Ryanggang Explosion - North Korean Disarmament Talks

North Korean Disarmament Talks

At the time of the blast, North Korea was under pressure to again resume six-way diplomatic talks concerning its nuclear program with the United States, South Korea, the People's Republic of China, Russia, and Japan. North Korea was insisting on a delay before a fourth round of talks, citing recently-revealed South Korean nuclear research programs. On 14 September 2004, a British envoy said that North Korea was still committed to the talks, but on 27 September 2004, the KCNA (North Korea's state news agency) reported that resumption of the talks was out of the question until the United States made certain concessions. It is unclear what effects the explosion might have on the talks, if continued, or on the negotiations concerning resumption of the talks.

Since the initial days, there has been essentially no followup reporting in Western media.

On 28 September, North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choi Su-heon announced at the United Nations General Assembly that it had turned plutonium from 8,000 spent fuel rods into nuclear weapons as a deterrent against the US nuclear threat. Six-nation talks on the nuclear issue, which were due to resume, were instead suspended. As of this date, analysts believed North Korea had ruled out further talks until after the United States presidential election in November 2008.