Angry N. Korea Threatens to Rebuild Nuclear Plants
North Korea, angry that the United States has not removed it from a list of states that sponsor terrorism, said Tuesday it has stopped disabling its nuclear plants and is considering restoring them.
The international community in response has condemned the rogue state, but did not act surprised that the notoriously difficult-to-work-with government had once again broken the agreement.
"The United States will not take North Korea off the state sponsor of terrorism list until we have a protocol in place to verify the dismantling and accounting for Korea's nuclear program," said White House spokesman Tony Fratto, according to Agence France-Presse.
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The State Department called Pyongyang's announcement "a step backward" and a "great concern" as well as "in violation" of the commitments to the six-party framework.
For the past five years, North Korea has been involved in negotiations about dismantling its nuclear program without any real progress. But the six-party talks – involving the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia, and the United States – seemed to have finally made headway this year when North Korea turned over documents about its nuclear program and demolished the cooling tower at Yongbyon nuclear complex.
Pyongyang was set to complete dismantling its Yongbyon nuclear plant by October. In return, Washington said it would lift some U.S. sanctions against the state and remove it from the terrorism blacklist.
But Pyongyang accused the United States of not keeping its end of the bargain of removing its name from the State Sponsors of Terrorism list.
Last week, Washington said it would not remove North Korea from the list until it allows inspectors to verify its declaration.
If removed from the State sponsored terrorist list, North Korea's economy is expected to grow with increased trade and investment.
"None of the six-party talks joint statements, however, commits the US to any deadline for removing North Korea from the list," explained Bruce Klingner, a North Korean expert at the Washington-based Heritage Foundation, according to AFP.
Besides its nuclear problems, North Korea is also notorious for its horrendous human rights record that some have contended is the worst in the world. The North Korean government is known to arrest and torture political dissenters, those that attempt to flee the country as well as Christians.
According to witnesses and human rights reports, the North Korean regime is particularly harsh on Christians because they are considered a serious threat to its power. There are many reports of Christians being publicly executed, tortured or imprisoned indefinitely simply for believing in Jesus Christ. Being a Christian is the worst crime in North Korea.
There is absolutely no religious freedom in the country as all citizens are forced to worship current leader Kim Jong-il and his deceased father, Kim Il-sung.
Around 200,000 Christians are believed to currently be in prison labor camps for their faith. Earlier this year, North Korea was listed for the sixth straight year as the No. 1 worst Christian persecutor by watchdog group Open Doors.
North Korea's latest nuclear announcement this week is considered to confirm the belief of some experts that the regime had no real intention to end its nuclear ambition. Instead, the recent dismantling progress was only a ploy to gain aid and other advantages.
