As April 14, the date before which North Korea has to begin the process of shutting down the Yongbyon nuclear plant as per the February 13 Beijing Agreement, draws near newer anxieties are aired by some close observers of the issue. The capping has to be carried out under the inspection of UN officials. Some experts raise questions about the nuclear bombs which North Korea is believed to be in possession already.
Remarkably, South Korea had expressed marked optimism after the signing of the February 13 agreement.
North Korea successfully detonated a nuclear weapon on 9th October 2006 in its under-ground test facility in the northeastern Hamgyong province. It had pledged in advance on 4th October that it will conduct nuclear test, citing American belligerence and pressure as causes. It is believed that it has about six nuclear bombs.
While countries like the USA and China appear to be more concerned of stopping Pyongyang from future tests and stock-piling more nuclear weapons, some other countries, notably South Korea, find it difficult to forget the October nuclear test.
It is apparent, from the way the February agreement was hailed as a landmark success by America, that America and China are more mature in their approach and want to concentrate on a nuclear-free future in the Korean Peninsula. The weapons that already exist can be brought under scrutiny and control at a later stage when a peaceful situation between the two Koreas and the other nations in the region is achieved.
Some others, especially in South Korea, are worried of the existing bombs in North Korea’s tiny nuclear arsenal. They think the six nations that are party to the agreement ignore this reality.
Experts like Nam Sung-wook, a North Korea specialist at Korea University, say that the five countries, to the exclusion of South Korea, will not make an issue of the nuclear weapons North Korea already has for a while. He said they have ‘put the most important but difficult matter on the back burner.’ People like him say that the goal was to persuade the North to scrap all nuclear materials including nuclear weapons.
The five countries have accepted North Korea’s position as a nuclear power, in line with Pakistan, that the nuclear weapons are not at issue in the six-party talks, some analysts say.
Clearly, the job of denuclearizing of the Korean Peninsula is going to be a tough and long process. The line of approach adopted by the USA and China obliquely point to the reality that expectations about immediate results and failure to look far into the future need not be allowed to put the long-term goals at peril.
