Next page: 1997 Chronology.
Previous page: 1995 Chronology.

5 January 1996

According to a secret Russian Foreign Ministry report, North Korea will not give up its nuclear weapons program. Nuclear weapons have become symbolically important to North Korea. The report notes that North Korea has extracted 7-22kg of plutonium and that it conducted over 70 tests of high-explosive nuclear triggering devices near Yongbyon between 1991 and 1994. It also says that North Korea has related nuclear facilities at Pakchon, and 20 other sites including Hamhung, Kilchu, and Kusong.

Seoul Sinmum (Seoul), 5 January 1996, p.2; in FBIS-EAS-96-004, 5 January 1996.

10 January 1996

North Korea starts moving its 8,000 nuclear spent fuel rods from the cooling ponds into dry storage.

Choson Ilbo (Seoul), 10 January 1996, p.2; in FBIS-EAS-96-008, 10 January 1996.

10 January 1996

Russian Foreign Minister Aleksandr Panov says that Russia will base its decision to join KEDO on “how much weight Russia’s voice will be given by the multinational organization.”

Yonhap (Seoul), 10 January 1996; in FBIS-EAS-96-008, 10 January 1996.

13 January 1996

US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Hubbard says that the United States cannot pay the total cost of heavy-fuel oil shipments to North Korea. Hubbard explains that the United States can only pay $19 million of the $50 million in heavy-fuel oil costs and asks Japan, South Korea, and the EU for $20 million and $10 million respectively.

Munhwa Ilbo (Seoul), 20 January 1996, p.2; in FBIS-EAS-96-014; Munhwa Ilbo (Seoul), 17 January 1996, p.7; in FBIS-EAS-96-012, 17 January 1996.

15 January 1996

North Korea proposes a comprehensive security dialogue with the United States. Among the issues to be addressed in the negotiations are: (1)replacement of the Armistice Agreement into a North Korea-US Peace Agreement, (2)relaxation of tensions along the demilitarized zone, (3)loosening of US economic sanctions against North Korea, and (4) provision of US assistance to North Korea. US State Department sources respond affirmatively to the North Korean proposal.

Tong-A Ilbo (Seoul), 15 January 1996, p.1; in FBIS-EAS-96-012, 15 January 1996.

17 January 1996

The fourth KEDO survey team arrives in Sinpo to carry out seismic and geological surveys of the site, produce a cadastral map, measure the depth of the ocean off the Sinpo coastline, and assess the possible impact of the light-water reactors on the surrounding environment. Due to delays in shipping the survey equipment, the survey is expected to begin on 20 January 1996.

Yonhap (Seoul), 18 January 1996; in FBIS-EAS-96-012, 18 January 1996.

18 January 1996

The section chief of South Korea’s National Treasury Department of the Finance and Economy Board Hong Chong-chol says that the government is considering issuing bonds to gather the necessary funds to pay for South Korea’s portion of the light-water reactor project in North Korea. Hong estimates South Korea will contribute $3 billion of the estimated $4.5 billion cost.

Munhwa Ilbo (Seoul), 18 January 1996, p.1; in FBIS-EAS-96-012, 18 January 1996.

23 January 1996

An IAEA delegation arrives in Pyongyang to continue talks on North Korea’s suspended nuclear operations. Talks conclude on 29 January 1996 and North Korea agrees that the IAEA can conduct routine and ad hoc inspections of its operational nuclear sites.

Reuters, 23 January 1996; Korean Central Broadcasting Network (Pyongyang), 30 January 1996; in FBIS-EAS-96-021, 30 January 1996.

25 January 1996

A January 1996 meeting of KEDO is cancelled because of disagreements over the supply of light-water reactors to North Korea. South Korea is concerned that the US firm designated to coordinate the project will have an undue influence.

Nucleonics Week, 25 January 1996, pp.6-7.

25 January 1996

During talks in Hawaii with Japan and South Korea, the United States proposes that all three countries work together to provide funding for heavy-fuel oil to North Korea. The United States also emphasizes the need for other parties, such as the EU and oil exporting nations in the Middle East, to share the financial burden of KEDO.

Yonhap (Seoul), 26 January 1996; in FBIS-EAS-96-018, 26 January 1996.

February 1996

North Korea demands that the United States remove it from the “list of Coordinating Committee for Export to Communist Areas” in exchange for honoring the 21 October 1994 Agreed Framework.

Hanguk Ilbo (Seoul), 2 February 1996, p.5; in FBIS-EAS-96-023, 2 February 1996.

1 February 1996

South Korea refuses a US request to help pay for the heavy-fuel oil supplies to North Korea, saying it has already committed to bearing 75 percent of the overall light-water reactor project costs. South Korean Deputy Prime Minister Kwon O-ki says an “outline” of South Korea’s role in the expense sharing of the light-water reactor project will be revealed in the latter half of 1996.

Yonhap (Seoul), 1 February 1996; in FBIS-EAS-96-022, 1 February 1996.

7 February 1996

Japan announces that it will contribute $12 million to help pay for heavy-fuel oil shipments to North Korea. The Japanese paper Asahi Shimbun reports that Japan has agreed to help with the oil payments “until related US appropriation bills are approved by the US Congress.”

Kyodo (Tokyo), 7 February 1996; in FBIS-EAS-96-026, 7 February 1996; Yonhap (Seoul), 7 February 1996; in FBIS-EAS-96-026, 7 February 1996.

14 February 1996

South Korea and the United States cancel the 1996 Team Spirit military exercise to demonstrate goodwill towards North Korea.

Reuters, 14 February 1996; in Executive News Service, 14 February 1996.

23 February 1996

Japan agrees to increase its contributions to $19 million for shipments of heavy-fuel oil to North Korea. A Japanese official says that helping supply the heavy-fuel oil is “important for Japan’s security.”

Reuters (Tokyo), 23 February 1996; in Executive News Service, 23 February 1996.

23 February 1996

A South Korean official says that Japan is asking for a more prominent role in KEDO and is insisting that it will not support the proposed $1 billion donation to the KEDO light-water reactor project if Japanese contractors are only given “peripheral roles.” South Korea, while refusing to allow Japan to take part in the manufacture of such central components as generators and turbines, has expressed its willingness to accommodate Japan’s demands, but only if the “original design and role of the prime contractor” remain the same.

Choson Ilbo (Seoul), 23 February 1996, <http://www.choson.com>; Korea Herald (Seoul), 28 February 1996, p.2; in FBIS-EAS-96-040, 28 February 1996.

March 1996

CIA Director John Deutch testifies before a US Senate hearing that there is no clear evidence to suggest that North Korea has attempted to obtain fissile material from sources inside the former Soviet Union.

Arms Control Today, March 1996, p.24.

9 March 1996

South Korea says that it will negotiate with North Korea to open a land route to facilitate the construction of the light-water reactors. A fiber-optic telecommunications cable has already been installed between the cities of Sinpo, the proposed site of the light-water reactors, and Hamhung.

Seoul Sinmum (Seoul), 9 March 1996; in FBIS-EAS-96-048, 9 March 1996.

18 March 1996

IAEA Director General Hans Blix tells the IAEA Board of Governors that North Korea is not cooperating with IAEA efforts to ascertain the quantity of plutonium held at the Yongbyon nuclear facility. IAEA inspectors have made a number of attempts to photograph the facility since September 1995, in accordance with agreements reached with North Korea. However, they have been restricted from taking photographs. North Korea has also been slow in granting visas for IAEA inspectors.

Reuters, 18 March 1996.

19 March 1996

KEDO’s Executive Council names KEPCO as the main contractor of the North Korean light-water reactor project. The signing ceremony for the contract is scheduled for 20 March 1996.

Yonhap (Seoul), 19 March 1996; in FBIS-EAS-96-054, 19 March 1996.

19 March 1996

KEDO’s Executive Council member Chang Sun-sop says that KEDO has not yet decided on whether to include the EU and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations as members.

Yonhap (Seoul), 20 March 1996; in FBIS-EAS-96-055.

Late-March 1996

A South Korean official reveals that North Korea is demanding $2 billion from the United States to cover the cost of relocating residents from Sinpo, the site for the light-water reactors. This amount is in addition to the approximately $4.5 billion needed to build the light-water reactors.

Chungang Ilbo (Seoul), 15 April 1996, p.2; in FBIS-EAS-96-073, 15 April 1996.

17 April 1996

Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alatas announces that Indonesia will contribute 3,000 tons of heavy-fuel oil valued at $320,000 to KEDO in 1996. Indonesia made a similar contribution in 1995.

Media Indonesia (Jakarta), 18 April 1996; in FBIS-EAS-96-076, 18 April 1996.

19 April 1996

North Korea agrees to grant diplomatic privileges to KEPCO employees providing technical assistance to North Korea in the construction of the light-water reactors. KEDO has maintained that without the extension of diplomatic protocols to South Korean workers in the North, insignificant problems could become politicized and impede progress on the light-water reactor project.

Yonhap (Seoul), 13 April 1996; in FBIS-EAS-96-073, 13 April 1996.

27 April 1996

The US firm NAC International begins the process of packing the 8,000 nuclear spent fuel rods removed from North Korea’s 5MW gas-graphite reactor. The fuel rods will be taken out of the storage pond, dried, and then put into stainless steel cans. The cans will then be shipped out of North Korea to a permanent storage site, which has yet to be identified. In 1995, the US Department of Energy spent $10 million on the project and has requested the US Congress for an additional $4.1 million for FY 1996.

NuclearFuel, 6 May 1996, pp.5-6.

28 April 1996

North Korea requests KEDO to allow it to use a portion of the KEDO-supplied heavy-fuel oil to power stations at Yongyang and Chongjin. KEDO says that it will authorize the request after instruments designed to monitor the use of the heavy-fuel oil are installed.

Yonhap (Seoul), 28 April 1996; in FBIS-EAS-96-083, 28 April 1996.

2 May 1996

IAEA spokesman David Kyd reveals that North Korea began storing the 8,000 nuclear spent fuel rods on 27 April 1996. North Korean officials, however, have refused to let IAEA inspectors measure the plutonium levels in the rods. Kyd says that four IAEA inspectors, including a radioactivity expert are involved in the storage process. The inspectors have only been allowed to verify whether the fuel rods have been “burnt.” The IAEA has estimated that the storage of the 8,000 fuel rods will be completed by June 1997. The IAEA will continue to seek authorization to measure the plutonium through negotiations with North Korea.

KBS-1 Radio Network (Seoul), 2 May 1996; in FBIS-EAS-96-087, 2 May 1996; Washington Times, 3 May 1996, p.A15; Nuclear News, April 1996, p.14.

6 May 1996

Thirteen technical representatives from KEDO complete the fifth on-site inspection of the proposed site for the light-water reactors at Sinpo.

Yonhap (Seoul), 7 May 1996; in FBIS-EAS-96-089, 7 May 1996.

20 May 1996

The US Department of Energy authorizes two US companies, ABB-CE and Stone & Webster Engineering to participate in the construction of the light-water reactors in North Korea.

NuclearFuel, 20 May 1996, pp.7-8.

22 May 1996

KEDO representatives and North Korean officials sign the first of the 10 supplementary diplomatic protocols necessary to bring the KEDO-North Korean supply agreement into force. The protocols cover the privileges and immunities that North Korea will grant to KEDO staff and representatives, and addresses such matters as arrests, visas, and protection of property, assets, and income.

KOREAupdate, 10 June 1996, p.2.

23 May 1996

During a meeting at the US embassy in Kuala Lumpur, US and North Korean negotiators fail to agree on the extent of South Korea’s involvement in the light-water reactor project.

Reuters (Kuala Lumpur), 25 May 1996; Executive News Service, 25 May 1996.

20 June 1996

The US Senate and House Appropriations Committees decide to decrease President Bill Clinton’s aid to North Korea from $25 million to $13 million. This is likely to result in a short-fall of funds for the 500,000 tons of heavy-fuel oil shipments to North Korea.

Washington Post, 20 June 1996, p.A23.

25 June 1996

IAEA representatives arrive in Pyongyang for the fifth round of talks with North Korea.

Korean Central News Agency (Pyongyang), 25 June 1996; in FBIS-EAS-96-123, 25 June 1996.

1 July 1996

Responding to the US Congress’ allocation of $13 million of the $25 million requested by the Clinton administration to fund KEDO’s purchase of heavy-fuel oil, North Korea threatens that if “heavy oil is not supplied in time as scheduled, [it] will be compelled to reconsider [its] nuclear freeze.”

Korean Central News Agency (Pyongyang), 1 July 1996; in FBIS-EAS-96-127, 1 July 1996.

August 1996

An IAEA safeguards report not released to the public says that the IAEA is unable to verify North Korea’s initial declaration under the NPT.

NuclearFuel, 12 August 1996, p.15.

15 August 1996

The US company Duke Engineering is appointed program coordinator for KEDO’s light-water reactor project at Sinpo.

Nucleonics Week, 15 August 1996, p.6.

10-12 September 1996

KEDO holds its first General Conference at its New York headquarters and approves plans to begin physical work on the light-water reactors at Sinpo. Stephen Bosworth, KEDO’s Executive Director says that the scheduled 2003 date of completion for the reactors will be difficult to achieve due to financial difficulties.

Disarmament Diplomacy, September 1996, p.53.

16 September 1996

During the IAEA’s Annual General Conference in Vienna, IAEA Director General Hans Blix confirms that the 1995 Safeguards Implementation Report states that “the IAEA remained unable to verify the initial declaration of nuclear materials made by [North Korea]...and that this is still the case.”

IAEA Daily Press Report, 22 October 1996, pp. 1-3.

17 September 1996

North Korea’s representative to the UN agencies in Vienna states that North Korea “will not give the IAEA any information whatsoever” about spent fuel from its 5MW gas-graphite reactor “until the new reactors are finished and begin operating.”

NuclearFuel, 23 September 1996, p.3.

19-27 September 1996

The IAEA’s safeguards department and North Korea hold negotiations in Vienna. The IAEA fails to persuade North Korea to comply with its bilateral safeguards agreement.

NuclearFuel, 23 September 1996, pp.1-2.

4 October 1996

The EU agrees to provide $18.9 million annually to KEDO for the next five years. As a result of this contribution, the EU will gain a seat on KEDO’s Executive Council.

Financial Times (London), 4 October 1996, p.8.

29 October 1996

The UN General Assembly votes 142-1 in favor of a resolution urging North Korea to fully comply with the nuclear safeguards agreement it signed with the IAEA. North Korea’s is the sole opposing vote. The resolution stipulates that North Korea preserve any information necessary for verifying its nuclear materials for the IAEA.

KOREAupdate, 18 November 1996, p.2.

7 November 1996

North Korea threatens to unfreeze its nuclear program if KEDO does not resume work on the light-water reactors under construction at Sinpo. Light-water reactor construction was suspended after a North Korean submarine entered South Korean waters on 18 September 1996. South Korea, according to a key KEDO member, is awaiting an apology from North Korea before resuming construction.

Deseret News: World & Nation, 7 November 1996, <http://www.desnews.com>; Washington Times, 8 November 1996, p.A16.

15 November 1996

North Korea reportedly states that it “cannot keep [its] nuclear program frozen any longer only to get heavy oil, the shipments of which may be suspended any time, with no importance given to when the light-water reactors will be provided.”

Reuters, 15 November 1996; in Executive News Service, 15 November 1996.

22 November 1996

South Korea assures the United States that it will proceed with the construction of the light-water reactors at Sinpo.

UPI; in Nuclear Net News, 22 November 1996.

Acknowledgements:
Brooke Milton and Gaurav Kampani
© Center for Nonproliferation Studies,
Monterey Institute of International Studies

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