10-18 January 2006
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il travels to China and meets with President Hu Jintao. At the unofficial summit meeting, Kim Jong-il reaffirmed North Korea’s commitment to the Six-Party Talks. The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that the two countries "agreed to continue to the peaceful resolution of the Korean Peninsula’s nuclear issue by continually pursuing the six-way talks process."
--"Kim Jong IL Pays Unofficial Visit to China," KCNA website, 18 January 2006, http://www.kcna.co.jp; Choe Sang-Hun, "Kim’s Trip to Beijing Lifts Hopes For Talks; Hu Pushes Korean to Resume Dialogue on Nuclear Issue," International Herald Tribune, 19 January 2006, in Lexis-Nexis, http://web.lexis-nexis.com; Anna Field, "N Korea Raises Hopes On Nuclear Impasse," Financial Times, 19 January 2006, in Lexis-Nexis, http://web.lexis-nexis.com.

18 January 2006
Chief nuclear envoys to the Six-Party Talks from North Korea, China and the United States meet in Beijing to discuss ways to revive the Talks. The trilateral meeting is held between U.S. Assistant Security of State Christopher Hill, North Korea’s Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan and China’s Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei.
--Yonhap News Agency, "North Korea, Chinese, US Nuclear Envoys Meet in Beijing," in BBC Monitoring, 18 January 2006, in Lexis-Nexis, http://web.lexis-nexis.com.

4 March 2006
U.S. and North Korean officials hold a meeting in New York where U.S. officials provided a briefing on the punitive financial actions the United States had taken against Banco Delta Asia (BDA). Ri Gun, director of American affairs in the North Korean Foreign Ministry, pressed Washington to cease such efforts threatening that "under such pressure, we cannot return to the six-way talks."
--Glenn Kessler, "N. Korea Sets Terms For Return to Nuclear Talks," Washington Post, 9 March 2006, http://www.washingtonpost.com; "N.K. Refuses to Return to Nuclear Talks," Korea Herald, 9 March 2006, in Lexis-Nexis, http://web.lexis-nexis.com.

5 July 2006
North Korea test fires multiple ballistic missiles over the Sea of Japan including a long-range Taepodong-2 that apparently failed or was aborted 42 seconds after it was launched according to U.S. White House and Pentagon officials. The other missiles launched are a mix of short-range Scud-C missiles and intermediate-range Rodong missiles. In reaction to the test, the Bush administration strongly condemns North Korea’s activities as "provocations"; however North Korea’s Foreign Ministry states that the missile tests were "irrelevant to the six-party talks."
--Norimitsu Onishi and David E. Sanger, "Missiles Fired by North Korea; Tests Protested," New York Times, 5 July 2006, http://www.nytimes.com; Andrew Buncombe, "North Korea Defies US With Missile Tests," The Independent, 5 July 2006, in Lexis-Nexis, http://web.lexis-nexis.com; KCNA, "North Korea Defends Missile Launches," in BBC Monitoring, 6 July 2006, in Lexis-Nexis, http://web.lexis-nexis.com; Yonhap News Agency, "South Korean Analysts Say North Statement Could Show Intent to Rejoin Talks," in BBC Monitoring, 6 July 2006, in Lexis-Nexis, http://web.lexis-nexis.com.

15 July 2006
The United Nations Security Council adopts a resolution condemning North Korea’s missile launches and imposing limited sanctions. Resolution 1695 demands that North Korea suspend its ballistic missile program, and calls on all countries to prevent North Korea from receiving or transferring missile-related items. Furthermore, the resolution "strongly urges" North Korea to abandon its nuclear program and to return to the Six-Party Talks.
--Warren Hoge, "U.N. Council, in Weakened Resolution, Demands End to North Korean Missile Program," New York Times, 16 July 2006, http://www.nytimes.com.

19 August 2006
The director of South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, Kim Seung-kyu, stated that North Korea was capable of conducting an underground nuclear test. Speaking at a closed-door briefing to the National Assembly, Director Kim said that "North Korea is believed to have facilities for a nuclear test" and that "the possibility of [a] nuclear test is always open as soon as Kim Jong-il makes a decision."
--Choe Sang-hun, "North Korea Seen as Capable of Test; Nuclear Facilities in Place, Seoul Says," International Herald Tribune, 29 August 2006, in Lexis-Nexis, http://web.lexis-nexis.com.

24 September 2006
After meeting with North Korea officials in Pyongyang, U.S. scholar Selig S. Harrison states that North Korea intends to unload fuel rods from the Yongbyon reactor and extract plutonium earlier than had been expected. Harrison quotes North Korea’s Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan as saying that the fuel rods would be unloaded this fall.
--Joseph Kahn, "North Korea to Challenge U.S. on Nuclear Fuel," New York Times, 25 September 2006, http://www.nytimes.com.

3 October 2006
The North Korean Foreign Ministry issues a statement declaring that it plans to conduct a nuclear test. The statement cites "the extreme threat of a nuclear war and U.S. sanctions and pressure" as the reason for North Korea having to bolster its nuclear deterrent. The statement did not specify when the test would take place.
--"DPRK Foreign Ministry Clarifies Stand on New Measures to Bolster War Deterrent," KCNA website, 3 October 2006, http://www.kcna.co.jp; Anthony Fiola and Dafna Linzer, "N. Korea Pledges Nuclear Test; Need Cited to Deter Threat From U.S., But Not Date is Set," Washington Times, 4 October 2006, in Lexis-Nexis, http://web.lexis-nexis.com; Jonathan Watts, "North Korea Raises Stakes With Threat to Carry Out Nuclear Weapons Test: Move Aimed At Stalling Financial Sanctions: U.S. and Japan Lead Protest Against ‘Reckless Action,’" The Guardian, 4 October 2006, in Lexis-Nexis http://web.lexis-nexis.com/.

6 October 2006
The United Nations Security Council issues a statement urging North Korea not to carry out a planned nuclear weapon test saying that such action would "jeopardize peace, stability and security in the region and beyond."
--Warren Hoge, "U.N. Council Presses North Korea to Drop Plans for Nuclear Test," New York Times, 7 October 2006, http://www.nytimes.com.

9 October 2006
North Korea conducts an underground nuclear test. The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) releases a report confirming the nuclear test and states that the test was "conducted with [100 percent] indigenous wisdom and technology." The U.N. Security Council holds an emergency meeting, strongly condemning North Korea’s test, and vows to enact a "strong and swift" response.
–"DPRK Successfully Conducts Underground Nuclear Test," KCNA website, 9 October 2006, http://www.kcna.co.jp; Yonhap News Agency, "UN Security Council ‘Strongly Condemns’ North Korea Nuclear Test," in BBC Monitoring, 9 October 2006, in Lexis-Nexis, http://web.lexis-nexis.com.

11 October 2006
In a meeting with Kyodo News delegation at Pyongyang’s Mansudae Assembly Hall, Kim Yong-nam, president of the DPRK Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly, stated that "the issue of future nuclear tests is linked to U.S. policy towards our country." He also stated that North Korea’s return to the Six-Party Talks will also depend on U.S. policy towards North Korea.
--Kyodo, "North Korea Says Further Nuclear Tests Dependent on US Policy," in BBC Monitoring, 11 October 2006, in Lexis-Nexis, http://web.lexis-nexis.com.

14 October 2006
The United Nations Security Council unanimously adopts a resolution under Chapter VII of the UN Charter condemning North Korea’s nuclear test of October 9, 2006. Resolution 1718 bans the transfer of nuclear or ballistic missile materials and imposes an embargo on luxury good to North Korea. It further demands that no further tests or ballistic missile launches take place and calls on North Korea to immediately return to the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards.
--Warren Hoge, "Security Council Supports Sanctions on North Korea," New York Times, 15 October 2006, http://www.nytimes.com; Philip Sherwell, "UN Vote Slaps Sanctions on North Korea," Sunday Telegraph, 15 October 2006, in Lexis-Nexis, http://web.lexis-nexis.com.

31 October 2006
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill and his North Korean counterpart Kim Kye-gwan hold secret talks in Beijing under the auspices of the Chinese government, where North Korea agrees to return to the Six-Party Talks. After the meeting, U.S. officials downplay the suggestion that North Korea’s recent nuclear test would now make negotiations more difficult. According to a statement by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice: "Nobody accepts that [North Korea is] a nuclear power."
--Joseph Kahn and Helene Cooper, "North Korea Will Resume Nuclear Talks," New York Times, 1 November 2006, http://www.nytimes.com; Robert Marquand, "Now Nuclear, North Korea Will Talk," Christian Science Monitor, 1 November 2006, http://www.csmonitor.com.

18-22 December 2006
The second phase of the fifth round of Six-Party Talks resume in Beijing after a 13-month break. After holding five days of negotiations, the talks recess without achieving any tangible progress. North Korea insists that the issue of the frozen funds at Banco Delta Asia (BDA) needs to be resolved. The Chairman’s Statement at the close of the session states that the six parties "agreed to recess to report to capitals and to reconvene at the earliest opportunity."
--Lee Joo-hee, "Process of Beijing Talks Under Scrutiny," Korea Herald, 23 December 2006, in Lexis-Nexis, http://web.lexis-nexis.com; Tetsuya Suetsugu and Hiroshi Oyama, "6-Party Talks End in Stalemate," Daily Yomiuri, 23 December 2006, in Lexis-Nexis, http://web.lexis-nexis.com; Joseph Kahn, "Talks End on North Korea’s Nuclear Weapons," New York Times, 23 December 2006, http://www.nytimes.com; Edward Cody, "Nuclear Talks With N. Korea End in Failure; Six-Party Process Thrown Into Doubt," Washington Post, 23 December 2006, http://www.washingtonpost.com.

	Updated February 2008