In The News

SVR Denies Helping CIA Keep an Eye on North Korea

January 22, 2003
Russia’s foreign intelligence service denies installing nuclear detection equipment inside Russia's Pyongyang embassy.

Ready for a Fight

January 17, 2003
As the world's attention focuses once again on Iraq, U.N. Chief Weapons Inspector, Hans Blix, expressed concern over a discovery yesterday of chemical warheads that were ready for use. He did not, however, see these as a necessary catalyst for war. So far, European and American officials have agreed. The discovery does put Hussein more on the defensive, sparking him to angrily denounce...

What Does North Korea Want?

January 10, 2003
In a background report on North Korea, the staff of the New York-based Council on Foreign Relations provides an excellent overview of the recent tensions between the US and North Korea. The question-and-answer format addresses the following: What does North Korea want? What is North Korea’s latest move? Is the decision final? Will the United States meet North Korea’s demands? Why has the...

Tensions Rise as N Korea Abandons Nuclear Treaty

John Burton January 10, 2003
Saying recent actions by the US has left it little choice, North Korea announced that it is withdrawing from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. The country had been a seeking written statement that American military would never move to attack North Korea, but thus far US President Bush has only offered verbal assurances. "North Korea is pursuing its classic tactics of ratcheting up the...

N. Korea Pulls Out of Non-Proliferation Treaty

Peter S. Goodman January 10, 2003
Responding to North Korea's announcement that it is withdrawing from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, South Korean President Kim Dae Jung said today "The nuclear issue is tied to our life and death… We must have the patience to resolve the issue peacefully." The Washington Post, in this in-depth analysis of the situation, reports that "Shortly after making its...

Brazil Needs A-Bomb Ability, Aide Says, Setting Off Furor

Larry Rohter January 9, 2003
A Brazilian official says that nuclear research is necessary for his country because "we need to be prepared." But prepared for what? Across the border in Argentina, and across the region, people are wondering what to make of this latest news from Brazil's newly-elected leftist government. Although the Brazilian President has distanced him from his aide's remarks, during...

Recognise China's Value in Defusing North Korea Crisis

Pei Min Xin January 8, 2003
Writing in Singapore's Straits Times, China scholar Pei Min Xin argues that the US is bungling its relationship with China in the current crisis with North Korea. As a major source of energy and food aid to North Korea, China could play a key role in convincing the reclusive communist country to cease its nuclear program again. Although the Bush administration claims it recognizes China...