UNCLASSIFIED i I i amen - I oacmm RELEASED IN The North Korean nuclear program undermines regional i stability and raises serious questions about its intentions We are disturbed by North Korea's refusal to fulfill its safeguards obligations under the NPT five years after NPT accession or to even acknowledge any of its indigenous nuclear program -- There is clear evidence that since 1987 the DPRK has been operating at the Yongbyon Nuclear Research Center i an indigenously built nuclear reactor well suited to the production of plutonium - i We note with concern the construction of an indigenous probable reprocessing plant which appears unrelated to i civilian needs and poses the threat of contribution to a i nuclear weapons capability We do not believe that North Korea would be able to develop i a nuclear weapon until mid-decade but we must deal with this potential development as early as possible A broadly based concerted international consensus expressed to North Korea offers the best hope of i bringing about North Korean compliance with its NPT safeguards obligations which were freely entered into i I if raised Ne oppose any linkage between 0 5 security arrangements in South Korea and North Korean implementation of its NPT obligations North Korea's obligation to conclude an IAEA safeguards agreement derives directly from its NPT adherence and cannot be I made conditional on other factors or demands There is broad support for this view Moreover there is a need to eliminate the possibility of reprocessing or the potential of separated plutonium on the peninsula a goal the U S has consistently pursued for over 15 years We urge your government to continue to raise these issues directly with the DPRK in your contacts urging prompt compliance without conditions to the IAEA safeguards agreement and avoidance of destabilizing activities like reprocessing We further urge you to join with others in urging the DPRK on the safeguards issue in appropriate multilateral venues such as the IAEA Board of Governors Meeting UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE REVIEW AUTHORITY THEODORE SELLIN ID 17 MAY 2002 200100469 - E5 SIFIED n u- mun w a Drafted by 5 30 91 Cleared by UNCLASSIFIED aim-n - ABurkart 647 3310 HLevin - SAoki NHastings CKartman - MFoulon C - SCeja - KJohnson JPCoth - WStern JHughes CStoiber KChern JKeith PM WRope - DFite UNCLASSIFIED on This document is from the holdings of The National Security Archive Suite 701 Gelman Library The George Washington University 2130 H Street NW Washington D C 20037 Phone 202 994-7000 Fax 202 994-7005 nsarchiv@gwu edu