-party talks on the North’s nuclear weapons program, on June 26. In a gesture demonstrating its intention to abandon its nuclear ambitions, North Korea is scheduled to destroy the cooling tower at the Yongbyon reactor at 11:00 a.m. on June 27. The explosion will be broadcast live on CNN and via television station in each of the other five nations.

In a regulator briefing on June 25 (EDT), U.S. State Department spokesman Tom Casey said: “The secretary of state (Condoleezza Rice) has made clear that once that happens, very soon thereafter, the response would be, in part, a statement from the United States removing North Korea from the Trading with the Enemies Act and a statement to the Congress, notifying them of our intention to remove them from the State Sponsors of Terror list.”

This brings the process of denuclearization, outlined in the September 19 Joint Declaration of 2005, and the realization of a post-Cold-war Korean Peninsula, to an important turning point. The declaration of nuclear activities was not only at the core of the second stage of disablement, but a precondition for the next stage - dismantlement of North Korea’s nuclear weapons program. By making the declaration, the North Korean nuclear issue takes an important step toward fulfillment of this goal. At the same time, North Korea and the United States have opened the door to normalization of bilateral relations as Washington is taking steps to remove Pyongyang from its list of states sponsoring terrorism. In 2000, Pyongyang and Washington issued the North Korea-U.S. Joint Communique to comprehensively improve bilateral ties, but it was not implemented.

So far, by reprocessing plutonium, North Korea has used its nuclear armament as a threat. The United States, meanwhile, has isolated North Korea, after including it on its list of state sponsors of terrorism. The standoff reached a climax in October 2006, when North Korea detonated its first nuclear device and the United Nations imposed sanctions against Pyongyang. The declaration is seen as paving the way to a diplomatic resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue, clearing away a history of confrontation that has been marked by threats, sanctions and possible military clashes.

Above all, it laid the groundwork for the construction of a nuclear-free North Korea and a new peace regime on the Korean Peninsula in line with the September 19 Joint Declaration. South and North Korea are still technically at war, because the 1950-53 Korean War was ended with a cease-fire, not a peace agreement.

The North Korean declaration also opens the way for the next round of six-party talks, which is scheduled to take place soon, and a meeting of foreign ministers from the six nations, which will probably be held in mid- or late July. It also allows South Korea, North Korea, the United States and China, which fought each other in the Korean War, to launch four-way talks on the construction of a permanent peace regime on the Korean Peninsula.

Of course, as Kim Sook, South Korea’s chief negotiator to the six-party talks, pointed out, the North Korean nuclear issue is now entering what he described as a “long and winding road.” In addition to undergoing a strict process of verification, North Korea has created a controversy by omitting information on the nuclear bombs already in its possession. Under the deal struck via the six-party talks, North Korea agreed to “declare all nuclear programs” in exchange for aid. It is also unclear as to how North Korea and the United States will handle allegations about the North’s uranium enrichment program and nuclear cooperation with Syria, both of which have also been omitted from the declaration. The two sides have reportedly agreed to acknowledge these issues in a confidential side agreement.

But such an ambiguous agreement, and allegations related to the verification process, such as a discrepancy in the amount of plutonium North Korea has produced and the amount it is suspected of having amassed, are expected to make the situation worse. Already, experts are saying that it will probably be impossible for the U.S. administration of President George W. Bush to agree to a third stage in the denuclearization process with the end of Bush’s term just months away.

Meanwhile, inter-Korean relations have taken a step back, even though the nuclear issue could put things back on track. The disablement process was once propelled by progress in inter-Korean relations brought about by the second summit between then South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. At this stage, it’s difficult to expect a breakthrough in inter-Korean relations. The politics of the U.S. presidential election has further clouded the prospects for the next stage in the denuclearization process, making the outlook for inter-Korean relations all the more uncertain.

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