Seoul, Washington negotiating nuclear accord

There are increasing reports that at next month's US-South Korean summit the conservative government of Park Geun-Hye will demand permission to enrich uranium, or perhaps even for nuclear weapons.


If South Korea takes such a step it would appear to signal recognition that North Korea will never give up their small nuclear arsenal.

But many South Koreans believe that increasing nuclear proliferation won't boost their security or help achieve the reunification that the South overwhelmingly supports.

There is increasing recognition that the West's continued hardline stance has lost them the chance to disarm North Korea. In 2007 Pyongyang took major steps to end its nuclear program, but international acceptance was never given in return.

North Korea has been shut out of the global economy, repeatedly sanctioned by the UN and may now feel that their only political leverage is their atomic bombs.

Solidarity for Peace & Reunification of Korea - The North has stated constantly that it will give up its nuclear weapons if only the US would withdraw its hostile policies. However, these days, it seems that the North has changed their stance. The North Korean possession of nuclear weapons is the result of hostile American policies and the stationing of the US Army in South Korea.

Analysts note that South Korea has signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and that if they did acquire nuclear weapons they could be subject to international sanctions.

Many believe that if the US gives Seoul nuclear bombs, they'll have to give them to Tokyo as well. But such a decision would certainly cause continued outcry against the spreading militarism which many feel has been created, and perhaps intentionally provoked, by the Obama administration's so-called "pivot to Asia".

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I do not think China will allow this , they are not happy with Un having them, right now it is still up in the air as to if they will really seek this option as far as I have been to find out this is just a thought by one man in the ROK, that's South Korea leader ship. I will see if i can find the news lead yea here it is

2013/04/18 14:57 KST
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S. Korea, U.S. extend talks on nuclear accord for one day: official
SEOUL, April 18 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the United States decided to extend formal negotiations aimed at revising a bilateral civilian nuclear accord for an additional day, a Seoul official said Thursday, after two days of talks failed to narrow differences.

The allies began a new round of talks on Tuesday in Washington to rewrite the 1974 agreement that bans Seoul from reprocessing spent fuel because it could yield plutonium that could be used to build atomic bombs.

the above is from this link english.yonhapnews.co.kr... there are others before that say South Korea would want the Bombs back but that was before the China US SK and Japan talks going on.

here is the link on the China SK and DC talks going on as I type this www.koreaherald.com... form the link

South Korea, China bolster diplomatic efforts on N. Korea
Cautious hopes for turnaround in N.K. stalemate emerge



Published : 2013-04-21 21:08
Updated : 2013-04-21 21:09
Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Jung Seung-jo shakes hands with his U.S. counterpart Martin Dempsey on Sunday. (Yonhap News)
Cautious hopes for a turnaround in the military stalemate with North Korea have emerged as Seoul, Washington and Beijing are ratcheting up diplomatic efforts to calm tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

A turning point could come around Thursday, the founding anniversary of the North’s armed forces, or around the end of this month when South Korea and the U.S. end their annual Foal Eagle field exercise, observers said.

Seoul officials and experts said Pyongyang might consider setting off provocations such as missile launches around these dates. But depending on its political calculations, it could choose not to further escalate tensions here.

The North has indicated its willingness for talks with Beijing over the nuclear standoff, Japan’s Asahi Shimbun reported Saturday. A senior Chinese official such as its top nuclear envoy Wu Dawei could visit the North, the newspaper said.

Before the North conducted a third atomic test on Feb. 12, the Chinese envoy sought to visit Pyongyang, but failed to do so as the North rejected China’s offer of dialogue amid escalating nuclear tensions. Wu Dawei is to visit the U.S. this week.

To step up bilateral cooperation over North Korea issues, Seoul’s Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se is to visit Beijing and Japan this week. During his trip, he is to meet his Chinese and Japanese counterparts Wang Yi and Fumio Kishida.

“(Yun) plans to deliver a message that North Korea should not further escalate tensions by launching another missile,” a government source told media, declining to be named. “He will also discuss bilateral responses when peninsular tensions decrease.”

On Sunday, Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Jung Seung-jo and his U.S. counterpart Martin Dempsey reiterated their firm resolve against North Korea’s additional provocations. Dempsey came here earlier in the day as part of his three-nation tour including visits to China and Japan.

“The two JCS chiefs discussed the continuing North Korean threat in a serious manner. They reaffirmed the alliance has the capability and the will to respond to any kinds of provocative threats by the North,” Seoul’s JCS said in a press release.

Their talks came after they held the Military Committee Meeting last week. They initially planned to hold it in Washington but decided to do it through video teleconferencing to maintain a robust readiness amid North Korean nuclear threats.

The North Korean military continued to maintain the highest level of combat readiness at its strategic missile and artillery units. Bringing its war threat to a new level, Pyongyang issued the order to raise its posture on March 26.

The reclusive state has been seen preparing to launch intermediate-range Musudan missiles from its east coast.

Seoul is also closely watching the possibility of North Korea launching shorter-range missiles such as Scud missiles with ranges of 300-500 kilometers and KN-02 missiles with ranges of 120-160 km.

During a parliamentary session last Thursday, Kim Jang-soo, who heads the presidential office of national security, said the North appeared to have made “considerable preparations” to launch Musudan, Scud and Rodong missiles.

Meanwhile, Burwell Bell, a former commander of the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command, withheld his support for the transfer of wartime operational control, saying that talks over the transfer should be put off amid the North Korean threats.

According to the Washington-funded broadcaster Voice of America, Bell stressed the need to employ an active deterrence strategy to handle the provocative state, saying the deterrence efforts need to be led by Washington.

Since 2006, Bell had been an outspoken supporter of the OPCON transfer.

By Song Sang-ho ([email protected])

to me if we where to back out SK and let it be a ASIA problem, Little Un would go back playing with Tonka toys and not nukes. SK and DPRK could then have talks and the Kaesong would be open. If Un was serous about war we would be in it already unless his opening shots will be nukes then it could be months form now as he builds up his arsenal

It is good to see that there is some considerations of the reality going on. There are also a lot of repercussions and issues to contend with if acceptance of the nuclear issue is achieved.

Japan also having nukes is a very real possibility. I consider that the responsibility of nukes is something that should be earned and not given. This is why I am giving NK its dues despite all the international pressure that has been applied to it. I am not sure about the internal political stability of Japan, but some factional infighting makes the headlines at times as is common with all nations. The fate of the world is very much in the hands of these people who posses this technology, any cracks in their amour should be exposed.

As for Korea and its nuclear problem, I am not sure how the UN START Treaty is going these days, but if it can take the lead it will provide a stronger sense of authority and more common sense approach that can more easily be applied to any part of the world. The issues here are trust and security and better global cohesion is needed.

It is just too hard to say at the moment just how long nukes will be in Korea, maybe a few years, maybe a few generations. There is a reason why nukes are there and until these reasons are addressed they will remain.

FAIL. Misleading thread topic. Just because SK may "demand" to begin nuclear amrs doesnt mean there is any "negotiation" going on.

US wont allow it. It will piss off China, it will seal the deal for dealing with NK once and for all AND SK already has the US nuclear umbrella. Its not needed. Plus it would weaken "negotiations" with Iran.

Wont happen mark my words.

reply to post by princeofpeace


China is a large country with divided opinions about just what should be done, like here on ATS and the rest of the world. As for who or what should have ultimate control with a nuclear armed Korea is very much a problem. What happens here is also going to affect what happen in Iran and many other parts of the world.

The US has tried very hard to stop and prevent NK from getting nukes, the reality of the situation is that the US has failed. The US has in fact contributed to this situation from its own aggressive foreign policy. NK wants democracy, it wants reunification but it also wants security.

For reunification to take place there are a lot of trust issues that do need to be sorted out, the nuclear issue is one of the big ones and will set the stage in many ways.

NK wants democracy? I think NOT! I may start beleiving that when they disassemble the many concentration camps they have and stop sending three generations of the same family to what is ultimately their deaths. Also when they start having some form of elections too. Until then any talk of NK wanting democracy should be taken with a pinch of salt. It's like Hitler saying he would surrender to the Allies in WW2 and allow himself to be tried for war crimes and crimes against humanity and then hung.

reply to post by Wirral Bagpuss


How can NK fix anything as it is ostracized from the international community? It does not have the resources or capability to increase the public standard of living. The only way to improve the quality of lives for these people is to bring down this wall.

There are 10 million people in North Korea, their entire system of organization and structure cannot be pulled down overnight without massive anarchy and chaos. We cannot just bulldoze the country and start again, we do need to work with what is already their and help address their problems one at a time if we are to improve these lives.

There is just much history and baggage in the too hard basket at them moment. Stopping because we have a disagreement is just extending the pain and delaying the operation that needs to be done. If things are too tough just drop it and move else where as it can be always be addressed later when progress is more complete.