North Korea
Resumption of the six-party talks (December 2006). AP photo.
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RECENT ANALYSIS
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Dec 1, 2008
Obama and Clinton: More Agreement than Disagreement on Foreign Policy
President-elect Barack Obama announced on December 1 that he will nominate Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) to be Secretary of State. Exaggerated reporting notwithstanding, the fact is that when it comes to foreign policy, Obama and Clinton agree far more than they disagree. In this analysis, executive director John Isaacs compares Obama and Clinton on Iraq, Iran, missile defense, North Korea, and nuclear nonproliferation. -
Oct 20, 2008
Time To Rethink Missile Defense
Despite the Bush administration's investment of an estimated $60 billion since 2001, U.S. national missile defense continues to be an unnecessary and counterproductive enterprise. In this commentary published in Defense News on October 20, Lt. Gen. Robert Gard and Kingston Reif outline three essential changes that could set missile defense back on a productive course. -
Oct 17, 2008
Don’t Be Fooled By Calls for New Nukes
Over the past several months, a handful of conservative security analysts have begun to argue for upgrading the current U.S. nuclear arsenal. In this commentary, Executive Director John Isaacs dismantles the argument for bolstering America’s “nuclear deterrent,” which of course is a euphemism for building more new nuclear weapons. - See more articles »
CENTER EXPERT
Leonor Tomero
Director for Nuclear Non-Proliferation
202-546-0795 ext.119
ltomero AT armscontrolcenter DOT org
Negotiations with North Korea over its nuclear program have followed a long and difficult road. Talks between the United States and North Korea aimed at establishing a non-nuclear Korean peninsula first began in 1991, but it was not until 1994 that the "Agreed Framework" was finally established for ending the country's nuclear weapons pursuits. The Agreed Framework remained in place until 2002, when a coterie of U.S. officials visited North Korea and reported that the country had initiated a second covert nuclear weapons program and was actively enriching uranium. In early 2003, North Korea declared its withdrawal from the NPT.
In August 2003, North Korea announced that it would participate in six-party talks with the U.S., China, Russia, South Korea, and Japan to resolve the crisis. On September 19, 2005, the six-party talks finally achieved a "Statement of Principles" which declared that North Korea would terminate its nuclear programs, return to the NPT, and accept IAEA safeguards in exchange for security assurances from the United States.
Experts presently believe that North Korea has produced enough fissile material for between 5 and 12 nuclear weapons. North Korea's detonation of a nuclear device on October 9, 2006 is widely considered to have been a technical failure and the country does not yet possess the ability to install nuclear warheads on ballistic missiles. Nonetheless, Pyongyang has declared itself a nuclear state, becoming the eighth country to do so.
Under intense international pressure, the North Koreans agreed to return to the six-party talks, which were reconvened in December 2006. Under a new agreement, announced in February 2007, North Korea pledged to suspend its nuclear programs within 60 days and allow inspectors back into the country in exchange for 50,000 tons of heavy fuel.
Implementation of the February 2007 agreement, however, was held up when Pyongyang remained unable to access $25 million in frozen assets. With this banking issue now resolved, the North Koreans signaled a renewed willingness to continue with the denuclearization process by inviting IAEA officials to Pyongyang to discuss terms for new inspections and by announcing that it would shut down its reactors at Yongbyon.
FY2009 DEFENSE BUDGET ANALYSIS
Sep 25, 2008 Analysis of FY2009 Defense Appropriations in the Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act (CR) for FY2009
Sep 24, 2008 Analysis of House-Senate Agreement on the FY2009 Defense Authorization Bill (S.3001)
Feb 4, 2008 The FY 2009 Pentagon (DOD) Defense Budget Spending Request
ARTICLES & FACT SHEETS
Oct 6, 2008 Will Ill Kim Jong-Il Derail Disarmament?
Jul 28, 2008 North Korea: Hand-Wringing Over Success
ADDITIONAL READING
- Full Text of the February 2007 Nuclear Agreement with North Korea.
- Full Text of October 2007 Nuclear Agreement with North Korea for "Second-Phase Actions."
- Congressional Research Service, "North Korea's Nuclear Weapons Development and Diplomacy," updated January 21, 2008.
- Congressional Research Service, "North Korea's Nuclear Weapons: Latest Developments," updated December 5, 2007.
- BBC timeline of key events in the North Korea nuclear stand-off.