Kim Dae-jung: North Korea has ignited the nuclear crisis in the region - 2002-12-26

South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, at the end of his presidency, stated that his country will not tolerate North Korea's efforts to produce nuclear weapons. In a meeting today with the National Security Team, he condemned North Korea's actions to reactivate its nuclear facilities. He accused North Korea of igniting the fire of the nuclear crisis on the Korean Peninsula. The International Atomic Energy Agency reports that Pyongyang has moved hundreds of nuclear fuel rods from their storage area to a facility that has a nuclear reactor. According to a spokesperson for the agency, North Korea could make this reactor operational within two months. In 1994, North Korea agreed to shut down its nuclear facilities in exchange for receiving oil fuel and two nuclear power reactors from a consortium led by the United States, which included South Korea. However, Pyongyang recently announced that after the consortium halted oil shipments, it was forced to reactivate its nuclear facilities for electricity production. The oil shipments were stopped after North Korea admitted to violating the 1994 agreement.