New North Korean Nuclear Agreement
Armed Forces International has been following the progress of North Korea's denuclearisation for many months now. On July 12th, the latest development became known, as it emerged from the current six-nation talks on the issue that North Korea had pledged to move towards total nuclear shut-down by October.
The discussions involved officials from Japan, China, the US and Russia, as well as North and South Korea.
Tower Demolished
In June, North Korea provided China with details on its nuclear programme and demolished a cooling tower at its prime Yongbyon reactor - both moves that served to illustrate the country's commitment to the nuclear deactivation discussions.
Yongbyon Nuclear Reactor
Yongbyon itself was closed down 12 months ago after an agreement forged between the six participating countries earlier in 2007. The deal effectively promised aid and other concessions on the basis that North Korea abandon its nuclear programme.
Uranium Enrichment
The declaration given to China is not believed to have covered the area of uranium enrichment, which North Korea has denied involvement in.
Detailing this latest update to the situation, Chinese official Wu Dawei explained how facility visits, document analyses and interviews would all feature in the verification process.
Wu added that, if conditions dictated, the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) could be referred to.
The exact specifics of the verification process have not yet been established. In the opinion of US official Christopher Hill, however, it should not be too long before they are.
"We'd like a protocol to be reached within 45 days and secondly to actually begin the verification within 45 days", he stated.
Source - Armed Forces International's Far East Correspondent
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