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Kelly Reaffirms U.S. Position That North Korea Acknowledged Uranium Enrichment Program
Amid recent North Korean denials that it possesses a uranium enrichment program, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly last week reaffirmed the U.S. position that Pyongyang admitted to possessing such a program during talks held in 2002 (see GSN, Feb. 17). In mid-October 2002, Kelly and a U.S. delegation traveled to Pyongyang to meet with North Korean officials. In a speech last week, Kelly described that meeting, during which he said he met with North Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Kang Sok Ju. At that meeting, Kelly said last week, “it was very clear to all members of my team that Kang was acknowledging the existence of a highly enriched uranium program.” North Korea, however, has publicly denied possessing a uranium enrichment program. Last month, retired Stanford University professor John Lewis, who traveled to North Korea in January, suggested that translation problems might be responsible for the disagreement. Last week, though, Kelly dismissed such speculation (see GSN, Jan. 23). “Kang’s remarks were interpreted into English by his own interpreter, and his original Korean presentation was monitored by our side’s experienced professional interpreter,” he said. Kelly also said that for two months after the United States had announced that North Korea had disclosed its uranium enrichment program, Pyongyang “did not deny the program or the acknowledgement.” “Only later, when it became clear that this was a major tactical error that was resulting in massive international criticism, did D.P.R.K. officials first begin to suggest that the United States had misunderstood its statements, and later still that the United States had lied about them. Only much later did the North Koreans actually begin to claim that they have no HEU program,” Kelly said (Nautilus Institute release, Feb. 13).
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