North Emphasizing Its Nuke Capability

North Korea is repeatedly arguing for the “removal of American nuclear weapons deployed in South Korea” through major Russian news agencies, while the participants make slow progress in their efforts to resume the six-party talks concerning North Korea’s nuclear program. Both South Korea and the U.S. denied the allegation, saying, “There are no nuclear weapons deployed in South Korea.”

The logic behind North Korea’s allegation is that it will not abandon its nuclear capabilities as long as nuclear threats from the U.S. remain. Under such circumstances, it is far from likely that the six-party negotiations will resume within this year.

“The U.S., too, should withdraw its nuclear weapons” –

On December 7, ITAR-TASS of Russia quoted news sources in North Korea and reported, “It is beyond doubt that U.S. nuclear weapons are deployed in the southern part of South Korea. North Korea is left with no other option than ‘developing its nuclear capabilities to defend itself.’”

“North Korea would not agree to surrender its right to nuclear possession in order to protect itself and resist outside pressure unless nuclear threats from the U.S. are removed and appropriate security guarantees are ensured,” continued the Russian news agency quoting the North Korean news sources.

On December 6, Interfax, another Russian news agency, quoted a North Korean diplomat as saying, “We will demand that the U.S. moves its nuclear weapons out of the Korean peninsula and neighboring countries in exchange for our nuclear disarmament.”

The U.S. flatly turned down the demand by saying, “The allegation has persistently appeared for some time and does not make sense.”

On December 7, Sean McCormack, a State Department spokesperson, stated, “Since 1989, the U.S. has given several assurances that USFK has no nuclear weapons on the Korean peninsula. And the assurances are still valid.”

On December 8, during his official visit to New Zealand, President Roh Moo-hyun joined the U.S., saying, “There are no American nuclear weapons in Korea. It is widely known that the inclusion of Korea into the U.S. nuclear umbrella does not refer to the presence of nuclear weapons on the Korean peninsula.” The president had made himself a target for criticism the day before by saying, “If North Korea does have nuclear weapons, it might be capable enough of delivering a fatal blow against Korea. But it wouldn’t be powerful enough to defeat South Korea.”

Back in the late 1950s, USFK came to possess nuclear weapons for the first time. It is well known, however, that after then President Roh Tae-woo’s declaration for denuclearization in 1991, all the nuclear weapons were shipped out of the peninsula.

Pyongyang’s Intentions –

The prevailing observation concerning North Korea’s latest attitude is that the regime points its finger at “U.S. nuclear weapons in Korea” with the upcoming round of the six-party talks in mind. On November 29, the U.S. offered a “nuclear dismantlement first” proposal at the Beijing meeting between chief six-party talks negotiators of Pyongyang and Washington. For over a week, North Korea did not issue an official response to the offer.

Observers interpret that Pyongyang wants the U.S. to know that it is dealing with another “nuclear state.” According to this interpretation, North Korea intends to solidify its position at the bargaining table by hinting at its plan to treat nuclear disarmament as the main subject in the six-party talks, while the U.S. calls for an early denuclearization.

According to others, the situation means that North Korea is reluctant to accept the U.S. offer, which places nuclear disarmament before any discussions over economic assistance, security guarantees and a peace regime. They say that North Korea is trying to lower the level of “initial measures” for denuclearization, a key condition that will emerge in the six-nation talks, while remaining as reluctant as possible.

If Pyongyang continues its efforts to turn the six-party negotiations into disarmament talks stressing its nuclear status, the participants will need more time for pre-talks coordination. Korea, the U.S. and Japan all have stressed several times that they do not recognize North Korea as a nuclear state.

As the U.S. says its domestic circumstances do not allow it to join the six-party talks in early January, the next round of the talks is expected in mid-January of next year at the earliest.