Word: pyongyang
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North Korea began building its nuclear-weapons program in the 1980s, just as it was signing the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. By the time President Bill Clinton was sworn into office, Pyongyang had already separated enough plutonium for one or two nuclear weapons. The President was told by his intelligence community that if the North Korean program was not stopped, the existing reactor and two others under construction would produce, within approximately five years, enough plutonium to manufacture 30 nuclear weapons annually. In close consultation with our allies in Seoul and Tokyo, the President authorized direct bilateral negotiations. Sixteen difficult months...
...frozen and under International Atomic Energy Agency inspection; and the other elements of the framework were on track. The problem was the secret North Korean effort to enrich uranium for a nuclear-weapons program. The Bush Administration's approach to the problem quickly took shape when it confronted Pyongyang with the knowledge of the secret program and the demand that the North give it up before any further negotiations could take place. When Pyongyang refused, the U.S. abandoned the Agreed Framework, prompting North Korea to do likewise--kicking inspectors out, starting up the reactor, separating plutonium and announcing the acquisition...
...expect to get what we need and concede to the North at least some of what it wants. Our objective should be to focus on the country's nuclear program, insisting on its complete dismantlement and a full accounting of fissile material. We must be prepared to meet Pyongyang's concerns too--security assurances, energy assistance (including those proliferation-resistant nuclear reactors) and eventual normalization of relations. And there must always be an "or else"--that is, we must persuade Seoul, Tokyo and Beijing to support even more painful sanctions if necessary in the future so that the North...
...exclusive club of nuclear powers as member No. 9. "More fizzle than pop," said a U.S. intelligence source dismissively, though he conceded the blast was likely to have been nuclear. A sniffer plane would later pick up hints of radiation in the atmosphere. Days of diplomatic consternation ensued at Pyongyang's announcement, and after stops and starts, the U.N. Security Council imposed sanctions on North Korea, demanding that it dismantle its nuclear-arms program. It also banned the sale of conventional weaponry and luxury goods to the country. Pointing at Washington as its nemesis, Pyongyang said any increased American military...
...North Korea Raises the Stakes Analysis: More tough talk, another provocation. What's behind Pyongyang's threat to test a nuclear weapon...