[Editorial] Long Way to Go for Pyongyang

North Korea handed over its declaration of nuclear programs. However, the document did not state how many nuclear weapons it had. Nevertheless, the U.S. administration told the Congress that it would remove North Korea from the list of state sponsors of terrorism, and excluded North Korea from the list of nations subject to the Trading with the Enemy Act. Today, North Korea will blow up its cooling tower attached to its nuclear reactor in Yongbyon. A series of the current developments can be understood as efforts to break the nuclear deadlock under the principle of “action for action.” However, it is still unclear whether the communist state will scrap its nuclear programs, achieving the ultimate goal of the six-party talks. The international society should not overlook the gist of recent nuclear issues, while merely focusing on North Korea’s explosion of cooling tower.

Given a series of North Korea’s failure to fulfill its promise in the past, concerns remain high. North Korea violated its agreement with the United States reached in Geneva and kept developing nuclear programs, inviting the second nuclear crisis. It even conducted a nuclear test in October 2006, as if it did not care about the six-party talks. Also, its nuclear declaration of yesterday is more than six months overdue.

North Korea reported that it has produced only 30 kilograms of plutonium, half of the U.S. estimation of up to 60 kilograms. The international society has yet to verify whether North Korea’s declaration is true or not. It is premature to determine that the communist state’s nuclear declaration will help deal with the entire nuclear issue. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice confirmed that Washington would thoroughly verify whether the communist state’s declaration is appropriate before removing Pyongyang from the list of states sponsoring terrorism. She said, “If that cooperation is insufficient, we will respond accordingly.” She certainly made the statement in order to draw support from hawkish U.S. lawmakers. However, I want to have firm trust in her. If North Korea turns out to have made an incorrect declaration, the U.S. government should come up with strict countermeasures.

Former special envoy to North Korea Charles Pritchard said, “North Korea plans to disintegrate its nuclear facilities in Yongbyon in exchange for the light water reactor during the third stage of nuclear disarmament.” I feel particularly uncomfortable since North Korea’s omission of its nuclear weapons in its nuclear declaration seems to be related with this comment.

The ultimate goal of six-party talks is to dismantle North Korea’s nuclear programs. It is not right to be blinded by North Korea’s maneuvers and lower the guard even before its denuclearization effort is visible. North Korea’s disarmament of nuclear reactor, which has already been disabled, and the nuclear declaration without details on nuclear weapons just make us realize that we have a long way to go.