The Nuclear Issue in North Korea

A crisis has been set off by disclosure that the Dramatic Peoples’ Republic of North Korea (DPRK) is engaged in building "a nuclear deterrent force" to meet the threats from U.S.

The U.S. has argued that such a program was in complete violation of the 1994 Agreed Framework, a bilateral understanding with the U.S.

The DPRK has agreed to hold multi-lateral talks on its nuclear weapons program. This had been indicated to South Korean government and earlier to Russia.

A U.S. envoy in Tokyo has said that "the very very hard work of substantive discussion in a multi lateral context now begins".

The U.S. under-secretary of states for Arms Control and International Security, John Bolton who has had talks with Japanese officials says "Our objective remains the complete verifiable and irreversible dismantlement of North Korean nuclear weapons program".

North Korea has called Russia’s participation in the talks to be held in Pyongyang. North Korea wants "six sided talks with the participation of Russia on resolving the current complex situation on the Korean peninsula.

Russia has called for providing north and South Korea with multilateral security guarantees to ensure the nuclear-free status of the peninsula.

Washington announced that U.S. wants South Korea, Japan and Russia to join the talks with Pyongyang and Beijing.

This is a breakthrough for Russia which has been sidelined by the U.S. because of Moscow’s criticism that the U.S. was extending pressure on North Korea to renounce its nuclear weapons program.

Mr. Bolton contended that the DPRK’s track record in abiding by the 1994 deal "is one reason why the question of verification and compliance has been central to the position on the requirement that North Korea dismantle its nuclear weapons program". The format of three way talks involving U.S., China and North Korea is sought to be changed into a six way framework.

The South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister for Policy Lee Soo hyuck said that Pyongyang in a direct message to Seoul indicated acceptance of "six way proposal to discuss solutions to North Korean nuclear issue" and South Korea would welcome the North’s move.

Japan and U.S. agreed that in the new format of multilateral talks they would enter into consultations to pull up the new threads. According to Mr. Balton the "crucial players" in the East Asian region are also the countries most threatened by Kim Jong il (leader of DPRK). He believed that at the appropriate time, action by the U.N.S.C. would compliment the efforts of the multilateral negotiations in Beijing.

The remarks envoy that "while he (Mr. Kim) lives as royalty in Pyongyang, he he keeps hundreds of thousands of his people locked in prisons, camps, with millions more moored in abject poverty" did not suit the mood of South Korea which would like to see Pyongyang on the right side of the agenda. Earlier, President Bush and President Hu Jintao had exchanged views on how best to promote a peaceful solution to the nuclear issue on Korean peninsula.

Signals about these talks vary. In one view it was noted that China had joined Washington in a Container Security Initiative aimed at screening high risk cargo as part of the international war against terrorism.

However another report suggested that Beijing apparently believe that the U.S. poses a significant long term challenge to mainland China especially in regard to Taiwan.

China has repeatedly emphasized that the DPRK security concerns must also be addressed while keeping the Korean Peninsula a nuclear weapons free zone.

Meanwhile, in an unrelated development, Russia has indicated that it may resume nuclear testing if the U.S. does so, breaking its 13 year old moratorium on nuclear weapons test.

Russia has signed and ratified the CTBT while U.S. has signed it but the U.S. Congress has refused to ratify it.