North Korea's Nuclear Weapons Development and Diplomacy

The six parties to the North Korean nuclear negotiations concluded an agreement on February 13, 2007, that specifies two Phases of implementation. The phases provided for a freeze of North Korean nuclear installations at the Yongbyon site, a subsequent disablement of all North Korean nuclear facilities, and a North Korean declaration of all nuclear programs. The Agreement also establishes working groups of the six parties on subjects such as U.S.-North Korean normalization of relations, denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, energy and economic cooperation, Japan-North Korea normalization of relations, and a North Korean peace and security mechanism. The Six Party Agreement was negotiated following a North Korean nuclear test in October 2006, the imposition of sanctions against North Korea by the United Nations Security Council, and mounting congressional criticism of Administration policy. The Agreement also came about because of changes in Bush Administration policy. Tactically, the Administration ended its unwillingness to negotiate bilaterally with North Korea and actively sought bilateral meetings. The implementation of the Initial Phase of the Agreement, which had a 60-day deadline, has been delayed because of North Korean demands for access to foreign banks to deposit $25 million from frozen accounts at the Banco Delta in Macau -- the object of U.S. financial sanctions since September 2005 because of Banco Delta's involvement in North Korean criminal counterfeiting. Implementation of Phase Two, which has no timetable, likely will involve new rounds of negotiations, especially between the Bush Administration and North Korea over issues in contention like the definition of disablement, the U.S. claim that North Korea has a secret highly enriched uranium program, verification of any disablement or declaration of nuclear programs, and issues unresolved in the working groups. This report will be updated periodically. CRS Report for Congress.