The United States Plans to Apply Economic and Diplomatic Pressure on North Korea - 2002-12-29

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), responsible for overseeing North Korea's nuclear programs on behalf of the United Nations, states that its inspectors will comply with Pyongyang's request and leave the country. The IAEA indicates that inspectors will vacate the Yongbyon facility at the earliest opportunity, heading to Pyongyang, and will depart North Korea on the first flight on Tuesday. South Korea announces plans to send representatives to China and Russia to discuss encouraging North Korea to halt the revival of its nuclear programs. The Bush administration intends to refer the issue of North Korea's nuclear efforts to an emergency United Nations meeting scheduled for early January. U.S. officials state that the United States aims to apply economic and diplomatic pressure on North Korea to compel it to abandon its nuclear program. These officials announced on Saturday that the Bush administration will coordinate its strategy with South Korea, Japan, and the United Nations. James Kelly, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State, will visit the region next month to discuss the ongoing crisis and urge regional countries to adopt a unified stance towards North Korea. North Korea claims that after the U.S. government halted fuel shipments contrary to international agreements, it had no choice but to restart its two nuclear reactors to meet the country's fuel and energy needs. However, Western officials assert that the reason for the cessation of fuel shipments to North Korea is not as North Korea claims.