[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 85 (Thursday, June 25, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7166-S7167]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      MISSILE SALES BY NORTH KOREA

  Mr. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I rise to call attention to an article 
which ran on the front page of the Washington Post yesterday morning 
regarding missile sales by North Korea. Although North Korea has denied 
selling missiles in the past, I for one have never taken them at their 
word on this and have long believed that they have been and continue to 
be actively engaged in the weapons trade; without question, the sale of 
weapons to rogue states has been and continues to be a major source of 
revenue for the North Korea government.
  Well, despite their past denials, the Washington Post reports that 
North Korea now admits to selling weapons to countries such as Iran, 
Iraq and Syria, and has actively assisted these countries with their 
own missile development programs.
  Mr. President, this article really comes as no surprise--it simply 
verifies what many of us have suspected all along. But I think we 
should also consider for a moment whether we have, in no small way, 
contributed to North Korea's missile development program.
  I am referring, of course, to the 1994 Agreed Framework, whereby 
North Korea would dismantle its nuclear program in exchange for 
American assistance in building two light-water reactors. Without going 
into the details, Japan and South Korea would contribute several 
billion dollars worth of assistance to the construction of the 
reactors, and the United States would also supply heavy oil to North 
Korea until the reactors were up and running--this would help North 
Korea meet its energy needs pending construction of the facilities.
  Mr. President, the Agreed Framework, no matter how well intentioned, 
puts a gaping hole in the international sanctions which we have levied 
against North Korea. The United Sates has already given close to $200 
million taxpayer dollars, perhaps more, in combined food aid and to 
support the Korean Economic Development Organization (KEDO), which is 
tasked with sending heavy fuel oil to North Korea and carrying out 
other activities under the Agreed Framework. For a country whose 
economy is completely isolated and strapped for cash, this assistance 
frees up sizable amounts of money which North Korea can invest in other 
areas--including their national missile development program.
  So, the North Koreans use the aid which comes from the United States, 
Japan, South Korea and other countries to support other aspects of 
their economy, freeing up resources which can be used to develop 
weapons. These weapons are then sold to our enemies, and pointed at our 
troops, our allies, and even us.
  Mr. President, last year two North Korean defectors indicated in 
testimony before the Senate Government Affairs Committee that the North 
Korean missile development program already poses a verifiable threat to 
American forces in Okinawa and is on track to threaten parts of Alaska 
by the turn of the Century.
  Mr. President, I have no problem with humanitarian aid in itself--
this is not the issue. The issue is whether we have an effective policy 
toward gaining cooperation with North Korea? I would argue, and I think 
the facts back me up, that we do not! Think about it. Every concession 
North Korea has ever granted has been on their terms--not ours, theirs! 
And when things do not appear to go their way, they take action which 
we try to deter through additional concessions. Sounds to me like the 
tail is wagging the dog.
  Last month, the New York Times ran a story indicating that North 
Korea announced it would suspend their efforts to carry out the 1994 
nuclear freeze agreement, the Agreed Framework. I would ask that a copy 
of this article appear in the Record at this time.
  What does this tell us, Mr. President? That North Korea is not 
committed to a freeze; and that the freeze is simply a vehicle by which 
North Korea can exploit aid and other concessions from the United 
States and our allies.
  I am not at this time suggesting that we should cut off all 
assistance to North Korea, nor am I suggesting that we should cut off 
funding and assistance to KEDO. We can discuss these issues during the 
appropriations process--and I suspect we will.
  But I am encouraging my colleagues to think hard about this issue. 
Last week, we were honored to receive President Kim Dae-jung from the 
Republic of Korea. He hinted that the United States should consider 
easing sanctions against North Korea. Well, Mr. President, in light of 
these incidents, I don't know how we could possibly consider easing 
sanctions against North Korea--although I wonder whether we haven't 
already vis a vis KEDO and other assistance which we continue to extend 
to the North Korean government.
  Mr. President, when the Senate turns back to the Defense 
Authorization bill, Senator Kyl and I will offer an amendment which 
requires the Secretary of Defense to study the issue of effective 
deployment of a theater missile defense system for the Asia-Pacific 
region. This is obviously needed to protect our troops in Okinawa and 
on the Korean peninsula. This amendment will further require that 
Korea, Japan and Taiwan be allowed to purchase, should they desire, 
such a system from the United States. I suspect that all of them would 
be extremely interested in such a defense system, Mr. President, and I 
think it is incumbent upon us to extend this protection to them.
  Finally, Mr. President, I would simply reiterate that the United 
States needs a policy whereby we can effectively gain cooperation with 
North Korea. KEDO does not appear to be that framework. Perhaps we need 
to evaluate this, or whether a different approach is needed.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that relevant articles be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                       [From the Washington Post]

  N. Korea Admits Selling Missiles--Move Seen as Test of U.S. Embargo

                          (By Kevin Sullivan)

       SEOUL, June 16--North Korea declared today that it will 
     continue to develop, test and export ballistic missiles, 
     officially acknowledging for the first time a clandestine 
     weapons trade that analysis say has helped build arsenals in 
     Iran, Iraq and Syria.
       North Korea's admission added to tensions in Asia following 
     nuclear testing by India and Pakistan, which has also 
     reportedly purchased some of North Korea's Soviet-inspired 
     missiles.
       The blunt disclosure of the missile program appears to be 
     aimed directly at the United States, which has imposed a near 
     total economic embargo on North Korea. Pyongyang has been 
     trying for years to persuade Washington to lift the embargo, 
     which is strangling North Korea at a time when its economy is 
     in desperate need of outside assistance.
       In Washington, the State Department branded the North 
     Korean statement ``irresponsible'' and rejected the economic 
     arguments Pyongyang offered to justify missile sales, staff 
     writer Thomas W. Lippman reported.
       ``Their missile proliferation activities have been of 
     concern to us for a long time,'' a State Department official 
     said. ``It's well known that they sell missiles and 
     technology virtually indiscriminately, including to regions 
     in the Middle East and South Asia where we didn't think it 
     was wise.''
       If North Korea wants improved relations with the United 
     States and an easing of sanctions, the official said, it 
     should restrain its missile sales, not expand them.
       The United States has imposed sanctions on North Korea four 
     times for missile exports, most recently in April of this 
     year after Pakistan conducted flight tests of missile of 
     North Korean design known in Pakistan as the Ghauri.
       Many U.S. officials have pointed to North Korea's missile 
     sales to Iraq and other states as evidence that the Stalinist 
     government in Pyongyang remains a threat to global security. 
     The Clinton administration has pressed North Korea repeatedly 
     to stop exporting missiles--which, until today, North Korea 
     had flatly denied doing.

[[Page S7167]]

       ``We will continue developing, testing and deploying 
     missiles,'' said the official Korean Central News Agency, 
     monitored in Tokyo. ``If the United States really wants to 
     prevent our missile export, it should lift the economic 
     embargo as early as possible and make a compensation for the 
     losses to be caused by discontinued missile export. . . . Our 
     missile export is aimed at obtaining foreign money, which we 
     need at present.''
       It was unclear whether North Korean officials had timed 
     their statements to take advantage of concern over the Indian 
     and Pakistani nuclear tests. North Korea, facing desperate 
     food shortages and an economy that has been in a downward 
     spiral for eight years, is widely seen as a shrewd 
     manipulator capable of turning tensions on the Indian 
     subcontinent into an opportunity for itself.
       Pyongyang also may be trying to build on any momentum 
     created by South Korean President Kim Dae Jung's recent visit 
     to the United States. Kim, who favors broader peaceful 
     engagement with North Korea, suggested gently to President 
     Clinton and members of Congress that sanctions could be 
     lifted gradually in exchange for reciprocal acts of good 
     faith by Pyongyang.
       By pressing the missile point just three days after Kim's 
     return to Seoul, officials in North Korea may be hoping to 
     capitalize on any new softening of Washington's resolve on 
     sanctions.
       Donald Gregg, a former U.S. ambassador to South Korea and 
     now chairman of the Korea Society in New York, said he met 
     today with officials of the North Korean U.N. delegation and 
     was told they were dissatisfied with the pace of oil 
     deliveries from the United States promised under a 1994 
     agreement. In that deal, North Korea agreed to suspend its 
     suspected nuclear weapons program in exchange for two new 
     nuclear reactors and 500,000 tons of fuel oil each year until 
     the reactors were producing electricity.
       Several oil shipments have been delayed, and Gregg said the 
     North Koreans complained that the United States was not 
     living up to its end of the deal. He said they argued that 
     steady deliveries of fuel are especially important now during 
     the agricultural growing season.
       Gregg said the North Koreans also may feel that there had 
     been less movement on the sanctions issue than they expected 
     following Kim's visit to Washington. That, combined with 
     irritation over the oil deliveries, may have spurred today's 
     announcement, he said.
       ``The hard-liners may have thought, `Well, we've got to 
     make a move,' '' Gregg said, adding that it is good that 
     North Korea's missile program had finally been ``flushed 
     out.''
       Pyongyang's announcement is not likely to win any friends 
     in Washington. ``With missiles of the United States, which is 
     at war with [North Korea] technically, aiming at our 
     territory, we find no reason to refrain from developing and 
     deploying missiles to counter them,'' the North Korean 
     statement said.
       The United States and North Korea began talks last year in 
     which American negotiators hope to persuade Pyongyang to 
     freeze its missile program and join an international 
     agreement to restrict missile proliferation. The talks have 
     gone virtually nowhere; the latest round, set for last August 
     in New York, was canceled, and no new sessions are scheduled.
       North Korea's missiles have long been a matter of grave 
     concern in Asia. In 1993, it test-fired a medium-range 
     Rodong-1 model into the Sea of Japan, demonstrating that 
     parts of Japan, a key U.S. ally in the region, were well 
     within the missile's 1,000-mile range.
       Defense analysts say North Korea has since developed the 
     Rodong-2 missile, which has a range of 1,500 miles, putting 
     virtually all of Northeast Asia, including the 80 million 
     residents of greater Tokyo, within striking distance. 
     Analysts believe North Korea also is developing missiles with 
     even longer ranges.
       North Korea's provocative statements about its missile 
     program come as Pyongyang has been more receptive and open on 
     other issues. In recent months, relations between North and 
     South Korea have thawed somewhat, especially on economic 
     matters.
       Under Kim Dae Jung's ``sunshine policy'' of engaging North 
     Korea, many South Korean business leaders have been traveling 
     to the North to discuss possible ventures there. For example, 
     Chung Ju Yung, founder and honorary chairman of the Hyundai 
     conglomerate, entered North Korea today with a donation of 
     500 cattle for the impoverished nation.
                                  ____


    [From the New York Times International, Wednesday, May 13, 1998]

                North Korea Says It Will Unseal Reactor

                        (By Elizabeth Rosenthal)

       Beijing, May 12--North Korean officials have announced that 
     they are suspending their efforts to carry out the 1994 
     nuclear freeze agreement that was intended to dismantle that 
     country's nuclear program. United States officials have said 
     the program was intended to produce weapons.
       Protesting that the United States had failed to honor 
     promises to send fuel oil, a high-ranking member of the North 
     Korean Government told a visiting academic on Saturday that 
     North Korea had recently decided to unseal a nuclear reactor 
     that under the agreement, was to have been closed 
     permanently, and had also barred technicians from packing the 
     last of the reactor's spent fuel rods (or shipment out of the 
     country. The rods contain plutonium that can be used in 
     nuclear weapons.
       Although North Korea's decision to reopen the plant, in 
     Yong Byon, about 90 miles from the capital, Pyongyang, had no 
     immediate effect, some arms experts called it an ominous 
     symbolic action.
       ``This is like somebody dusting off the old .45 and making 
     sure that it shines, but not loading it,'' said Gary 
     Milhollin, director of the Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms 
     Control. ``They're sending a clever signal in our direction 
     saying, remember, we can stop cooperating.'' Mr. Milhollin 
     also said the approximately 200 rods did not contain enough 
     plutonium to pose a nuclear threat.
       Under the 1994 agreement, North Korea pledged to dismantle 
     its nuclear program in exchange for American promises to 
     coordinate the building of two light-water reactors to 
     generate electricity and to deliver 500 metric tons of oil 
     annually. North Korea also promised to ease barriers to 
     trade. Although the United States has had trouble raising the 
     billions of dollars required for those measures, it has 
     repeatedly said it would carry out its side of the agreement.
       But last Friday, North Korea's Government-run Korean 
     Central News Agency expressed deep displeasure with the pace 
     of the United States' efforts, and hinted that the North 
     Korean Government might restart its nuclear program. North 
     Korea ``should no longer lend an ear to the empty promises of 
     the United States side, but open and readjust the frozen 
     nuclear facilities and do everything our own way,'' a 
     statement from an unnamed Foreign Ministry official said.
       And the next day, North Korea's Foreign Minister, Kim Young 
     Nam, elaborated on the statement in a private two-hour 
     meeting in Pyongyang with an American expert on Korea, Selig 
     Harrison, of the Twentieth Century Fund.
       According to Mr. Harrison, Mr. Kim said that on April 19, 
     the North Koreans had opened up the previously sealed plant 
     to ``conduct maintenance activities,'' and had also halted 
     the ``canning of spent fuel rods'' from the reactor, which is 
     being conducted under the auspices of the International 
     Atomic Energy Agency. Agency supervisors have been asked to 
     leave the reactor site, although not the country. Two hundred 
     of the reactor's 8,000 rods have not yet been prepared, he 
     said.
       ``We are keeping up our progress in implementing the 
     nuclear freeze agreement, but the U.S. is behind,'' Mr. Kim 
     told Mr. Harrison, who spoke with reporters in Beijing en 
     route back to the United States. ``So we have now decided to 
     slow down and suspend certain aspects of the agreement.'' He 
     said that once the United States had a chance to ``catch 
     up,'' North Korea would resume cooperation.
       The North Koreans contend that the United States is behind 
     schedule in heavy fuel shipments and in its preparations to 
     build the new reactors, to be completed by 2003.
       On Saturday, the State Department said the United States 
     had lived up to its obligations, noting that even though oil 
     shipments have been slow for the first part of the year, the 
     stipulated quota would be met by year's end. ``Anything that 
     would happen to undermine the integrity of that agreement 
     from the North Korean side or from the outside would be, in 
     our view, extremely lamentable and regrettable,'' 
     Undersecretary of State Thomas Pickering said.
       A State Department official who spoke on condition of 
     anonymity said he had no information about the unsealing of 
     the plant. He said that whether that act violates the 
     agreement depends on what those ``maintenance activities 
     are''
       Although North Korea has generally honored its commitments 
     under the 1994 agreement, the United States has been unhappy 
     with what it sees as North Korea's tepid attempts to improve 
     relations with South Korea. North Korea, in turn, had been 
     angered by it regarded as the United States' halfhearted 
     efforts to remove trade barriers--efforts that have so far 
     been mostly limited to allowing phone and fax lines.
       Plans for the two reactors promised under the agreement 
     have also been slowed by the financial crisis in Japan and 
     South Korea. The two countries have delayed payments of 
     billions of dollars in cash they had pledged.
       Despite the announcement, Mr. Harrison said North Korean 
     leaders had made some conciliatory statements during his 
     talks. He said they signaled that they might be willing to 
     negotiate with both the United States and South Korea to 
     create a threeway peacekeeping force and structure for the 
     tense Korean demilitarized zone. North Korea has previously 
     refused to deal with Seoul as an equal partner on the issue.

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