Chinese, SKorean envoys meet for NKorea talks

SEOUL, South Korea – Top nuclear negotiators for China and South Korea held discussions Monday on how to break the impasse in negotiations over North Korea's atomic program, as South Korea's president called for a get-tough approach on Pyongyang.

North Korea quit the six-nation nuclear negotiations in April in anger over a U.N. rebuke of its long-range rocket launch. The communist regime has since further ratcheted up tensions, conducting its second nuclear test and a series of banned missile launches.

The North is also suspected in a series of cyberattacks that caused Web outages in the U.S., and the South.

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei, Beijing's nuclear envoy, has been on a trip to other members of the nuclear talks to discuss how to break the deadlock. Wu arrived in Seoul on Sunday on the last leg of his trip that included stops in Russia, the U.S. and Japan.

"The important thing is that we, both sides, should exchange opinions in a candid and in-depth manner," the Chinese official said at the start of talks with Seoul's nuclear envoy, Wi Sung-lac.

The U.N. Security Council adopted a tough sanctions resolution against the North last month for its nuclear test.

Washington is trying to muster international support for stringent enforcement of the sanctions that center on clamping down on North Korea's alleged trading of banned arms and weapons-related material.

In Sweden, South Korea's conservative, pro-U.S. President Lee Myung-bak called for pressure on Pyongyang.

"The reason we are being tough like this is to get North Korea to give up its nuclear program and come to the negotiating table," Lee told South Korean reporters traveling with him on a trip to Europe, according to Yonhap news agency.

Sweden was the last stop on Lee's trip that already took him to Poland and Italy.

Unlike his two liberal predecessors, Lee has taken a hard line on Pyongyang, halting unconditional aid to Seoul's impoverished neighbor. That has angered the North, prompting it to suspend inter-Korean reconciliation talks and key joint projects.

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Key dates in North Korea's program to develop nuclear weapons by CBS News, Associated Press

Date	Contents
December 1985	North Korea signs the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, which bars the Far East Asian nation from making nuclear weapons.
1993	North Korea says it has quit the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty amid suspicions that it is developing nuclear weapons. It later reverses that decision.
1994	North Korea and the U.S. sign an agreement in Geneva. North Korea pledges to freeze and eventually dismantle its nuclear weapons program in exchange for international aid to build two power-producing nuclear reactors.
Aug. 31, 1998	North Korea fires a multistage missile over Japan and into the Pacific Ocean, proving it can strike any part of Japan's territory.
May 25-28, 1999	Former Defense Secretary William Perry visits North Korea and delivers a U.S. disarmament proposal.
Sept. 13, 1999	North Korea pledges to freeze long-range missile tests.
Sept. 17, 1999	U.S. President Bill Clinton eases economic sanctions against North Korea.
December 1999	A U.S.-led consortium signs a $4.6 billion contract for two safer, Western-developed light-water nuclear reactors in North Korea.
July 2000	North Korea again threatens to restart its nuclear program if Washington doesn't compensate for the loss of electricity caused by delays in building nuclear power plants.
June 2001	North Korea warns it will reconsider its moratorium on missile tests if the Bush administration doesn't resume contacts aimed at normalizing relations.
July 2001	The State Department reports North Korea is going ahead with development of its long-range missile. A Bush administration official says North Korea conducts an engine test of the Taepodong-1 missile.
December 2001	President Bush warns Iraq and North Korea that they would be "held accountable" if they developed weapons of mass destruction "that will be used to terrorize nations
Jan. 29, 2002	Mr. Bush labels North Korea, Iran and Iraq an "axis of evil" in his State of the Union address. "By seeking weapons of mass destruction, these regimes pose a grave and growing danger," he says.
Oct. 4, 2002	North Korean officials tell visiting U.S. delegation that the country has a second covert nuclear weapons program in violation of the 1994 agreement - a program using enriched uranium.
Oct. 16, 2002	U.S. officials publicly reveal discovery of North Korea's nuclear weapons program
Oct. 26, 2002	Mr. Bush, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and South Korean President Kim Dae-jung meet at an Asian-Pacific regional summit in Mexico and agree to seek a peaceful end to the North's nuclear problem.
Nov. 11, 2002	The United States, Japan and South Korea halt oil supplies to North Korea promised under the 1994 deal.
Dec. 12, 2002	North Korea reactivates nuclear facilities at Yongbyon that were frozen under the 1994 deal with the United States.
Dec. 13, 2002	North Korea asks the U.N. nuclear watchdog to remove monitoring seals and cameras from its nuclear facilities.
Dec. 14, 2002	The U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency urges North Korea to retract its decision to reactivate its nuclear facilities and abide by its obligations under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
Dec. 21, 2002	North Korea removes monitoring seals and cameras from its nuclear facilities.
Jan. 10, 2003	North Korea withdraws from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
Feb. 6, 2003	North Korea says it has reactivated its nuclear facilities.
April 24, 2003	During talks with U.S. officials in Beijing, North Korea says it has nuclear weapons and may test, export or use them, depending on U.S. actions, according a senior American official.
May 12, 2003	North Korea backs out of the only remaining legal obligation blocking its nuclear ambitions, a 1992 pact with South Korea to keep the peninsula free of nuclear weapons. The North's official news agency cites a "sinister" U.S. agenda as the reason.
June 18, 2003	Pyongyang's main state-run newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, makes the first-ever explicit reference to the North's own "nuclear weapons program." Previously, Northern officials had only confirmed the communist country was working to build nuclear weapons during private comments to U.S. officials
July 2003	North Korean representatives tell a State Department official they have finished extracting plutonium from 8,000 spent nuclear fuel rods, enough to build six nuclear bombs. U.S. officials say the claim cannot be verified. The White House continues to seek a diplomatic solution.
July 18, 2003	U.N. atomic agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei says North Korea "is currently the most immediate and most serious threat to the nuclear nonproliferation regime."
Aug. 1, 2003	After insisting for months that it would only agree to one-on-one talks with the United States, North Korea agrees to arms talks involving the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia. The Bush administration says it has specific proposals to discuss.
Aug. 27 - 29, 2003	N. Korea says it has reprocessed plutonium from 8,000 spent nuclear fuel rods, "in the direction (of) increasing its nuclear deterrent force." The U.S. has recently become concerned that they might have more nuclear weapons than the one or two the CIA estimates
Oct. 2, 2003	N. Korea says it has reprocessed plutonium from 8,000 spent nuclear fuel rods, "in the direction (of) increasing its nuclear deterrent force." The U.S. has recently become concerned that they might have more nuclear weapons than the one or two the CIA estimates
Oct. 19, 2003	The United States, China, Russia, Japan and South Korea make an overture to North Korea in which they'd give the rogue nation written assurances it wouldn't be attacked in exchange for a promise to dismantle its nuclear program.
Oct. 21, 2003	North Korea rebuffs the U.S.-led plan to end the nuclear stalemate, saying it will settle for nothing less than a formal nonaggression treaty. Reacting to the news, President Bush promises to "stay the course."
Nov. 21, 2003	A consortium on North Korean energy development, consisting of the United States, South Korea, Japan and the European Union, decides to suspend construction of two nuclear reactors in North Korea. The reactors were meant to come online in 2007.
Jan. 2, 2004	North Korea invites a group of U.S. nuclear experts from outside the Bush administration to visit its main nuclear complex, apparently part of an effort to prove its nuclear capabilities and strengthen its negotiating position. It would not be an official U.S. visit.
Jan. 6, 2004	Moving to rekindle talks on the standoff, North Korea offers to freeze its nuclear program, including weapons and power development, "as first-phase measures of the package solution."
June 23, 2004	U.S. officials at six-nation talks propose giving North Korea energy aid and a security guarantee in exchange for ending its nuclear program. The North's diplomats do not immediately reply to the proposal, which the officials say includes the possibility of lifting sanctions.
Feb. 10, 2005	For the first time, North Korea publicly states that it has a nuclear weapon. Possibly a negotiating tactic, the claim is a grave challenge to President Bush's vow to end their nuclear program through six-nation talks. With no U.N. inspectors in North Korea, the claim cannot be verified.
May 13, 2005	The U.S. and North Korea hold a secret meeting aimed at getting Pyongyang to rejoin six-nation talks on its nuclear program. But, North Korea resists any public commitment. "This channel is used to convey messages about U.S. policy, not to negotiate," an anonymous embassy official says.
Sept. 19, 2005	North Korea agrees to stop building nuclear weapons and allow international inspections in exchange for energy aid, economic cooperation and security assurances, in a first step toward disarmament after two years of six-nation talks.
Nov. 17, 2005	On a visit to Gyeongju, South Korea, President Bush takes a hardline stance against North Korea, saying the U.S. won't help the communist nation build a civilian nuclear reactor to produce electricity until it dismantles its nuclear weapons programs.
July 5, 2006	North Korea test-fires seven missiles, including a long-range Taepodong, igniting an international furor. The missiles fell harmlessly into the Sea of Japan. The U.S. said the Taepodong-2 failed shortly after take-off, calling into question the capability of the North's ballistic missile program.
July 26, 2006	North Korea rejects further talks on its nuclear program, claiming Washington wants to rule the world.
Oct. 3, 2006	North Korea says it will conduct a nuclear test in the face of what it claimed was "the U.S. extreme threat of a nuclear war."
Oct. 9, 2006	North Korea claims it performed its first-ever nuclear weapons test. The country's official Korean Central News Agency said the test was performed successfully and there was no radioactive leakage from the site. "The nuclear test is a historic event that brought happiness to the our military and people," KCNA said. South Korea's Yonhap news agency said the test was conducted in Hwaderi near Kilju city, citing defense officials.
Oct. 14, 2006	The U.N. Security Council votes unanimously to impose sanctions on North Korea including ship searches for banned weapons, calling Pyongyang's claimed nuclear test "a clear threat to international peace and security." North Korea rejected the resolution, accusing the council of "gangster-like" action. The U.S.-sponsored resolution demands that the communist nation abandon its nuclear weapons program, and orders all countries to prevent North Korea from importing or exporting material for weapons of mass destruction or ballistic missiles.
Feb. 13, 2007	A landmark nuclear agreement is reached with North Korea, U.S. calls it "a very important first step" toward ridding the Pyongyang government of all atomic weapons and capabilities. Under the first phase of the agreement announced in Beijing, North Korea would be required to shut down its main nuclear reactor and allow U.N. inspectors back into the country within 60 days. In return, it would receive aid equal to 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil. Negotiations on other issues were put off until a later date
July 14, 2007	North Korea shuts down its plutonium-producing reactor, its first step to scale back its nuclear program since the start of the standoff.
Oct. 3, 2007	North Korea pledged to detail its nuclear programs and disable all activities at its main reactor complex by the end of the year. The agreement at talks in China came on the same day North Korean leader Kim Jong Il held talks in the communist nation's capital of Pyongyang with South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun at the first summit between the two countries in seven years.
Nov. 5, 2007	North Korea starts disabling the Yongbyon reactor under the watch of U.S. experts
Dec. 31, 2007	North Korea misses its deadline for declaring all its nuclear programs.
Feb. 22, 2008	North Korea opens its main nuclear reactor in Yongbyon to foreign media for the first time. American researchers say North Korean officials told them they had slowed the removal of fuel rods because the United States and other nations fell behind in supplying aid promised under the disarmament deal.
March 28, 2008	North Korea test-fires a barrage of short-range missiles in an apparent angry response to the new South Korean government's tougher stance on Pyongyang.
April 24, 2008	The White House said North Korea assisted Syria in a secret nuclear program and that a reactor bombed by Israel in September 2007 "was not intended for peaceful purposes." The White House also said North Korea's nuclear assistance to Syria was "a dangerous manifestation" of Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program and its proliferation activities. The U.S. will work within the framework of six-party talks to make sure North Korea ceases its nuclear program and assistance to other countries.
June 26, 2008	President Bush announced the lifting of key trade sanctions against North Korea and its removal from the list of nations that the U.S. says sponsor terrorism. It marks a remarkable turnaround in U.S. policy. Mr. Bush once labeled the North's communist regime part of an "axis of evil," along with Iraq and Iran. The announcement came soon after North Korea handed over documents detailing its nuclear program to officials in China.
Sept. 24, 2008	North Korea barred U.N. nuclear inspectors from its main nuclear reactor and within a week plans to reactivate the plant that once provided the plutonium for its atomic test explosion, the chief U.N. nuclear inspector said. Experts say it would take about a year to restart the Yongbyon facilities. CBS News, Associated Press

North Korea defied international warnings and sent a rocket hurtling over the Pacific April 5, 2009, claiming it successfully sent its "Kwangmyongsong-2" satellite into orbit as part of a peaceful bid to develop its space program. The claim comes just days before North Korea's authoritarian leader, Kim Jong Il, presides over the first session of the country's new parliament in his first major public appearance since reportedly suffering a stroke last August.

The U.S. and South Korea say no satellite or other object reached orbit Sunday, and joined Japan and other countries in accusing the North of using the launch to test the delivery system for its long-range missile technology - a step toward eventually mounting a nuclear weapon on a missile capable of reaching Alaska and beyond.

Liftoff took place at 11:30 a.m. from the coastal Musudan-ri launch pad in northeastern North Korea, the South Korean and U.S. governments said. The multistage rocket hurtled toward the Pacific, reaching Japanese airspace within seven minutes. Warships did not activate interceptors because no debris appeared to hit its territory, officials in Tokyo said.

Four hours after the launch, North Korea declared it a success. An experimental communications satellite reached outer space in just over nine minutes and was orbiting Earth, the state-run Korean Central News Agency said from Pyongyang.

But South Korea's defense minister and the U.S. military disputed that account. North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command officials said in a statement that the first stage of the rocket fell into the waters between Korea and Japan, while the two other stages, and its payload, landed in the Pacific Ocean.

North Korea test-fires a total of seven missiles Wednesday, July 5, 2006, including a long-range Taepodong, igniting an international furor. The missiles apparently fell harmlessly into the Sea of Japan, and U.S. officials said the long-range Taepodong-2 failed shortly after take-off, calling into question the technological capability of North Korea's feared ballistic missile program. Pyongyang last fired a long-range missile in 1998. But the audacious military exercise drew immediate attention and condemnation.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command monitored the launches as they progressed but soon determined they were not a threat to the United States. The political reaction was swift. The White House called the tests a "provocation," while the U.N. Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting for Wednesday and Tokyo warned of economic sanctions against the impoverished, communist country. North Korea remained defiant. A North Korea foreign ministry official told Japanese journalists in Pyongyang that the regime there has an undeniable right to test missiles.

According to the U.S. Department of State, North Korea has the fifth-largest army in the world, at an estimated 1.21 million armed personnel, with about 20% of men aged 17–54 in the regular armed forces.

North Korea has the highest percentage of military personnel per capita of any nation in the world, with approximately 1 enlisted soldier for every 25 citizens.

Military strategy is designed for insertion of agents and sabotage behind enemy lines in wartime, with much of the KPA's forces deployed along the heavily fortified Korean Demilitarized Zone.

The Korean People's Army operates a very large amount of equipment, including 4,060 tanks, 2,500 APCs, 17,900 artillery pieces (incl. mortars), 11,000 air defence guns in the Ground force; at least 915 vessels in the Navy and 1,748 aircraft in the Air Force.

The equipment is a mixture of World War II vintage vehicles and small arms, widely proliferated Cold War technology, and highly advanced and modern Soviet weapons. According to official North Korean media, planned military expenditures for 2009 are 15.8% of GDP.

North Korea has active nuclear and ballistic missile weapons programs and has been subject to United Nations Security Council resolutions 1695 of July 2006, 1718 of October 2006, and 1874 of June 2009, for carrying out both missile and nuclear tests. North Korea also sells its missiles and military equipment overseas. In April 2009 the United Nations named the Korea Mining and Development Trading Corporation (aka KOMID) as North Korea's primary arms dealer and main exporter of equipment related to ballistic missiles and conventional weapons. It also named Korea Ryonbong as a supporter of North Korea's military related sales.

The South Korean cable news channel YTN has reported that North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il has cancer and may not live more than five years.

Sourcs:

CBS News

Yahoo News

wikipedia

Catch4all.com, Sandra Englund, July 13, 2009

WASHINGTON - Declaring North Korea a "grave threat" to the world, President Barack Obama on Tuesday pledged the U.S. and its allies will aggressively enforce fresh international penalties against the nuclear-armed nation and stop rewarding its leaders for repeated provocations.

In a display of unity with South Korea's leader, Obama said the world must break a pattern in which North Korea puts the globe on edge, only to put itself in line for concessions if it holds out long enough.

"We are more than willing to engage in negotiations to get North Korea on a path of peaceful coexistence with its neighbors, and we want to encourage their prosperity," Obama said in the Rose Garden alongside South Korean President Lee Myung-bak. "But belligerent, provocative behavior that threatens neighbors will be met with significant and serious enforcement of sanctions that are in place."

Obama's comments came at a time of intensifying concern, with the North stepping up its bomb-making activities and threatening war against any country that blockades its ships. Pentagon officials warned on Tuesday that North Korea's missiles could strike the U.S. within three years if its weapons growth goes unchecked.

Emboldened by fresh assurances of protection by the United States, Lee went even further in warning that North Korea's tactics will not be tolerated. Asked if he felt his country was under the threat of attack from the North, Lee said his country's alliance with the U.S. will "prevent anything from happening."

He said of the North Koreans, "They will think twice about taking any measures that they will regret."

Defiantly pursuing its nuclear ambitions, North Korea has posed a major foreign policy challenge for Obama. However, the new president has found support from the international community, including a swift resolution of sanctions imposed by the U.N. Security Council just last week.

The new punishments toughen an arms embargo against North Korea and authorize ship searches in an attempt to thwart the Koreans' nuclear and ballistic missile programs. The U.N., however, did not authorize military force to enforce the measures.

North Korea provoked that rebuke by conducting its second nuclear test on May 25, following recent missile launches that had already alarmed the world.

Beyond enforcement of the new U.N. penalties, Lee said he and Obama agreed on something more _ a push for other new policies that will "effectively persuade North Korea to irrevocably dismantle all their nuclear weapons programs." The South Korean leader said those measures will be discussed among the five nations that had been working with North Korea on disarmament until talks stalled: the U.S., South Korea, Japan, Russia and China.

He did not elaborate, and the White House had no comment on the matter.

North Korea has bargained with other countries for more than a decade about giving up its nuclear program, gaining such concessions as energy and economic aid, and then reneging.

The North is thought to have enough weaponized plutonium for at least half a dozen atomic bombs and is believed to be preparing for another nuclear test. Deepening the crisis, it responded to the new sanctions by promising to "weaponize" all its plutonium and step up its nuclear bomb-making by enriching uranium _ the first time it had acknowledged it had such a program. Both plutonium and uranium can be used to make atomic bombs.

With all that as a backdrop, Lee's treatment at the White House was meant to underscore solidarity at a perilous time.

The South Korean president was the first foreign leader in Obama's nearly five-month-old presidency to get the honor of a joint appearance in the Rose Garden. He spoke repeatedly of his nation's firm partnership with the United States and thanked the American people "for their selfless sacrifice in defending my country and its people." Obama said the friendship was anchored in democratic values, and then he turned his words on the country's northern neighbor.

"North Korea has abandoned its own commitments and violated international law," Obama said. "Its nuclear and ballistic missile programs post a grave threat to peace and security of Asia and to the world."

Obama said that North Korea's record of threatening other countries and spreading nuclear technology around the world means it should not be recognized as a legitimate nuclear power.

At a missile defense hearing on Capitol Hill, Deputy Defense Secretary William Lynn pointed to North Korea's recent steps to speed up its long-range weapons program and agreed with Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., that the U.S. should be prepared for a "worst-case scenario."

"We think it ultimately could _ if taken to its conclusion _ it could present a threat to the homeland," Lynn said at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing.

At the Defense Department press secretary Geoff Morrell declined to say when interdiction operations might begin under the new U.N. sanctions, but he said the U.S. already has enough ships and other resources in the region to do the job. Morrell was asked what the point of the activity would be _ and whether it was only a half-measure _ as long as there was no authority to forcibly board Korean ships.

"I think if the world is in agreement that we are all going to monitor and then attempt to compliantly board and attempt to then direct those ships into a port where they can then be inspected, that is real progress," he said. "That is more than what we were doing before."

___

Associated Press writers Robert Burns, Pauline Jelinek, Lara Jakes and Jennifer Loven contributed to this report.

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According to the FAS report, there are reportedly as many as 22 nuclear facilities in 18 locations in North Korea. These include uranium mines, refinery plants, nuclear fuel plants, nuclear reactors, reprocessing facilities, and research facilities.

FAS statement shows that the North Korea has atomic energy research centers in Yongbyon and Sunchon and a atomic power plant in Sinpo. Nuclear weapons development organs include the Atomic Energy Department of Kim Il-song University; the Physics Department of Kanggye Defense College; the metal science department under the Chemical Department of and the physics Research Institute of Pyongsong College of Science; the college of physics in Yongbyon atomic research center; and uranium mines in Kusong in North Pyongan province, an unidentified place in North Hwanghae province, and Sunchon in South Pyongan province. Natural uranium has been processed near the cities of Sunchon and Pyongsan since the 1960's.

See the following locations for the Nuclear Facilities (Source: FAS):
FAS (Federation of American Scientists)

Recent IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) Press Release shows that International Nuclear Safety Experts Conclude IAEA Peer Review of Canada´s Regulatory System. An international team of nuclear safety experts today completed a two-week IAEA review of the regulatory framework and effectiveness of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC). The team identified good practices within the system and gave advice on some areas for improvement. The IAEA has conveyed initial findings to Canadian authorities; the final report will be submitted by autumn.

The IAEA is the world´s center of cooperation in the nuclear field. It was set up as the world´s "Atoms for Peace" organization in 1957 within the United Nations family. The Agency works with its Member States and multiple partners worldwide to promote safe, secure and peaceful nuclear technologies.

The IAEA works for the safe, secure and peaceful uses of nuclear science and technology. Its key roles contribute to international peace and security, and to the World's Millennium Goals for social, economic and environmental development.

The IAEA is the world's nuclear inspectorate, with more than four decades of verification experience. Inspectors work to verify that safeguarded nuclear material and activities are not used for military purposes. The Agency is additionally responsible for the nuclear file in Iraq as mandated by the UN Security Council.

The IAEA helps countries to upgrade nuclear safety and security, and to prepare for and respond to emergencies. Work is keyed to international conventions, standards and expert guidance. The main aim is to protect people and the environment from harmful radiation exposure.

The IAEA also helps countries mobilize peaceful applications of nuclear science and technology. The work contributes to goals of sustainable development in fields of energy, environment, health, and agriculture, among others, and to cooperation in key areas of nuclear science and technology.

The IAEA's programmes encourage the development of the peaceful applications of nuclear technology, provide international safeguards against its misuse, and facilitate the application of safety measures in its use. The organization and its Director General, Mohamed ElBaradei, were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize announced on 7 October 2005.

Although IAEA represents the International, it is our responsible to take care the nature resources and healthy environment, secure, clean energy economic development and make the green world. Here is a great example from King County , Washington for environmental support in order to preparing for climate change impacts.

Reported by catch4all.com, Sandra Englund, June 16, 2009.

Resources:

Yahoo.com

King County Solid Waste Division

IAEA.org

Wikipedia

North Korea celebrates the Nuclear Tests	North Korea Nuclear Tests Reaction