nuclear facility Archives - Where Is The Outrage?

The United States and North Korea

I originally published this post approximately three years ago. With North Korea in the news again concerning its nuclear ambitions, I think it is important to understand the background.

As soon as President George W. Bush took office in 2001, Secretary of State Colin Powell stated that he was going to continue the actions of the Clinton administration. Quickly, Vice President Dick Cheney and other neo-cons in the Bush White House worked to silence Powell and reverse the steps that the Clinton Administration took to freeze nuclear weapons production in North Korea.

I believe the way that the US-North Korea relationship has been played out in the media has been ridiculously superficial. Secondly, the American public has been led to believe that everything started with President Clinton. He is portrayed as a hero or a villain, depending upon your point of view. As usual, I think that the real picture is far more complex.

It appears that North Korea’s nuclear plans date back to the late fifties and early ’60s. Being a very small and somewhat paranoid country, North Korea began to send scientists to the Soviet Union right at the end of the Korean War. They did not believe that when push came to shove the Soviet Union would stand up for them. The Cuban Missile Crisis reinforced that belief. The Soviet Union, their ally, backed down when the US show of force and imposed a blockade around Cuba. North Korea thought that Russia would do the same if squeezed by the US. Also, in 1965, the US, Japan and South Korean signed a diplomacy agreement. This served to further isolate the paranoid country. North Korea fired up the first of its two nuclear reactors in 1967. (more…)

By ecthompsonmd|2013-04-02T21:00:05-04:00April 2nd, 2013|Bush Administration, North Korea|4 Comments

North Korea blows up its colling tower

Maybe, just maybe talking to your enemies works. Ask North Korea.

From WaPo:

North Korea dynamited the dirty gray cooling tower at its deactivated Yongbyon nuclear facility on Friday, a made-for-TV event intended to show the United States and the world that it is serious about abandoning its nuclear weapons program.

After a loud explosive charge, the 60-foot tower imploded within seconds, melting into a thick white cloud of smoke and dust. The late afternoon demolition was filmed by television news crews invited from the five countries that for years have been pressing Kim Jong Il’s totalitarian state to back away from nuclear confrontation. (more…)

By ecthompsonmd|2008-06-27T11:47:48-04:00June 27th, 2008|Bush Administration, North Korea|Comments Off

Sshh, don't tell anybody but N. Korea is disarming

Threatening North Korea for 5 years didn’t do anything except allow North Korea to build several nuclear weapons. Suddenly, the Bush administration tried diplomacy. They kicked John Bolton and Donald Rumsfeld to the curb and started talking. Now, North Korea is dismantling their nuclear facility. (The Bush administration has pieced together exactly what Bill Clinton had done nearly 7 – 8 years ago.)

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From WaPo:

President Bush today lifted some trade sanctions against North Korea and acted to remove the country from a list of states that sponsor terrorism, after the isolated Stalinist regime turned over a key document detailing its rogue nuclear program.

Nearly seven years after Bush described North Korea as part of “an axis of evil” and less than two years after Pyongyang stunned the world by exploding a small nuclear device, Bush said the receipt of the nuclear disclosure marked the start of an “action for action” process meant to end with the full dismantling of the country’s nuclear facilities and weapons. (more…)

By ecthompsonmd|2008-06-26T19:31:20-04:00June 26th, 2008|North Korea|2 Comments