Posted on 12/23/2002 8:05:48 AM PST by AmericanInTokyo
North Korea Breaks Seals on 8,000 Spent Nuclear Fuel Rods
DECEMBER 23, 2002 22:32 (Dong-a Ilbo News, Seoul, S.Korea)
North Korea has removed the seals and surveillance cameras installed to monitor the storage facilities containing 8,000 spent nuclear fuel rods that had been closely watched by the IAEA. A couple of days ago, the North also eliminated all IAEA`s inspection devices set up at the nuclear reactor in Yongbyon.
What makes the latest move of North more serious is the fact that the fuel rods have nothing do to with generation of electricity and can produce plutonium, which in turn can produce nuclear weapons. Therefore, the situation is spinning more and more out of control.
So far, it is believed, North Korea has dismantled surveillance devices at two of its 5 nuclear facilities whose operation had been frozen under the 1994 arms control accord in Geneva. The five facilities are the 5MW nuclear reactor in Yongbyon, the storage facility containing 8,000 spent fuel rods, the 50MW nuclear reactor whose construction was supposed to be completed sometime between 1995 and 1996, the 200MW reactor in Taechon, Pyongbook, and the radiochemical laboratory in Yongbyon
The IAEA announced on Sunday, "North Korea has taken additional actions to hinder the operation of the inspection devices on the storage facility of the nuclear wastes containing the 8,000 spent nuclear fuel rods. The storage facility is the number one target of our inspection activities."
IAEA`s Secretary General, Mohammed Elbaradei criticized, "The rods contain a considerable amount of plutonium. Therefore, it is a matter of grave concern in connection with the nonproliferation. The action North Korea took this time poses a profound hindrance to IAEA`s inspection activities to prevent the conversion of the nuclear material extracted from the spent fuel rods into production of nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosives."
Experts believe that the 8,000 fuel rods could produce 25kg of plutonium #239, which in turn could suffice to produce at lease three nuclear warheads, reported the AFP.
The facility whose seals were broken this time is in vicinity of the 5MW nuclear reactor in Yongbyon. The IAEA had double-sealed the spent fuel rods in stainless containers, and stored them in water tanks with surveillance cameras rolling over them.
One senior South Korean official said, "The IAEA bound 400 stainless containers and hang them on ropes connected above water in such a way that, if a person other than an inspector tried to temper with them, the trace must be left behind. It were these seals that North broke this time. The fuel rods, however, are still in the water tank."
North Korea`s state-run Central Agency reported on December 22 that North Korean regime started removing IAEA`s seals and surveillance cameras that had been set up under the Geneva accord. The agency announced that this action was caused by the United States` discontinuance of the fuel oil shipment.
At first, North Korea, through its Foreign Ministry spokesperson, announced that it would reactivate its nuclear program. Then, on December 21, it removed the seals and cameras on the 5MW reactor in Yongbyon.
Yesterday, South Korean government, through the comments of the Foreign Ministry, demanded, "The additional action on the part of North Korea may increase tension over the Korean Peninsula, and will amplify the concern of the international community over the nonproliferation issue."
The New York Times, citing a senior Bush administration official, reported yesterday that the United States government might consider "non-diplomatic" reactions if North got closer and closer to production of a nuclear weapon.
US State Department spokesperson also warned on Sunday that this action had caused a more serious consequence.
In the meanwhile, the Japanese government defined the removal of the seals as a violation of the 1994 accord, and protested against North Korea`s action via its embassy in Beijing.
Sounds like someone just took the seals off a bunch of our tactical nukes then."
BINGO! Even better than the multiple front, we have the capability to fight a war on ONE front, our borders! We have the ability to take on every other country on the planet at once, if we have to. That capability is labeled tactical nukes, and the first use will put the planet on notice we're through pussy-footing around like Clinton did for eight years.
One or two sub-based, cruise missile tactical nuke shots to Iraq and NK would send a message that the adults are back in charge at the White House and Pentagon, we haven't forgotten 9/11, or how evil the Axis-of-Evil is, or in the case of the nuke strikes, was.
We don't have to invade NK to disable it.
Hit the nuke sites, launch facilities, armor and C&C with air raids.
And propaganda the people with food.
their fighter his our airplane. you've really got to quit watching cnn.
Uh, did I miss the memo? What "world empire" are we trying to build?
"By his lieing tonge, he will decieve many."
"The man of desolation, the man of sin..."
"He will magnify himself above all others."
We somehow have got to convince China that N Korea is bad for business and should be eliminated.
This should also be considered 'ground zero' for any plans the Pentagon is deliberating (along with the launch sites immediately for Taepodong and Nodong missiles in HamgyeongBuk Province and HamgyeonNam Province on the north east coast of DPRK.
Some interesting sites about the 1994 standoff...
The fact is that when President Clinton spoke to President Carter on Sunday morning, he thanked him, told him that he thought he had served well in what he had done. President Carter, as I recall, then quoted him -- President Clinton -- over the weekend, and since -- we could go back and look at it -- has been quite positive about what President Carter had done.http://www.fas.org/news/dprk/1994/What he kept saying and what was accurate was that President Carter had created here an opportunity that we were going to explore. I remember saying that myself. And that opportunity has paid off very nicely. So I just plain think it is wrong to say that suddenly he has changed what he has said. He used the past tense today to say he did a good job, rather than "is doing" because now that's true.
On the question of coordination, we have said many times what happened, which is that President Carter said that he had an invitation to go to North Korea. He got in touch first with Vice President Gore and with the President to ask whether we agreed to his going, emphasizing that he was going as a private citizen, as he said in a press release that he put out at the time, representing the Carter Center. We discussed it within the administration. This was while we were in Europe, as I recall -- or was it -- in Oxford -- and got back to President Carter and said, yes, we agreed to his going -- although he didn't need our permission, he was acting as a private citizen -- and agreed that he should be very fully briefed on our policies so that he could accurately convey them to the North Koreans.
Ambassador Gallucci met with him at great length. I met with him while he was here in Washington before he went out. And the rest is recent history.
Yup. Hopefully, Clark is already there.
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