North Korea’s Nuclear Issue: Beyond the February 13 Agreement

Abstract

The six-party nuclear talks which began in August 2003 have produced the September 19, 2005 and the February 13, 2007 agreements for denuclearizing the Korean peninsula. This article analyzes and evaluates the two agreements and proposes a three-phase roadmap for the Korean peninsula denuclearization. Although the 9.19 agreement included only general terms of principles for designing a detailed roadmap for denuclearizing the Korean peninsula, it marked the first specific agreement among the six parties. The Feb. 13 initial actions agreement was a first step toward implementing the 9.19 agreement in a phased manner in line with the principle of ‘action for action.’ The nuclear deal was made possible primarily because President Bush was willing to take a new flexible approach to reach a deal with North Korea. Based on initial actions, disablement, and dismantlement phases in the Korean peninsula nuclear disarmament process, the author proposes a three-phase roadmap for denuclearizing the Korean peninsula. North Korea’s nuclear issue--a serious international issue as the most important obstacle to the Korean peace process--needs to be resolved peacefully through the six-party process. While the six-party process is the best means to resolve North Korea’s nuclear issue, US-North Korea bilateral talks are necessary and essential for a peaceful resolution of North Korea’s nuclear issue. There are a number of difficult key issues yet to be resolved at the six-party talks. Both US and North Korea’s hard-line policies cannot resolve these issues peacefully and therefore, both sides need to be flexible about their respective positions with political will to make a compromise in order to eventually achieve the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.