North Korea Steps Up Nuclear Efforts, Refuses Inspections and US Pressure

North Korea announced on April 4 that it is stepping up its efforts to develop a nuclear program, despite international pressure from the United States, Japan, and South Korea. The country's foreign ministry spokesman deemed recent U.N. Security Council statements urging renewed inspections as "unreasonable" and criticized U.S.-led international pressure. This comes after Pyongyang refused to allow U.N. inspectors access to a suspected nuclear facility, prompting Washington to cancel high-level talks and promise military exercises with South Korea.

Key Takeaways:

• North Korea's foreign ministry spokesman criticized U.S.-led international pressure, saying that since the U.S. has opted for "one-sided" pressure, North Korea cannot normalize its "peaceful" nuclear activities.
• The U.S. has evidence that North Korea is expanding the capacity of a nuclear installation to separate plutonium, which may double the capacity within six months.
• North Korea has refused to allow U.N. inspectors access to a suspected facility manufacturing plutonium, a key component of nuclear weapons.
• Washington canceled high-level talks with North Korea and promised to hold "Team Spirit" military exercises with South Korea in the coming months.
• U.S. Defense Secretary William Perry claimed that North Korea may have one or possibly two nuclear bombs already, and vowed to continue pressing Pyongyang to halt its nuclear program.
• Japanese Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa and South Korean Foreign Minister Han Sung Joo urged China to take a larger role in encouraging North Korea to allow fresh inspections.
• The U.N. Security Council backed a China-led position to issue a non-legally binding statement urging North Korea to allow inspectors full access to its facilities.

Statistics:

• North Korea may double the capacity of its nuclear installation within six months, according to U.S. officials.
• U.S. Defense Secretary William Perry estimated that North Korea may have produced one or possibly two nuclear bombs.
• The five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council have backed a China-led position to issue a non-legally binding statement urging North Korea to allow inspectors full access to its facilities.
• The U.N. Security Council plans to wait for five or six weeks to access North Korea's reaction to its statement before considering economic sanctions.
• The U.S.-South Korean "Team Spirit" exercises are expected to hold off until at least mid-May.

Sources:

• Pyongyang Kcna
• The Associated Press in Tokyo
• NBC's "Meet the Press" program
• The Japan Times
• The New York Times
• The U.N. Security Council statement on March 31.