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Posted on 07/12/2003 11:23:43 PM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
N. Korea informed U.S. that it finished reprocessing spent fuel rods.
N. Korea told U.S. on July 8, 2003, that it finished reprocessing 8,000 spent fuel rods at Yong-byun nuclear facilities in N. Korea, according to the former (S. Korean) legislator Chang Sung-min(MDP) who was told about this from a high-level source in Washington, D.C. on July 12, 2003.
He was told that, on July 8, in New York, N. Korea had unofficial working-level meeting with America. At this meeting, N. Korea informed America that the reprocessing of 8,000 spent fuel rods was complete on June 30, 2003, and that they will acknowledge the New York meeting as the only official channel between America and N. Korea.
Jack Pritchard, the ambassador for Korean affairs at State Department, David Strauss, the chief of the Korean desk at State Department, Park Kil-yon, the N. Korean ambassador to U.N., and Han Sung-yul, the N. Korean vice ambassador to U.N., attended this meeting held last week. They had in-depth discussion on various ways to resolve the N. Korean nuke crisis, including a format on the upcoming meeting on N. Korean nukes.
The high-level source in Washington told Mr. Chang, "N. Koreans disclosed that they finished the reprocessing on June 30 because they have to use them to secure nuclear deterrence. Furthermore, N. Koreans are running 5 mega watt nuclear reactor and they also intend to extract plutonium from this reactor."
The N. Korean ambassador Park also disclosed to the ambassador Pritchard that N. Koreans resumed the construction of 50 mega watt reactor and 200 mega watt reactor, according to the source.
If it is true that they really completed the reprocessing of 8,000 spent fuel rods to use them for nuclear deterrence, this amounts to unequivocally declaring the N. Korean intention of acquiring nukes to America. Now attention is focused on American response.
Some Korea experts in Washington D.C. believe that, if the Chinese mediation efforts fails, N. Korean nuke issue will be handed over to U.N. Security Council. If this report is true, the tension between Washington and Pyongyang could definitely rise, they opined.
We should also be open to the possibility that N. Koreans are exaggerating. They may have done some reprocessing but not all of it. The reactivation of 5 MW reactor and the resumption of constructing two more reactors may be exaggeration, too.
When N. Koreans told Americans that they intend to develop Uranium-based nuke bomb, Bush administration kept the news under wraps for about 10 days, before it was leaked to the press and the administration had to confirm it. It is possible that the same pattern is repeated. N. Korean drops another bomb shell and Bush administration keeps it under wraps. The news leaks and the administration could confirm it again.
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We should, but it's worth keeping in mind that if the N. Koreans are to do any reprocessing, then it's to their advantage to do all of it as swiftly as possible.
It is true that a full-blown N. Korean nuke crisis will squash Iraqi quagmire story in no time.:)
Well that is an understatement.
Meanwhile most of the world sleeps peacefully, blissfully ignorant of the conflagration about to be ignited.
Let's hope it puts an end to the North Korean rigime and permits its people to live in freedom.
Sure. It fits their profile.
A South Korean news agency says North Korea may have reprocessed all of its spent nuclear fuel rods, giving the communist state the capability of extracting plutonium for nuclear weapons.
South Korea's Yonhap news agency quotes Chang Sung-min, an aide to former President Kim Dae-jung, as saying North Korean diplomats told U.S. officials at the United Nations that reprocessing of eight-thousand spent fuel rods was completed June 30.
The report has not been confirmed.
The fuel rods are part of a nuclear weapons program that North Korea promised to freeze in its 1994 agreement with the United States.
North Korea has admitted having a secret nuclear program and is demanding direct negotiations with the United States. The Bush administration wants the issue settled in multi-lateral talks involving other countries in the region.
It says the talks should include Japan, China, Russia and both Koreas. It says North Korea could win economic aid and security guarantees, if it shuts down its nuclear program.
In a related development, Australian Prime Minister John Howard today (Sunday) expressed concern the dispute could lead to hostilities. Mr. Howard says diplomatic actions are "infinitely preferable to military involvement."
Japanese officials are also expressing concern, saying that if North Korea has reprocessed nuclear fuel rods, it has become a full-fledged threat to the international community.
Japanese officials say Tokyo wants multi-lateral talks to resolve the issue.
A North Korean official newspaper said Saturday the government is not opposed to multi-lateral talks, but first wants one-on-one negotiations with the United States.
Some information for this report provided by AFP and Reuters.
Please send fuel oil now!
He he, so true!
Are they daring us? "This is your last chance. We have finished reprocessing. Nothing left to do but assemble. If your going to strike you better do it now."
Or is this saying..."You're too late. We've reprocessed them and you know the rest was easy. We now have enough nuclear weapons to be a real deterrent. So back off!"
Or is this kind of like if we are just honest about it, maybe we will get by with it.... "You can't say we were doing things in secret, because we told you what we were doing. And since we were honest about it, you have no reason to smash us."
I can't figure out whether they are stupid or crazy.
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