Category: North Korea

U.S. South Korea Agree to Pause Drawdown

ARTICLE: U.S., South Korea Agree To Pause Drawdown,
Pacific Stars and Stripes)…Ashley Rowland and Hwang Hae-rym, April 23, 2008

The United States will pause the drawdown of its troops in South Korea, military officials from both countries said Monday.

“We reached an agreement to maintain the current U.S. troop level on the Korean peninsula. This is a mutual agreement that benefits both our nations and will strengthen our alliance.” -President George W. Bush

The U.S. and South Korea agreed to the drawdown in 2004 when the U.S. had 38,500 troops stationed in South Korea. The number of troops were to be reduced to 25,000 by the end of 2008. Current level of 28,000 to be maintained.

U.S. Team Headed to Pyongyang

ARTICLE: U.S. Team Headed To Pyongyang In Search Of ‘Significant Progress’Washington Post, Blaine Harden, April 22, 2008, Pg. 11

The disclosure-for-aid deal negotiated last fall and due last Dec. 31. For the first time since the United States eased demands on North Korea, a U.S. delegation is headed to the communist state to try to verify the extent of its nuclear program.

Over the weekend, President Bush and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said U.S. concessions to the North could unlock delicate negotiations. Bush has been criticized by some Republicans for yielding too much to the Stalinist government of Kim Jong Il.

“Why don’t we just wait and see what they say before people go out there and start giving their opinions about whether this is a good deal or a bad deal?” Bush said Saturday at Camp David, Md., where he met with Lee.

The recently elected South Korean president added that talks with North Korea require “persistent patience.” “It’s difficult to convince North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons programs, but it is not impossible,” Lee said.

N. Korea Says It Produced 30 Kilograms of Plutonium

ARTICLE: N. Korea Says It Produced 30 Kilograms of Plutonium, (Washington Post)…Reuters, April 21, 2008, Pg. 11

…North Korea has said it has accounted for its past and current activities as required. But the United States says that the North has not discussed any transfer of nuclear technology to other countries, notably Syria, nor has it accounted for its suspected pursuit of uranium enrichment.

North Korea – Nuclear Agreement

 

ARTICLE: “Past Deals By N. Korea May Face Less Study,” by Helene Cooper, New York Times, April 18, 2008

The Bush administration appears to be preparing to back away from a demand that North Korea fully disclose all of its past nuclear weapons activities, in an attempt to preserve a nuclear agreement requiring it to disclose and dismantle the bulk of its nuclear weapons program.

As described by administration officials on Thursday, the step would relax a demand for North Korea to admit fully that it supplied Syria with nuclear technology. The United States would also agree to postpone its demand that North Korea provide an immediate and full accounting of its fledgling uranium program.

Diplomatic Liaison – North and South Korea

ARTICLE: “South Korean Leader Plans New Outreach To The North,” By Glenn Kessler, Washington Post, April 18, 2008

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said yesterday that he will propose creating a permanent high-level diplomatic channel between North Korea and South Korea, including establishing the first liaison offices in the nations’ capitals after nearly six decades of division.