Halting North Korea's Nuclear Programme

Abstract

On 13 February 2007 the Six-Party Talks produced an important agreement under which, in the first phase, the Yongbyon reactor would be shut down in return for fuel aid. The agreement was intended to pave the way towards implementation of the Joint Statement of 19 September 2005, in which the parties pledged to strive towards ‘verifiable denuclearisation’ of North Korea, normalisation of relations between North Korea and the US and Japan, and a wider Northeast Asian peace, in return for the provision of energy assistance and, eventually, light water reactors to North Korea. Midway through the first phase of the implementation, the parties seemed committed to completing the steps required of them, even though the way ahead was likely to be difficult.