The U.S. Regrets North Korea's Decision to Reactivate Nuclear Power Plant

The United States has expressed regret over North Korea's decision to reactivate a controversial nuclear power plant. U.S. President George W. Bush and South Korean President Kim Dae-jung stated in a phone call that they would not allow matters regarding North Korea to continue as usual. President Bush urged the South Korean president to make public his concerns about North Korea's nuclear program. This conversation followed North Korea's request for the International Atomic Energy Agency to stop monitoring its nuclear facilities. North Korea claims it needs to restart one of its nuclear power plants, previously suspected of being used for weapons production, for electricity generation. The U.S. stated it regrets North Korea's decision to reactivate its nuclear power plant, which was apparently once used for producing nuclear weapons. The White House remarked that North Korea's announcement contradicts global public opinion, which firmly calls for the abandonment of North Korea's nuclear weapons program. On the other hand, North Korea argues that following the U.S. and others' decision last month to halt fuel shipments to North Korea, it has no choice but to secure its energy needs through nuclear power plants. The U.S. and several of its allies had committed under the 1994 agreement with North Korea to supply oil in exchange for halting North Korea's nuclear weapons program. Officials say the reason for the cessation of fuel shipments to North Korea is that they have discovered North Korea has secretly continued enriching uranium in violation of its commitments. Enriched uranium is a key material for producing atomic bombs. Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld stated that President Bush has consulted with South Korea, Russia, and China regarding the issue of North Korea's nuclear power plant reactivation.