Inspections of North Korean Nuclear Facilities To Begin Next Week

SYDNEY, Australia, Sept. 7, 2007 — -- International nuclear experts will begin on-site inspections of North Korean nuclear facilities next week to develop a way to disable all of Pyongyang's nuclear sites by the end of the year, the Bush administration said today.

The announcement came just as South Korean President Moo Hyun Roh and President Bush, meeting at the Asia-Pacific summit in Australia, publicly clashed over why the United States has never formally declared an end to the Korean War.

Officials said that the nuclear experts will come from three nations in the six-party talks to disarm North Korea: the United States, China and Russia.

This would mark the first time that multilateral experts would inspect the facilities. The inspections follow an agreement in June in which North Korea committed to end its nuclear weapons program in a trade for fuel and other foreign aid.

Christopher Hill, the U.S. envoy handling the talks with Pyongyang, called the agreement "another significant step toward the goal of de-nuclearization" of the Korean peninsula.

The experts arrive Tuesday, but Bush administration officials said the day was not chosen for any symbolic link to the Sept. 11 terror attacks. The experts leave Sept. 15.

North Korea initiated the offer, said Hill, also the assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs. Hill is accompanying Bush at the 21-nation Asian economic summit.

Hill made the surprise announcement at the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation conference in Sydney after final consultations with all six nations.

Inspectors will arrive in Pyongyang to survey sites that North Korea has agreed to disable, beginning with the Yongbyon site, which contains a fuel fabrication facility, a 5-megawatt reactor and a reprocessing facility.

The experts will examine the sites for ways to disable them by Dec. 31, 2007. The U.S. delegation will include officials from the National Security Council and the Energy and State departments.

Hill was careful in his phrasing, using the term "experts" rather than "inspectors" to abide by North Korean objections to the stronger term.

The parties also agreed to use the term "disable" rather than "dismantle," apparently leaving open the question of just how far North Korea will be required to go in shutting down the sites and how quickly the government of Kim Jong Il would be able to restart them.

Among the options, Hill said, were drilling holes in the sides of the reactor and filling them with cement.

"Our hope is that they can agree on some disabling measures … that make it very difficult to bring a facility back online," Hill told reporters. "The idea of disabling is to make it difficult to bring things back online."

The announcement followed an awkward, but polite exchange in which Bush and South Korea's President Moo Hyun Roh seemed to clash over the timing of a U.S. declaration formally ending the Korean War.

It began as a photo opportunity, with the two presidents complimenting one another and declaring progress in the six-party talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear program. Then, things heated up.

Roh agreed to carry a message in a forthcoming summit to North Korean leader Kim Jong Il urging him to comply with international agreements.

The exchange heated up as Roh asked the president to clarify his stance.

"I think I might be wrong," Roh said, through a translator. "I think I did not hear President Bush mention a declaration to end the Korean War, as of just now. Did you say so, President Bush?"

Bush replied, "I said it's up to Kim Jong Il as to whether we can sign a peace treaty to end the Korean War. We've got to get rid of his weapons … and we're making progress toward that goal. It's up to him."

Roh laughed politely and gave a broad smile before saying, "I believe that they are the same thing, Mr. President. If you could be a little clearer in your message."

Bush gave an awkward chuckle, glanced at Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and, with a shake of the head, responded, "I can't make it anymore clear, Mr. President. … That will happen when Kim Jong Il verifiably gets rid of his weapons programs and his weapons."

Afterward, White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe downplayed the apparent clash. "There was clearly something lost in translation during the photo op. President Bush considered it a good meeting and both the U.S. and Roh are on the same page with regards to the need for North Korea to comply with its obligations under the six-party talk agreements. Once it complies, we'll be able to move to a full peace agreement as spelled out through the six-party talks."