What impact will the North Korean statement have on U.S. policy toward the nuclear crisis?
The statement likely confirmed the views of many Bush administration officials that North Korea will be a difficult negotiating partner that cannot be trusted to live up to its agreements. This will increase U.S. demands for iron-clad verification clauses in any agreement. More broadly, there are two key unresolved questions about the negotiations. Is North Korea willing to give up its current and potential nuclear weapons capability in a visible, verifiable, and irreversible way? If so, what is the United States willing to give North Korea in return? The answers to these questions will ultimately determine whether a diplomatic settlement of the crisis is possible. This factsheet was prepared by Phillip C. Saunders, Daniel A. Pinkston, Stephanie Lieggi, Mari Sudo, and Charles Ferguson of the Center for Nonproliferation Studies, Monterey Institute of International Studies. List of CNS Experts on the DPRK Daniel Pinkston | Bio Director, East Asia Nonproliferation Program (EANP) daniel.pi