As the UN nuclear agency was confirming that North Korea has agreed to let UN experts monitor the dismantling of its nuclear program, the reclusive communist nation released photos of leader Kim Jong II that only raised questions about his health.
The photos, the first of Kim seen in two months, show him in a setting very similar to photographs from August. And the verdant background looks more like summer than autumn, adding to uncertainty about Kim's condition after reports he underwent brain surgery.
In Vienna, the International Atomic Energy Agency revealed North Korea's vow that it will allow the UN monitors to be assured the plant that produced plutonium for its test bomb remains disabled.
The moves were a strong indication that Pyongyang was making good on its pledge to return to a deal with the United States, Russia, China, South Korea and Japan meant to strip it of its weapons-enabling nuclear program.
Pyongyang announced Sunday it would resume dismantlement in line with the deal offering political and energy rewards in exchange, after the United States removed North Korea from its list of states sponsoring terrorism.
"The agency inspectors were ... informed today that as of 14 October 2008, core discharge activities at the [nuclear] reactor would be resumed," said a restricted IAEA document to the agency's 35 board members obtained by The Associated Press. It said "monitoring and verification arrangements" of the UN nuclear agency would be restarted.
Separately, IAEA spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said its inspectors "will also now be permitted to reapply the containment and surveillance measures at the reprocessing facility."
Up to late last week, the North had threatened to reactivate the plutonium reprocessing plant. It told IAEA inspectors to remove IAEA seals and banned them from monitoring first the plant and then all the facilities at the complex. It also stopped deactivating the Yongbyon reactor.
The North rescinded inspection rights Thursday, but the three-member IAEA team had been allowed to stay.
The still photos and video frame grabs were released Saturday, accompanying a report by North Korean television that Kim visited a military unit. They were the first photos of Kim published since Aug. 14; and in both sets of pictures he wears his trademark dark sunglasses and a khaki jumpsuit. "They didn't appear to have been taken recently," said Kim Yong-hyun, a North Korea expert at Dongguk University in Seoul.
(Source: Newsday)
Showing posts with label North Korea. Show all posts
Showing posts with label North Korea. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
U.S. envoy looks to save nuclear deal in North Korea
A senior U.S. envoy traveled to North Korea on Wednesday with a possible compromise to rescue a faltering nuclear disarmament deal and also prevent Pyongyang from rebuilding a plant that made weapons-grade plutonium.
Over the past several weeks, North Korea has begun to revive a Soviet-era nuclear reactor that is capable of producing plutonium and expelled U.N. nuclear monitors.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill drove from Seoul to the heavily armed border, a U.S. official said. He arrived by car in Pyongyang in the afternoon, the North's KCNA news agency said.
A senior U.S. official has described Hill's visit as a "last-ditch effort to get things on track".
Yonhap news agency cited a South Korean government source familiar with the talks as saying: "The U.S. has come up with a revised draft verification protocol. Hill will try to reach a compromise on it."
Analysts have said the North might be trying to pressure the outgoing Bush administration as it looks for diplomatic successes to bolster its legacy. The North might also be thinking it can seek a better deal under a new U.S. president.
"What they have been doing, obviously, goes against the spirit of what we have been trying to accomplish," Hill said on Tuesday. He did not say when he planned to return.
MINOR ACTIVITY AT TEST SITE
Minor activity has been spotted at the site of the North's 2006 nuclear test, on the east coast and away from Yongbyon, indicating it may be working to restore the test site, Yonhap news agency quoted a separate government source as saying.
Smoke was seen rising from the site, probably from workers burning clothing and equipment, the source was quoted as saying, but there was no indication that heavy equipment was being moved. The South's spy agency could not confirm the report.
North and South Korea on Thursday will hold their first direct talks since a new president took office in Seoul and angered Pyongyang by pledging to take a hard line toward his neighbor, which may indicate an easing of tensions along the Cold War's last frontier.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said last week North Korea had expelled monitors from the plutonium producing part of the Yongbyon plant and planned to start reactivating the reactor in a week's time. Monitors remained in other areas of the complex, it said.
North Korea started to disable Yongbyon last November as part of the deal it reached with China, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United States.
Experts have said most of the disablement steps, which would take about a year to reverse, have been completed and North Korea cannot easily get back into the plutonium producing business.
The North has balked at U.S. verification demands, fearing them to be too intrusive. Washington countered by saying it would only remove Pyongyang from its list of "state sponsors of terrorism" once the North agreed to a "robust" verification mechanism.
North Korea's official media on Wednesday blasted the U.S. plans on verification.
"The U.S. call for unilateral inspection of the DPRK (North Korea) is a gangster-like assertion intended to disarm the DPRK," the North's KCNA news agency cited one of its diplomats as saying at the United Nations last week.
Once off the list, the reclusive and destitute North would be better able to tap into international finance and trade.
The North is believed to have produced enough plutonium at Yongbyon to make at least six to eight nuclear weapons.
(Source: Reuters)
Over the past several weeks, North Korea has begun to revive a Soviet-era nuclear reactor that is capable of producing plutonium and expelled U.N. nuclear monitors.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill drove from Seoul to the heavily armed border, a U.S. official said. He arrived by car in Pyongyang in the afternoon, the North's KCNA news agency said.
A senior U.S. official has described Hill's visit as a "last-ditch effort to get things on track".
Yonhap news agency cited a South Korean government source familiar with the talks as saying: "The U.S. has come up with a revised draft verification protocol. Hill will try to reach a compromise on it."
Analysts have said the North might be trying to pressure the outgoing Bush administration as it looks for diplomatic successes to bolster its legacy. The North might also be thinking it can seek a better deal under a new U.S. president.
"What they have been doing, obviously, goes against the spirit of what we have been trying to accomplish," Hill said on Tuesday. He did not say when he planned to return.
MINOR ACTIVITY AT TEST SITE
Minor activity has been spotted at the site of the North's 2006 nuclear test, on the east coast and away from Yongbyon, indicating it may be working to restore the test site, Yonhap news agency quoted a separate government source as saying.
Smoke was seen rising from the site, probably from workers burning clothing and equipment, the source was quoted as saying, but there was no indication that heavy equipment was being moved. The South's spy agency could not confirm the report.
North and South Korea on Thursday will hold their first direct talks since a new president took office in Seoul and angered Pyongyang by pledging to take a hard line toward his neighbor, which may indicate an easing of tensions along the Cold War's last frontier.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said last week North Korea had expelled monitors from the plutonium producing part of the Yongbyon plant and planned to start reactivating the reactor in a week's time. Monitors remained in other areas of the complex, it said.
North Korea started to disable Yongbyon last November as part of the deal it reached with China, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United States.
Experts have said most of the disablement steps, which would take about a year to reverse, have been completed and North Korea cannot easily get back into the plutonium producing business.
The North has balked at U.S. verification demands, fearing them to be too intrusive. Washington countered by saying it would only remove Pyongyang from its list of "state sponsors of terrorism" once the North agreed to a "robust" verification mechanism.
North Korea's official media on Wednesday blasted the U.S. plans on verification.
"The U.S. call for unilateral inspection of the DPRK (North Korea) is a gangster-like assertion intended to disarm the DPRK," the North's KCNA news agency cited one of its diplomats as saying at the United Nations last week.
Once off the list, the reclusive and destitute North would be better able to tap into international finance and trade.
The North is believed to have produced enough plutonium at Yongbyon to make at least six to eight nuclear weapons.
(Source: Reuters)
Monday, September 29, 2008
Nuclear developments in North Korea, India and Iran
NORTH KOREA: A top U.S. envoy plans to travel to the secretive communist nation this week, seeking to salvage a faltering accord to end Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programs, sources said. North Korea said last week that it plans to begin reprocessing spent fuel rods into the raw material needed for weapons. Its leaders are furious that President Bush has not removed their country from a U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism. In June, North Korea blew up a nuclear reactor cooling tower to signal its commitment to ending its weapons programs. But it has rejected U.S. proposals for verifying other matters.
INDIA: The U.S. House voted overwhelmingly to allow the U.S. to provide nuclear materials to India. The deal, which faces obstacles in the Senate, would reverse three decades of U.S. policy. India would get atomic fuel in return for allowing international inspections of its civilian reactors. Military reactors would not be examined. Supporters say the deal would bring India's atomic program under closer scrutiny. Critics say it would spark an arms race in South Asia and send the wrong message to countries – such as Iran – that are pursuing atomic programs. India has refused to sign pledges not to pursue nuclear weapons.
IRAN: The U.N. Security Council unanimously reaffirmed previous sanctions on Iran for refusing to halt its uranium enrichment program. The council introduced no new sanctions. Iran said it remained determined to pursue "peaceful uses of nuclear technology."
(Source: Dallas News)
INDIA: The U.S. House voted overwhelmingly to allow the U.S. to provide nuclear materials to India. The deal, which faces obstacles in the Senate, would reverse three decades of U.S. policy. India would get atomic fuel in return for allowing international inspections of its civilian reactors. Military reactors would not be examined. Supporters say the deal would bring India's atomic program under closer scrutiny. Critics say it would spark an arms race in South Asia and send the wrong message to countries – such as Iran – that are pursuing atomic programs. India has refused to sign pledges not to pursue nuclear weapons.
IRAN: The U.N. Security Council unanimously reaffirmed previous sanctions on Iran for refusing to halt its uranium enrichment program. The council introduced no new sanctions. Iran said it remained determined to pursue "peaceful uses of nuclear technology."
(Source: Dallas News)
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
NKorea may hand over nuclear declaration this week: report
North Korea may hand over a declaration of its atomic activities during US nuclear envoy Christopher Hill's trip to Beijing this week or shortly afterwards, a report said Monday.
But it is not clear whether Hill's Pyongyang counterpart, Kim Kye-Gwan, will show up in the Chinese capital to meet him, a South Korean government source told Yonhap news agency.
Hill will be in Beijing from May 27-29 and Moscow from May 29-31.
US State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey has said Hill was open to meeting Kim Kye-Gwan during his trip to China and Russia.
South Korean nuclear envoy Kim Sook may also visit Beijing for talks with his North Korean counterpart, Yonhap said.
Kim Sook is to visit Russia but the schedule for his return has not yet been set, foreign ministry spokesman Moon Tae-Young told reporters. "Nothing has been decided either on whether he will visit Beijing or not."
The North agreed last year in landmark talks to disable nuclear plants at Yongbyon under a deal reached with the United States, China, Japan, Russia and South Korea.
Kim Sook said last week that North Korea plans to blow up the cooling tower at Yongbyon to symbolise its commitment to disarmament soon after it hands over the declaration.
But disputes over its declaration of nuclear activities due last December 31 have delayed the permanent dismantling of the plants and the handover of all nuclear material.
Hopes are growing that the impasse will soon end since the North this month gave the United States 18,000 pages of operating and production records for its Yongbyon reactor and reprocessing plant.
These produced weapons-grade plutonium, including the material that the North used to stage a nuclear test in October 2006.
In return for total denuclearisation, the North would receive energy aid, a lifting of US sanctions, the establishment of diplomatic relations with Washington and a formal peace treaty with the United States.
Washington is expected to start the process of removing the North from its list of terrorism-sponsoring states following the destruction of the cooling tower.
(Source: AFP)
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
US experts discuss nuclear declaration with North Korea
US experts held talks Tuesday with the top North Korean nuclear negotiator over a much awaited nuclear declaration the hardline communist state pledged to provide as part of a six-nation deal, the State Department said.
The multilateral talks have been stalled for months by a dispute over the North's declaration on its nuclear weapons program and proliferation activities, which they promised to provide by the end of 2007 as part of the aid-for-disarmament deal.
"They did, as I understand it, have a chance to meet with Kim Gye Gwan today and they'll be continuing their discussions over the next day or so," State Department spokesman Tom Casey said, referring to the team of US experts.
"Their focus ... is to work on the declaration," he said.
Kim has been leading the North Korean delegation to the six-party talks launched in 2003 among the United States, China, the two Koreas, Japan and Russia aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear weapons drive.
Washington says Pyongyang should not only account for its plutonium program but also clear up suspicions about an alleged uranium enrichment program and suspected proliferation -- claims denied by North Korea.
According to numerous reports, the North in a face-saving gesture will merely "acknowledge" US concerns about the two issues in a confidential document to the United States.
Casey said he hoped the latest meeting with the North Koreans "will make progress toward getting that declaration.
"But I'm really not in a position to try and handicap for you exactly how close or how far away we are at this point," he added. "This really is an issue where it's not done until everything is done."
(Source: AFP)
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Nuclear news 9/01/2008
North Korea still wants nuclear deal: U.S. envoy
Reuters
North Korea is still committed to an international disarmament-for-aid deal, a U.S. nuclear envoy said on Wednesday, urging patience even though the reclusive state missed a deadline to list its nuclear arms program.
Under a deal it reached with regional powers, North Korea was supposed to provide by the end of 2007 an inventory of its fissile material and nuclear weaponry and answer U.S. suspicions it had a secret program to enrich uranium for weapons.
Critics try to sway debate on U.S.-India nuclear deal
Reuters
Critics of the U.S.-India civil nuclear agreement on Wednesday urged two international groups whose approval is vital to the deal to take steps to ensure it does not undermine global nonproliferation efforts.
Nearly 100 nongovernmental organizations and 25 individuals made their case in a letter to the 45 nations of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, which governs international nuclear trade, and to some board members of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog.
Nuclear UK: Cabinet short-circuits obstacles to building 10 nuclear stations
Guardian.co.uk
The cabinet yesterday ended nearly four years of tortuous internal debate and backed plans, due to be unveiled tomorrow, designed to entice the nuclear industry to invest in a new generation of 10 nuclear power stations in Britain.
The new stations are intended to provide Britain with energy security by reducing dependence on imported gas and oil. They are likely to produce 20% or more of UK electricity needs and will replace today's generation of ageing reactors.
Canada: Watchdog urges review of nuclear plant
The Globe and Mail
The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission says that Ontario Power Generation's proposal to build a new nuclear power station at its Darlington site should be subjected to a review by an environmental assessment panel.
The recommendation was made by the safety watchdog yesterday and submitted to Environment Minister John Baird, who must make the final decision on whether to appoint a panel, the strongest action available under federal regulations.
Reuters
North Korea is still committed to an international disarmament-for-aid deal, a U.S. nuclear envoy said on Wednesday, urging patience even though the reclusive state missed a deadline to list its nuclear arms program.
Under a deal it reached with regional powers, North Korea was supposed to provide by the end of 2007 an inventory of its fissile material and nuclear weaponry and answer U.S. suspicions it had a secret program to enrich uranium for weapons.
Critics try to sway debate on U.S.-India nuclear deal
Reuters
Critics of the U.S.-India civil nuclear agreement on Wednesday urged two international groups whose approval is vital to the deal to take steps to ensure it does not undermine global nonproliferation efforts.
Nearly 100 nongovernmental organizations and 25 individuals made their case in a letter to the 45 nations of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, which governs international nuclear trade, and to some board members of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog.
Nuclear UK: Cabinet short-circuits obstacles to building 10 nuclear stations
Guardian.co.uk
The cabinet yesterday ended nearly four years of tortuous internal debate and backed plans, due to be unveiled tomorrow, designed to entice the nuclear industry to invest in a new generation of 10 nuclear power stations in Britain.
The new stations are intended to provide Britain with energy security by reducing dependence on imported gas and oil. They are likely to produce 20% or more of UK electricity needs and will replace today's generation of ageing reactors.
Canada: Watchdog urges review of nuclear plant
The Globe and Mail
The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission says that Ontario Power Generation's proposal to build a new nuclear power station at its Darlington site should be subjected to a review by an environmental assessment panel.
The recommendation was made by the safety watchdog yesterday and submitted to Environment Minister John Baird, who must make the final decision on whether to appoint a panel, the strongest action available under federal regulations.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Nuclear news 27/11/2007
Lithuania still sees new nuclear plant in 2015 -PM
Reuters
Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas believes Lithuania can still build a new nuclear power plant by 2015 but uncertainties over the timetable and capacity remain, he said on Monday.
The project, led by Lithuania and involving Latvia, Estonia and Poland, has already become bogged down by Warsaw's demand for one third of the new plant's output.
"We are keeping to the timetable of 2015 but it is difficult to answer very exactly," Kirkilas said in an interview to Reuters.
British Energy names likely nuclear plant sites
The Financial Times
Plans for a new generation of nuclear power stations will take a significant step forward today when British Energy names four sites in the south of England as the first it wants to link to the national grid.
Sizewell in Suffolk, Dungeness in Kent, Hinkley in Somerset and Bradwell in Essex have been identified as the most likely sites for new nuclear construction.
UN Checks Russian Nuclear Fuel for Iran
AP
Inspectors from the U.N. atomic watchdog agency on Monday began checking uranium fuel that was produced at a Russian facility for Iran's first nuclear power plant, officials said.
The International Atomic Energy Agency's experts will certify and seal fuel intended for the power station Russia is building in the Iranian port of Bushehr, said Sergei Guryanov, a spokesman for the Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrate Plant in Siberia. The plant is Russia's main manufacturer of fuel for nuclear power plants.
Five-nation nuclear inspection team in NKorea: officials
AFP
Officials from the five nations trying to end North Korea's nuclear ambitions arrived in Pyongyang on Tuesday to observe the disablement of the isolated state's main atomic facility, officials said.
The delegation, including senior US diplomat Sung Kim, will visit the Yongbyon nuclear reactor, which is slowly being disabled in accordance with an agreement struck in February, they said.
Debate about future nuclear energy use must begin - Czech prime minister
Forbes
Nuclear power should be discussed as a future energy use to help maintain economic growth, Czech prime minister Mirek Topolanek said at a nuclear forum, the Czech news agency CTK reported.
It was the second time in a month Topolanek spoke in favour of the power source. However his government, with the involvement of the Green party, pledged earlier this year not to build new nuclear power plants during the current election cycle, ending in 2010, hindering plans of dominant Czech power producer CEZ to expand its nuclear power capacity.
Reuters
Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas believes Lithuania can still build a new nuclear power plant by 2015 but uncertainties over the timetable and capacity remain, he said on Monday.
The project, led by Lithuania and involving Latvia, Estonia and Poland, has already become bogged down by Warsaw's demand for one third of the new plant's output.
"We are keeping to the timetable of 2015 but it is difficult to answer very exactly," Kirkilas said in an interview to Reuters.
British Energy names likely nuclear plant sites
The Financial Times
Plans for a new generation of nuclear power stations will take a significant step forward today when British Energy names four sites in the south of England as the first it wants to link to the national grid.
Sizewell in Suffolk, Dungeness in Kent, Hinkley in Somerset and Bradwell in Essex have been identified as the most likely sites for new nuclear construction.
UN Checks Russian Nuclear Fuel for Iran
AP
Inspectors from the U.N. atomic watchdog agency on Monday began checking uranium fuel that was produced at a Russian facility for Iran's first nuclear power plant, officials said.
The International Atomic Energy Agency's experts will certify and seal fuel intended for the power station Russia is building in the Iranian port of Bushehr, said Sergei Guryanov, a spokesman for the Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrate Plant in Siberia. The plant is Russia's main manufacturer of fuel for nuclear power plants.
Five-nation nuclear inspection team in NKorea: officials
AFP
Officials from the five nations trying to end North Korea's nuclear ambitions arrived in Pyongyang on Tuesday to observe the disablement of the isolated state's main atomic facility, officials said.
The delegation, including senior US diplomat Sung Kim, will visit the Yongbyon nuclear reactor, which is slowly being disabled in accordance with an agreement struck in February, they said.
Debate about future nuclear energy use must begin - Czech prime minister
Forbes
Nuclear power should be discussed as a future energy use to help maintain economic growth, Czech prime minister Mirek Topolanek said at a nuclear forum, the Czech news agency CTK reported.
It was the second time in a month Topolanek spoke in favour of the power source. However his government, with the involvement of the Green party, pledged earlier this year not to build new nuclear power plants during the current election cycle, ending in 2010, hindering plans of dominant Czech power producer CEZ to expand its nuclear power capacity.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Nuclear news 26/11/2007
China, France sign 8b-euro nuclear energy deal 
Santa Fe Reporter
CHINADaily
China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group (CGNPG) and Areva of France signed an eight-billion-euro (US$11.86 billion) civil nuclear energy cooperation deal on Monday, according to which the French company will help build two reactors in Taishan City in the southern Guangdong Province.
China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group (CGNPG) and Areva of France signed an eight-billion-euro (US$11.86 billion) civil nuclear energy cooperation deal on Monday, according to which the French company will help build two reactors in Taishan City in the southern Guangdong Province.
AFP
North Korea will come clean on all its nuclear programmes, a pro-Pyongyang newspaper said Monday, as experts from five nations prepared to check progress on disabling its plutonium-producing atomic plants.
The report came as the US embassy said a State Department official had been stationed in the North Korean capital to assist the US-supervised drive to disable the plants by year-end.
The report came as the US embassy said a State Department official had been stationed in the North Korean capital to assist the US-supervised drive to disable the plants by year-end.
The Times of India
An audit of the nuclear power industry has revealed that the rumours of the so called nuclear power renaissance might just be an exaggeration. The report, led by Mycle Schneider and accredited by The Greens, a European parliamentary group, indicated that a number of ageing reactors are due to close before 2030, and that 338 new ones would have to be built just to replace them.
Chomsky critical of Indo-US nuclear treaty
Chomsky critical of Indo-US nuclear treaty
Daily Times, Pakistan
Noted intellectual Noam Chomsky has said that the Bush administration is trying very hard to push through an agreement that not only authorises India’s illegal acquisition of nuclear weapons, but also assists it.In an interview given to political website Information Clearing House, Chomsky said, “That’s what the US-Indo Nuclear Pact is about. And, furthermore, there happens to be an obligation of the states in the Security Council and elsewhere to move towards establishing a nuclear weapons-free zone in the region. Now that would include Iran and Israel and any US forces deployed there.”
Nuke to the Future
Nuke to the Future
Santa Fe ReporterThe portable nuclear reactor is the size of a hot tub. It's shaped like a sake cup, filled with a uranium hydride core and surrounded by a hydrogen
Invented by scientist Otis Peterson, Hyperion's patent for a hydride reactor is still pending. atmosphere. Encase it in concrete, truck it to a site, bury it underground, hook it up to a steam turbine and, voila, one would generate enough electricity to power a 25,000-home community for at least five years.
Invented by scientist Otis Peterson, Hyperion's patent for a hydride reactor is still pending. atmosphere. Encase it in concrete, truck it to a site, bury it underground, hook it up to a steam turbine and, voila, one would generate enough electricity to power a 25,000-home community for at least five years.
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