North Korea's Nuclear News

In October 2007, Chinese officials announced that North Korea had agreed to detail all of its nuclear programs and to disable its main nuclear facilities at Yongbyon by the end of the year, with oversight from a U.S.-led team.

The agreement partially fulfilled a broad deal struck earlier in the year, between North Korea, the United States, and the four other countries in the continuing six-party talks: China, Japan, Russia, and South Korea. In exchange for its nuclear stand-down, North Korea stands to receive a million tons of heavy fuel oil, plus a promise from Washington to "begin the process" of delisting it as a state sponsor of terrorism.

North Korea has long insisted on its removal from the "terrorism list" as a condition for moving forward. But Washington has been hesitant, and agreed to fulfill its commitments only in parallel with North Korea's actions. Why? Well, this isn't the first time the two sides have reached a deal. To put the latest breakthrough in context, let's review North Korea's nuclear timeline.

1985 – North Korea signs the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT). The communist country had begun developing nuclear technology in the 1960s, with help from the Soviet Union.

1989 – Satellite photos show new construction at a nuclear facility in Yongbyon, about 60 miles (100 km) north of Pyongyang, North Korea's capital.

1992 – North Korea allows the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to visit the Yongbyon complex, but blocks inspectors from certain areas. The IAEA says North Korea is likely hiding plutonium production.

1993 – North Korea threatens to withdraw from the NPT. The IAEA says it can't guarantee that North Korea isn't producing nuclear weapons.

1994 – North Korea's dictator, Kim Il Sung, dies. Power passes to his son, Kim Jong Il, and the United States and North Korea hammer out an "Agreed Framework." North Korea agrees to stop producing plutonium in exchange for oil, economic assistance, and the construction of two light-water nuclear power plants.

1998 – North Korea tests a Taepodong-1 missile by launching it over the Sea of Japan. The test shocks and angers the United States and its allies, especially Japan.

1999 – U.S. president Bill Clinton eases decades-old economic sanctions against North Korea after Pyongyang pledges a moratorium on long-range missile tests. Relations between North and South Korea begin to improve under South Korea's new "Sunshine Policy."

2000 – President Clinton tells Congress that North Korea may be "seeking to develop or acquire the capability to enrich uranium." Pyongyang publicly threatens to restart its nuclear program, citing delays in delivery of the promised light-water nuclear power plants.

2001 – George W. Bush becomes U.S. president, and Washington moves further away from Pyongyang. North Korea restarts long-range missile tests. Then comes 9/11.

2002 – President Bush describes North Korea as part of an "axis of evil" (along with Iraq and Iran), while the CIA says it's been operating a secret uranium enrichment program, probably since the mid-1990s. Pyongyang admits to the program. It then alternates between defending its "right" to have nukes and offering to end its weapons programs in exchange for aid and a nonaggression pact. South Korea, Japan, and the United States cut off oil shipments.

2003 – North Korea says it will withdraw from the NPT, turns off the monitoring equipment at the Yongbyon facility, and expels IAEA inspectors. Talks on the standoff begin in Beijing. At the table: the United States, China, Japan, Russia, South Korea, and North Korea. The talks lead to more talks.

2004 – Two more rounds of six-nation talks come and go. North Korea says the United States is "not interested in making the dialogue fruitful."

2005 – At a fourth round of six-nation talks, an apparent breakthrough comes. The United States promises not to invade and to respect North Korea's sovereignty. North Korea says it will dismantle its nuclear programs. The next day, Pyongyang recants, saying it won't give up anything until it gets a civilian nuclear reactor.

2006 – Defying warnings from the international community, North Korea conducts a series of missile tests on July 4 and 5, including a test of a long-range Taepodong-2 ballistic missile. Three months later, on October 9, North Korea conducts its first-ever nuclear weapons test.