"Thank you for this great post"
Arise and Shine
Russia Takes Over Israeli Landmark - North Korea Restores Nuclear Reactor
If Israel and it's friend then why was the USA were caught red-handed training Georgian troops before the massacre of thousands of Ossetia Russian civilians. The USA is playing dangerous two-faced games and getting people killed.
Israelis walk at Sergei's Courtyard in Jerusalem, in this Monday, Oct. 6, 2008. Russia is to take-over the small tract of land known as Sergei's Courtyard, with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's Cabinet agreeing to the hand over Sunday Oct.5, 2008, amid serious policy differences that have sprung up between the two countries The Russians are to take ownership of the property which once accommodated Russian pilgrims visiting the Holy Land and now houses offices of Israel's Agriculture Ministry and the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel
An Israeli man cleans out a small pool at Sergei's Courtyard in Jerusalem, in this Monday, Oct. 6, 2008. Russia is to take-over the small tract of land known as Sergei's Courtyard, with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's Cabinet agreeing to the hand over Sunday Oct.5, 2008, amid serious policy differences that have sprung up between the two countries The Russians are to take ownership of the property which once accommodated Russian pilgrims visiting the Holy Land and now houses offices of Israel's Agriculture Ministry and the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel
The Russians are coming to Sergei courtyard September 28, 2008 (in Hebrew)
GEORGIA-RUSSIA WAR: ISRAEL ARMING GEORGIA August 16, 2008
August 28, 2008 - A US passport was found in a building in South Ossetia occupied by Georgian commandos, a Russian military spokesperson revealed on Thursday, After Russian peacekeepers cleared the heavily defended building, a passport belonging to a Texan named Michael Lee White was discovered inside
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Russia's Jerusalem land claim worries Israelis
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Associated Press
By TIA GOLDENBERG
Oct 7, 2008
http://ap. google. com/article/ALeqM5h7Xic6sB4ig7JDIQL_XS-GCyS0vAD9...
JERUSALEM (AP) — The Russians are coming to downtown Jerusalem, reclaiming ownership of a landmark with the approval of the Israeli government, just as Prime Minister Ehud Olmert visits Moscow to try to iron out serious policy differences between the two countries
After years of contacts, Olmert's Cabinet agreed Sunday to hand over the small tract known as Sergei's Courtyard.The area, which once accommodated Russian pilgrims visiting the Holy Land, now houses offices of Israel's Agriculture Ministry and the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel
The property includes a lush garden and the massive buildings around it — a turret-like structure at the intersection of two downtown streets and the sand-colored fortress-like wings leading from it
The timing of the gesture is clear. After years of relatively smooth relations, serious problems have cropped up between Israel and Russia. One concerned Russia's summer invasion of Georgia, which has become a close ally of Israel in recent years.More importantly, Israel is concerned about Russia's role in helping, or not stopping, the nuclear program of Israel's archenemy, Iran
Olmert hopes to talk through those issues during his two-day trip to Moscow.He was scheduled to meet Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday before returning to Israel
Not everyone is happy about Israel's Jerusalem goodwill gesture.Hardline groups bridle at any transfer of control in Jerusalem, because they oppose Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts that would require sharing the city
Israel TV described the transfer as "Russian autonomy in downtown Jerusalem." The Cabinet decision says no major changes can be made at the site without approval of both governments
The official transfer may be delayed because of an appeal filed by the nationalistic Legal Forum for the Land of Israel, which said the deal is a "breach of Israeli sovereignty"
Nachi Eyal, the group's director, warned the deal could set a precedent for other land claims
A Russian official denied accusations it seeks greater influence in the Middle East through the acquisition of Sergei's Courtyard, calling its desire to own the place a matter of historical significance
"This has nothing to do with what is being called imperial ambitions because it's not a military base or something that can serve those purposes," said Alexei Skosyrev, a political counselor at the Russian Embassy in Tel Aviv.He said the building will be used as a Russian cultural center to "promote bilateral relations" between the two countries
The site, named for Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, a son of Czar Alexander II, was built in 1890 and is part of the larger Russian Compound, most of which Israel purchased 45 years ago.It paid in oranges because it lacked hard currency
Negotiations over the site began in the 1990s.In 2005, after years of lagging progress on the deal, then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon promised former Russian President Vladimir Putin the land would be returned.
Sept 19, 2008 North Korea has stopped disabling its nuclear reactor in Yongbyon and is now undertaking "thorough preparations" to restart it
September 10, 2008 - North Korea has quietly built a long-range missile base that is larger and more capable than an older and well-known launch pad for intercontinental ballistic missiles
This Aug.13, 2002 file photo is a satellite image provided by Space Imaging Asia of the Yongbyon Nuclear Center, located north of Pyongyang, North Korea North Korea announced Thursday Oct 6, 2008 that it is preparing to restart the facility that produced its atomic bomb
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North Korea preparing to restart atomic facility
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Associated Press
By GEORGE JAHN
Oct 9, 2008
http://news. yahoo. com/s/ap/20081009/ap_on_re_eu/eu_nuclear_nkorea
VIENNA, Austria (AP) — North Korea moved closer Thursday to relaunching its nuclear arms program, announcing that it wants to reactivate the facility that produced its atomic bomb and banning U.N.inspectors from the site
The U.S.said the moves did not mean the death of international efforts to persuade the North to recommit to an agreement that offers it diplomatic and economic concessions in exchange for nuclear disarmament
Despite the gloomy implications of North Korea's moves, they could be a negotiating ploy: The year needed to start its reprocessing plant could be used to wrest more concessions from the regime's interlocutors
John Bolton, who has served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and U.S.undersecretary of state in charge of the North Korean nuclear dossier, suggested the North's tactics were working
Bolton, a critic of what he considers U.S.leniency with North Korea who remains well-connected with senior Bush administration officials, told The Associated Press that Washington was planning to meet the communist country's key demand "within a week" by removing it from a State Department list of nations that sponsor terrorism
That would be a significant move because the disarmament deal is bogged down over U.S.refusal to do just that until the North accepts a plan for verifying a list of nuclear assets that it submitted to its negotiating partners
It was unclear whether the U.S.would settle for less than the full accounting it had asked for before the North walked away from the talks
White House press secretary Dana Perino said a nuclear disarmament verification protocol remained essential to taking North Korea off the terrorism list
She added, however: "If we can get a verification protocol that we are satisfied with, then we would be able to fulfill our side of the bargain"
The plans of the reclusive communist nation were revealed by the International Atomic Energy Agency. The North had already banned IAEA inspectors from the reprocessing plant last month after demanding they remove agency seals from the facility.But the experts continued to have access to the rest of the site until Thursday
"Since it is preparing to restart the facilities at Yongbyon, the DPRK has informed the IAEA that our monitoring activities would no longer be appropriate," the U.N.nuclear watchdog said, using the formal acronym for North Korea
It said the North "informed IAEA inspectors that effective immediately access to facilities at Yongbyon would no longer be permitted" and "also stated that it has stopped its (nuclear) disablement work"
The IAEA said its small inspection team would remain on the site until told otherwise by North Korean authorities, and the State Department suggested it does not view North Korea's statement as the end of a six-nation agreement on ending the regime's atomic program
"This is a regrettable step, but one that is reversible," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said
Still, the North Korean reversal compounds the White House's nuclear setbacks with time running out for President Bush, who leaves office early next year
Washington has been successful in persuading the international community to do nuclear trade with India. In doing so, it has set up lucrative access for U.S. firms looking to provide nuclear technology worth billions of dollars, reversing more than three decades of U.S.policy that has barred the sale of nuclear fuel and technology to a country that has not signed international nonproliferation accords and tested secretly developed nuclear weapons
But along with the North's resurgent atomic defiance, Iran remains a nuclear thorn it the Bush administration's side as it continues to flout U.N.sanctions and Western pressure to give up uranium enrichment, a potential pathway to the bomb
Tensions also rose elsewhere on the Korean peninsula, with the North warning the South against sending naval ships into its waters and threatening warfare as it reportedly shifted an arsenal of missiles to a nearby island for more test launches
The warning came hours after a South Korean newspaper reported that a U.S. spy satellite detected signs the North had positioned about 10 missiles near the disputed sea border after test-firing two short-range missiles on Tuesday.The Chosun Ilbo report cited an unidentified South Korean official
Yongbyon, located about 60 miles north of Pyongyang, has three main facilities: a 5-megawatt reactor, a plutonium reprocessing plant and a fuel fabrication complex
The reactor is the centerpiece of the complex, with the facility stretching more than a mile along the Churyong River, satellite images show
The reprocessing center to the south of the reactor is capable of extracting weapons-grade plutonium from spent fuel rods. Thousands of them remain in storage but would likely be moved to the reprocessing plant as a next step.South of the reprocessing center, fuel rods are made from natural uranium in the fuel fabrication complex that lies tucked into a bend in the Churyong River
A second reactor with the potential to produce much higher quantities of plutonium has not been completed
North Korea was to dismantle the Yongbyon nuclear complex in return for diplomatic concessions and energy aid equivalent to 1 million tons of oil under the deal with the U.S., South Korea, China, Russia and Japan
But the accord hit a snag in mid-August when the U.S.refused to remove North Korea from the terrorism list until the North accepts the plan for allowing a full check of the list of nuclear assets the North says it has
U.S.chief nuclear negotiator Christopher Hill recently returned to Washington from a trip to North Korea meant to jump-start the talks, but the State Department has declined to provide details of his meetings
For the U.S., the North Korean nuclear reversal is the second major setback this decade — Yongbyon was under IAEA seal in December 2002 when Pyongyang ordered U.N. inspectors out of the country and restarted its atomic activities, unraveling a deal committing the U.S.to help the North build a peaceful nuclear program
North Korea quit the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty in January 2003. Then on Oct. 9, 2006, it set off an underground test explosion of a nuclear weapon. There was widespread international condemnation, but the U.S.also softened its position and the six-nation deal soon followed
Scientists began disabling the Yongbyon reactor a year ago, and in June the North blew up its cooling tower in a dramatic show of commitment to the pact
Eight of the 11 steps needed to disable the reactor had been completed by July, North Korean officials said
Associated Press writers Jean H.Lee in Seoul, South Korea, and Deb Riechmann in Washington contributed to this report
June 26, 2008 Bush Removes North Korea From Terror Blacklist (which didn’t hold promise later on)
Top U.S nuclear envoy Christopher Hill (R) speaks to the media after a meeting with his South Korean counterpart Kim Sook (L) at a hotel in Seoul September 30, 2008
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U.S to take North Korea off terrorist list in Oct - Kyodo
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Reuters
Thu Oct 9, 2008
http://in. reuters. com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-35875420081009
TOKYO (Reuters) - The United States has told Japan that it will remove North Korea from its terrorist blacklist this month, Kyodo news agency reported on Thursday, quoting unidentified Japanese government sources
The report follows talks in Tokyo on Wednesday between Japan's top negotiator on North Korean nuclear issues and U.S.special envoy Sung Kim
A Japanese foreign ministry spokesman said he could not immediately comment on the report
Kyodo reported that U.S.envoy Christopher Hill, in talks in North Korea earlier this month, agreed that Washington would not make verification of Pyongyang's uranium enrichment programme or proliferation activities a condition of delisting
Hill also agreed that first verification of the North's plutonium-related activities listed by Pyongyang in June would be conducted, Kyodo reported
The United States agreed to continue food support begun in June and asked Japan to consider helping with such humanitarian aid, Kyodo said
Prime Minister Taro Aso had been informed of the U.S.decision and that Sung Kim had apparently conveyed it to Japan's top negotiator on North Korean nuclear issues, Akitaka Saiki, in talks on Wednesday in Tokyo, Kyodo said
Japan was prepared to accept the delisting but would decline the request for food aid, taking into consideration that it plans to extend economic sanctions on Pyongyang because of a lack of progress in settling a feud over Japanese citizens kidnapped to the North decades ago, it reported
Washington said it would take North Korea off the terrorism list, bringing economic and diplomatic benefits, once a system had been agreed to verify Pyongyang's nuclear programme
The Taepodong 2 missile could reach North America
North Korea displays new missile that can reach Guam, report says –...
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North Korea Reportedly Tests Short-Range Missiles
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New York Times
By CHOE SANG-HUN
Published: October 8, 2008
http://www. nytimes. com/2008/10/09/world/asia/09korea. html?ref=world
SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korea fired short-range missiles off the country’s western coast this week amid tensions raised by its moves to reassemble its nuclear weapons program, South Korean media reported on Wednesday
North Korea, launched two missiles on Tuesday toward international waters between the North and China, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported, quoting an unnamed government source
North Korea launched the missiles from a naval base in Chodo, an island about 60 miles southwest of Pyongyang, said Chosun Ilbo, a mass-circulation daily in Seoul, which also quoted an unnamed government source
Chosun Ilbo said the number of rockets fired was unknownbut that they were either KN-01 land-to-sea missiles or Styx ship-to-ship missiles
North Korea has deployed more missiles around the island and declared it a no-sail zone, meaning that it may launch more missiles to mark the Oct.10 anniversary of the ruling Workers Party of Korea, the newspaper quoted the government source as saying
But another mass-circulation newspaper, JoongAng Ilbo, said the two missiles fired on Tuesday were air-to-ship missiles launched from an IL-28 North Korean bomber
“We cannot confirm these reports because it’s an intelligence matter,” said a spokesman at the South Korean military’s Office of Joint Chiefs of Staff, who spoke on customary condition of anonymity
Attention is focused on whether North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-il, reportedly ill after suffering a stroke, will attend the party anniversary on Friday. Over the weekend, the North’s state-run media reported that Mr.Kim watched a soccer match in his first public appearance since mid-August, but they did not carry his photo or video footage
South Korea usually dismisses short-range missile tests by the North as part of routine military exercise.But analysts say that the North tests its missiles when it seeks to bolster its bargaining power by escalating tensions
In March, North Korea test-fired a barrage of short-range missiles off its western coast, while threatening to slow down the disablement of its nuclear weapons facilities in Yongbyon, north of Pyongyang.North Korea stopped disabling the Yongbyon complex in August, angry that the United States did not remove it from its list of state sponsors of terrorism
Last month, it began reassembling the facilities, which the North had used to produce weapons-grade plutonium. Christopher R.Hill, the senior American envoy for North Korea, visited Pyongyang last week to try to find a way to salvage the nuclear disarmament deal
North Korea conducted its only known nuclear test in October 2006.It is unknown whether the North has the technology to arm its missiles with nuclear warheads
North Korea has a large arsenal of missiles, including ballistic weapons that can hit all of South Korea and Japan.Missile experts say that the North is also developing a long-range Taepodong missile series capable, when fully developed, of reaching parts of North America
US nuclear envoy Christopher Hill, right, shakes hands with his South Korean counterpart Kim Sook after their meeting at Foreign Ministry in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Oct.3, 2008 The chief US envoy at six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear disarmament met with Kim Friday after spending three days in the North trying to persuade it to resume dismantling its nuclear program
US nuclear envoy holds N. Korea talks in Beijing - Washington Post ...
North Korean soldiers look south at the truce village of Panmunjom, north of Seoul, September 17, 2008
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South Korea dismisses North's nuclear "ultimatum"
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Reuters
Oct 7, 2008
http://www. reuters. com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE4960VC20081007
By Jon Herskovitz and Kim Junghyun
SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's foreign minister played down on Tuesday the notion that North Korea delivered an ultimatum when it held talks last week with a visiting US envoy who was trying to save a floundering nuclear disarmament deal
US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill has been mostly silent on the details of his three days of talks in Pyongyang.He said the focus of the discussions was finding a way to verify claims the North made about its nuclear program
"Reports on North Korea having made a very important suggestion or issued an ultimatum seem to be grounded on matters in the past.It is different from what was discussed at Hill's recent visit, which was a verification protocol," Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan told a parliamentary committee
A pro-Pyongyang newspaper said on Monday that North Korea "seems to have delivered its opinion on peacefully resolving the nuclear issues ... and issued an ultimatum in relation to this"
The Choson Sinbo newspaper, published in Japan, did not elaborate on the ultimatum but said if there was no agreement, North Korea would likely step away from disarmament talks
Yu said the North would try to evade verification as much as it can."What we need to do is to make it impossible for (the North) to run away"
Analysts have speculated Hill may have reached some kind of deal or understanding in Pyongyang that is delicate in nature and requires the support of the other parties in the nuclear talks -- China, Japan, Russia and South Korea
Yu would not offer any details of Hill's talks but said he thought both sides were showing flexibility
South Korea's Yonhap news agency quoted a government source as saying North Korea asked for additional compensation to accept the sweeping verification demanded by Washington
The nuclear agreement North Korea struck with the five regional powers in February 2007 seemed in peril after Pyongyang, angry at not being removed from a US terrorism blacklist, vowed last month to rebuild the aging Yongbyon nuclear plant, its source for weapons-grade plutonium
Washington said it would take the North off the terrorism list, bringing economic and diplomatic benefits, once a system had been agreed to verify its nuclear claims
In late September, Pyongyang ordered the expulsion of U.N. monitors from Yongbyon and said it planned to start reactivating the Soviet-era plant within days.Disablement started last November and was aimed at taking at least a year to reverse
The US State Department said that despite Hill's visit, the North continued to make moves to restart Yongbyon.
Israelis walk at Sergei's Courtyard in Jerusalem, in this Monday, Oct. 6, 2008. Russia is to take-over the small tract of land known as Sergei's Courtyard, with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's Cabinet agreeing to the hand over Sunday Oct.5, 2008, amid serious policy differences that have sprung up between the two countries The Russians are to take ownership of the property which once accommodated Russian pilgrims visiting the Holy Land and now houses offices of Israel's Agriculture Ministry and the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel
An Israeli man cleans out a small pool at Sergei's Courtyard in Jerusalem, in this Monday, Oct. 6, 2008. Russia is to take-over the small tract of land known as Sergei's Courtyard, with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's Cabinet agreeing to the hand over Sunday Oct.5, 2008, amid serious policy differences that have sprung up between the two countries The Russians are to take ownership of the property which once accommodated Russian pilgrims visiting the Holy Land and now houses offices of Israel's Agriculture Ministry and the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel
The Russians are coming to Sergei courtyard September 28, 2008 (in Hebrew)
GEORGIA-RUSSIA WAR: ISRAEL ARMING GEORGIA August 16, 2008
August 28, 2008 - A US passport was found in a building in South Ossetia occupied by Georgian commandos, a Russian military spokesperson revealed on Thursday, After Russian peacekeepers cleared the heavily defended building, a passport belonging to a Texan named Michael Lee White was discovered inside
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Russia's Jerusalem land claim worries Israelis
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Associated Press
By TIA GOLDENBERG
Oct 7, 2008
http://ap. google. com/article/ALeqM5h7Xic6sB4ig7JDIQL_XS-GCyS0vAD9...
JERUSALEM (AP) — The Russians are coming to downtown Jerusalem, reclaiming ownership of a landmark with the approval of the Israeli government, just as Prime Minister Ehud Olmert visits Moscow to try to iron out serious policy differences between the two countries
After years of contacts, Olmert's Cabinet agreed Sunday to hand over the small tract known as Sergei's Courtyard.The area, which once accommodated Russian pilgrims visiting the Holy Land, now houses offices of Israel's Agriculture Ministry and the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel
The property includes a lush garden and the massive buildings around it — a turret-like structure at the intersection of two downtown streets and the sand-colored fortress-like wings leading from it
The timing of the gesture is clear. After years of relatively smooth relations, serious problems have cropped up between Israel and Russia. One concerned Russia's summer invasion of Georgia, which has become a close ally of Israel in recent years.More importantly, Israel is concerned about Russia's role in helping, or not stopping, the nuclear program of Israel's archenemy, Iran
Olmert hopes to talk through those issues during his two-day trip to Moscow.He was scheduled to meet Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday before returning to Israel
Not everyone is happy about Israel's Jerusalem goodwill gesture.Hardline groups bridle at any transfer of control in Jerusalem, because they oppose Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts that would require sharing the city
Israel TV described the transfer as "Russian autonomy in downtown Jerusalem." The Cabinet decision says no major changes can be made at the site without approval of both governments
The official transfer may be delayed because of an appeal filed by the nationalistic Legal Forum for the Land of Israel, which said the deal is a "breach of Israeli sovereignty"
Nachi Eyal, the group's director, warned the deal could set a precedent for other land claims
A Russian official denied accusations it seeks greater influence in the Middle East through the acquisition of Sergei's Courtyard, calling its desire to own the place a matter of historical significance
"This has nothing to do with what is being called imperial ambitions because it's not a military base or something that can serve those purposes," said Alexei Skosyrev, a political counselor at the Russian Embassy in Tel Aviv.He said the building will be used as a Russian cultural center to "promote bilateral relations" between the two countries
The site, named for Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, a son of Czar Alexander II, was built in 1890 and is part of the larger Russian Compound, most of which Israel purchased 45 years ago.It paid in oranges because it lacked hard currency
Negotiations over the site began in the 1990s.In 2005, after years of lagging progress on the deal, then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon promised former Russian President Vladimir Putin the land would be returned.
Sept 19, 2008 North Korea has stopped disabling its nuclear reactor in Yongbyon and is now undertaking "thorough preparations" to restart it
September 10, 2008 - North Korea has quietly built a long-range missile base that is larger and more capable than an older and well-known launch pad for intercontinental ballistic missiles
This Aug.13, 2002 file photo is a satellite image provided by Space Imaging Asia of the Yongbyon Nuclear Center, located north of Pyongyang, North Korea North Korea announced Thursday Oct 6, 2008 that it is preparing to restart the facility that produced its atomic bomb
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North Korea preparing to restart atomic facility
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Associated Press
By GEORGE JAHN
Oct 9, 2008
http://news. yahoo. com/s/ap/20081009/ap_on_re_eu/eu_nuclear_nkorea
VIENNA, Austria (AP) — North Korea moved closer Thursday to relaunching its nuclear arms program, announcing that it wants to reactivate the facility that produced its atomic bomb and banning U.N.inspectors from the site
The U.S.said the moves did not mean the death of international efforts to persuade the North to recommit to an agreement that offers it diplomatic and economic concessions in exchange for nuclear disarmament
Despite the gloomy implications of North Korea's moves, they could be a negotiating ploy: The year needed to start its reprocessing plant could be used to wrest more concessions from the regime's interlocutors
John Bolton, who has served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and U.S.undersecretary of state in charge of the North Korean nuclear dossier, suggested the North's tactics were working
Bolton, a critic of what he considers U.S.leniency with North Korea who remains well-connected with senior Bush administration officials, told The Associated Press that Washington was planning to meet the communist country's key demand "within a week" by removing it from a State Department list of nations that sponsor terrorism
That would be a significant move because the disarmament deal is bogged down over U.S.refusal to do just that until the North accepts a plan for verifying a list of nuclear assets that it submitted to its negotiating partners
It was unclear whether the U.S.would settle for less than the full accounting it had asked for before the North walked away from the talks
White House press secretary Dana Perino said a nuclear disarmament verification protocol remained essential to taking North Korea off the terrorism list
She added, however: "If we can get a verification protocol that we are satisfied with, then we would be able to fulfill our side of the bargain"
The plans of the reclusive communist nation were revealed by the International Atomic Energy Agency. The North had already banned IAEA inspectors from the reprocessing plant last month after demanding they remove agency seals from the facility.But the experts continued to have access to the rest of the site until Thursday
"Since it is preparing to restart the facilities at Yongbyon, the DPRK has informed the IAEA that our monitoring activities would no longer be appropriate," the U.N.nuclear watchdog said, using the formal acronym for North Korea
It said the North "informed IAEA inspectors that effective immediately access to facilities at Yongbyon would no longer be permitted" and "also stated that it has stopped its (nuclear) disablement work"
The IAEA said its small inspection team would remain on the site until told otherwise by North Korean authorities, and the State Department suggested it does not view North Korea's statement as the end of a six-nation agreement on ending the regime's atomic program
"This is a regrettable step, but one that is reversible," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said
Still, the North Korean reversal compounds the White House's nuclear setbacks with time running out for President Bush, who leaves office early next year
Washington has been successful in persuading the international community to do nuclear trade with India. In doing so, it has set up lucrative access for U.S. firms looking to provide nuclear technology worth billions of dollars, reversing more than three decades of U.S.policy that has barred the sale of nuclear fuel and technology to a country that has not signed international nonproliferation accords and tested secretly developed nuclear weapons
But along with the North's resurgent atomic defiance, Iran remains a nuclear thorn it the Bush administration's side as it continues to flout U.N.sanctions and Western pressure to give up uranium enrichment, a potential pathway to the bomb
Tensions also rose elsewhere on the Korean peninsula, with the North warning the South against sending naval ships into its waters and threatening warfare as it reportedly shifted an arsenal of missiles to a nearby island for more test launches
The warning came hours after a South Korean newspaper reported that a U.S. spy satellite detected signs the North had positioned about 10 missiles near the disputed sea border after test-firing two short-range missiles on Tuesday.The Chosun Ilbo report cited an unidentified South Korean official
Yongbyon, located about 60 miles north of Pyongyang, has three main facilities: a 5-megawatt reactor, a plutonium reprocessing plant and a fuel fabrication complex
The reactor is the centerpiece of the complex, with the facility stretching more than a mile along the Churyong River, satellite images show
The reprocessing center to the south of the reactor is capable of extracting weapons-grade plutonium from spent fuel rods. Thousands of them remain in storage but would likely be moved to the reprocessing plant as a next step.South of the reprocessing center, fuel rods are made from natural uranium in the fuel fabrication complex that lies tucked into a bend in the Churyong River
A second reactor with the potential to produce much higher quantities of plutonium has not been completed
North Korea was to dismantle the Yongbyon nuclear complex in return for diplomatic concessions and energy aid equivalent to 1 million tons of oil under the deal with the U.S., South Korea, China, Russia and Japan
But the accord hit a snag in mid-August when the U.S.refused to remove North Korea from the terrorism list until the North accepts the plan for allowing a full check of the list of nuclear assets the North says it has
U.S.chief nuclear negotiator Christopher Hill recently returned to Washington from a trip to North Korea meant to jump-start the talks, but the State Department has declined to provide details of his meetings
For the U.S., the North Korean nuclear reversal is the second major setback this decade — Yongbyon was under IAEA seal in December 2002 when Pyongyang ordered U.N. inspectors out of the country and restarted its atomic activities, unraveling a deal committing the U.S.to help the North build a peaceful nuclear program
North Korea quit the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty in January 2003. Then on Oct. 9, 2006, it set off an underground test explosion of a nuclear weapon. There was widespread international condemnation, but the U.S.also softened its position and the six-nation deal soon followed
Scientists began disabling the Yongbyon reactor a year ago, and in June the North blew up its cooling tower in a dramatic show of commitment to the pact
Eight of the 11 steps needed to disable the reactor had been completed by July, North Korean officials said
Associated Press writers Jean H.Lee in Seoul, South Korea, and Deb Riechmann in Washington contributed to this report
June 26, 2008 Bush Removes North Korea From Terror Blacklist (which didn’t hold promise later on)
Top U.S nuclear envoy Christopher Hill (R) speaks to the media after a meeting with his South Korean counterpart Kim Sook (L) at a hotel in Seoul September 30, 2008
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U.S to take North Korea off terrorist list in Oct - Kyodo
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Reuters
Thu Oct 9, 2008
http://in. reuters. com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-35875420081009
TOKYO (Reuters) - The United States has told Japan that it will remove North Korea from its terrorist blacklist this month, Kyodo news agency reported on Thursday, quoting unidentified Japanese government sources
The report follows talks in Tokyo on Wednesday between Japan's top negotiator on North Korean nuclear issues and U.S.special envoy Sung Kim
A Japanese foreign ministry spokesman said he could not immediately comment on the report
Kyodo reported that U.S.envoy Christopher Hill, in talks in North Korea earlier this month, agreed that Washington would not make verification of Pyongyang's uranium enrichment programme or proliferation activities a condition of delisting
Hill also agreed that first verification of the North's plutonium-related activities listed by Pyongyang in June would be conducted, Kyodo reported
The United States agreed to continue food support begun in June and asked Japan to consider helping with such humanitarian aid, Kyodo said
Prime Minister Taro Aso had been informed of the U.S.decision and that Sung Kim had apparently conveyed it to Japan's top negotiator on North Korean nuclear issues, Akitaka Saiki, in talks on Wednesday in Tokyo, Kyodo said
Japan was prepared to accept the delisting but would decline the request for food aid, taking into consideration that it plans to extend economic sanctions on Pyongyang because of a lack of progress in settling a feud over Japanese citizens kidnapped to the North decades ago, it reported
Washington said it would take North Korea off the terrorism list, bringing economic and diplomatic benefits, once a system had been agreed to verify Pyongyang's nuclear programme
The Taepodong 2 missile could reach North America
North Korea displays new missile that can reach Guam, report says –...
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North Korea Reportedly Tests Short-Range Missiles
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New York Times
By CHOE SANG-HUN
Published: October 8, 2008
http://www. nytimes. com/2008/10/09/world/asia/09korea. html?ref=world
SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korea fired short-range missiles off the country’s western coast this week amid tensions raised by its moves to reassemble its nuclear weapons program, South Korean media reported on Wednesday
North Korea, launched two missiles on Tuesday toward international waters between the North and China, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported, quoting an unnamed government source
North Korea launched the missiles from a naval base in Chodo, an island about 60 miles southwest of Pyongyang, said Chosun Ilbo, a mass-circulation daily in Seoul, which also quoted an unnamed government source
Chosun Ilbo said the number of rockets fired was unknownbut that they were either KN-01 land-to-sea missiles or Styx ship-to-ship missiles
North Korea has deployed more missiles around the island and declared it a no-sail zone, meaning that it may launch more missiles to mark the Oct.10 anniversary of the ruling Workers Party of Korea, the newspaper quoted the government source as saying
But another mass-circulation newspaper, JoongAng Ilbo, said the two missiles fired on Tuesday were air-to-ship missiles launched from an IL-28 North Korean bomber
“We cannot confirm these reports because it’s an intelligence matter,” said a spokesman at the South Korean military’s Office of Joint Chiefs of Staff, who spoke on customary condition of anonymity
Attention is focused on whether North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-il, reportedly ill after suffering a stroke, will attend the party anniversary on Friday. Over the weekend, the North’s state-run media reported that Mr.Kim watched a soccer match in his first public appearance since mid-August, but they did not carry his photo or video footage
South Korea usually dismisses short-range missile tests by the North as part of routine military exercise.But analysts say that the North tests its missiles when it seeks to bolster its bargaining power by escalating tensions
In March, North Korea test-fired a barrage of short-range missiles off its western coast, while threatening to slow down the disablement of its nuclear weapons facilities in Yongbyon, north of Pyongyang.North Korea stopped disabling the Yongbyon complex in August, angry that the United States did not remove it from its list of state sponsors of terrorism
Last month, it began reassembling the facilities, which the North had used to produce weapons-grade plutonium. Christopher R.Hill, the senior American envoy for North Korea, visited Pyongyang last week to try to find a way to salvage the nuclear disarmament deal
North Korea conducted its only known nuclear test in October 2006.It is unknown whether the North has the technology to arm its missiles with nuclear warheads
North Korea has a large arsenal of missiles, including ballistic weapons that can hit all of South Korea and Japan.Missile experts say that the North is also developing a long-range Taepodong missile series capable, when fully developed, of reaching parts of North America
US nuclear envoy Christopher Hill, right, shakes hands with his South Korean counterpart Kim Sook after their meeting at Foreign Ministry in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Oct.3, 2008 The chief US envoy at six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear disarmament met with Kim Friday after spending three days in the North trying to persuade it to resume dismantling its nuclear program
US nuclear envoy holds N. Korea talks in Beijing - Washington Post ...
North Korean soldiers look south at the truce village of Panmunjom, north of Seoul, September 17, 2008
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South Korea dismisses North's nuclear "ultimatum"
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Reuters
Oct 7, 2008
http://www. reuters. com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE4960VC20081007
By Jon Herskovitz and Kim Junghyun
SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's foreign minister played down on Tuesday the notion that North Korea delivered an ultimatum when it held talks last week with a visiting US envoy who was trying to save a floundering nuclear disarmament deal
US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill has been mostly silent on the details of his three days of talks in Pyongyang.He said the focus of the discussions was finding a way to verify claims the North made about its nuclear program
"Reports on North Korea having made a very important suggestion or issued an ultimatum seem to be grounded on matters in the past.It is different from what was discussed at Hill's recent visit, which was a verification protocol," Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan told a parliamentary committee
A pro-Pyongyang newspaper said on Monday that North Korea "seems to have delivered its opinion on peacefully resolving the nuclear issues ... and issued an ultimatum in relation to this"
The Choson Sinbo newspaper, published in Japan, did not elaborate on the ultimatum but said if there was no agreement, North Korea would likely step away from disarmament talks
Yu said the North would try to evade verification as much as it can."What we need to do is to make it impossible for (the North) to run away"
Analysts have speculated Hill may have reached some kind of deal or understanding in Pyongyang that is delicate in nature and requires the support of the other parties in the nuclear talks -- China, Japan, Russia and South Korea
Yu would not offer any details of Hill's talks but said he thought both sides were showing flexibility
South Korea's Yonhap news agency quoted a government source as saying North Korea asked for additional compensation to accept the sweeping verification demanded by Washington
The nuclear agreement North Korea struck with the five regional powers in February 2007 seemed in peril after Pyongyang, angry at not being removed from a US terrorism blacklist, vowed last month to rebuild the aging Yongbyon nuclear plant, its source for weapons-grade plutonium
Washington said it would take the North off the terrorism list, bringing economic and diplomatic benefits, once a system had been agreed to verify its nuclear claims
In late September, Pyongyang ordered the expulsion of U.N. monitors from Yongbyon and said it planned to start reactivating the Soviet-era plant within days.Disablement started last November and was aimed at taking at least a year to reverse
The US State Department said that despite Hill's visit, the North continued to make moves to restart Yongbyon.
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