Seoul: North Korea has put forth a demand for light water reactors in return for dismantling its nuclear facilities. The declassified documents indicated that the US saw North Korea’s latest demand as a solution to Pyongyang’s nuclear issues.
The South Korean government released 30-year-old diplomatic dossiers that provide a glance into the first North Korean nuclear crisis of 1993. The records shed light on the whirlwind tactfulness that took place during that time when North Korea announced its intention to retreat from the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which is a global pact aimed at averting the spread of nuclear weapons.
The North announced in March that it was withdrawing from the pact, citing the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for a special inspection of its nuclear facilities and a joint US-South Korean military drill called Team Spirit.
The threat of the North led to high-level discussions between Washington and Pyongyang later that year. These grueling negotiations in Geneva finally paved the way for the now-defunct milestone Agreed Framework in 1994, aimed at dismantling North Korea’s nuclear agenda.
The first round of high-level conferences in New York was led by Robert Gallucci and Kang Sok-ju. Though they hit a deadlock at first, the working-level talks made headway, adopting a joint declaration on the North’s postponement of its NPT pullout and the US promise to the non-use of military power against the North.
In July, during discussions in Geneva, North Korea proposed that fixing all nuclear issues was possible if the US cooperated with the country’s change from graphite-moderated nuclear reactors to light-water models, according to documents. The proposal was seen as a potential breakthrough by Gallucci and his team.
While talking with South Korean Foreign Minister Han Seung-joo, Gallucci stated that the dialogue with North Korea made ‘small but important progress.’ He also indicated that the issue of light water reactors could be a ‘significant opening’ for both Seoul and Washington. However, South Korea stayed doubtful about North Korea’s intentions.
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