O 262053Z JUN 08
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO ALL DIPLOMATIC POSTS COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
AMEMBASSY TRIPOLI IMMEDIATE

UNCLAS STATE 069020 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PARM KN KNNP
SUBJECT: ANOUNCEMENT OF ACTIONS ON SIX-PARTY TALKS SECOND 
PHASE COMMITMENTS 
 
¶1. OBJECTIVE: The following background points should be 
used in responding to host government or press inquiries 
regarding actions taking place June 26, 2008, related to 
the Six-Party Talks "Second-Phase Actions for the 
Implementation of the Joint Statement."  Posts are 
encouraged at their discretion to consider delivering at 
the appropriate level with host governments the points at 
para 5.  The text of the September 2005 Joint Statement, 
February 13, 2007 Initial Actions agreement, and October 
3, 2007 Second-Phase Actions can be found on the 
Department's website. 
 
¶2. ADDITIONAL ACTION REQUEST FOR BERLIN, CANBERRA, 
LJUBLJANA, LONDON, PARIS, SINGAPORE, USEU, USNATO, USUN, 
UNVIE, AND WELLINGTON: Department requests that these 
posts deliver the following points at the appropriate 
level with host government as soon as possible.  Other 
addressee posts may do so at their discretion. 
 
¶3. Please slug all responses for EAP, ISN, VCI, T, S/CT 
and post's country desk, including reporting on any media, 
significant elite, and official reaction to the 
announcement. 
 
¶4. SUMMARY OF ACTIONS: On June 26, the President 
announced the lifting of the application of the Trading 
with the Enemy Act (TWEA) with respect to the Democratic 
People's Republic of Korea (DPRK, or North Korea), and 
notified Congress of his intent to rescind North Korea's 
designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism (SST), having 
confirmed that North Korea meets relevant statutory 
criteria.  These actions were taken following North 
Korea's submission of a declaration of its nuclear 
programs, which will now be subject to verification. 
This declaration package includes information about North 
Korea's plutonium program, which has produced fissile 
material for its nuclear weapons.  It also addresses 
North Korea's uranium enrichment and proliferation 
activities. 
 
The Administration plans to carry out that rescission 
only after: the Six Parties reach agreement on acceptable 
verification principles and an acceptable verification 
protocol; the Six Parties have established an acceptable 
monitoring mechanism; and verification activities have 
begun. 
 
¶5. Posts should draw on the following points: 
 
-- On June 26, North Korea submitted to the Chinese 
government, which chairs the Six-Party Talks as well as 
the Working Group on Denuclearization, a declaration of 
its nuclear programs. 
 
-- By submitting this declaration, North Korea has begun 
to fulfill its declaration commitment. 
 
-- In response to these actions, the President on June 26 
announced the lifting of the application of the Trading 
with the Enemy Act (TWEA) with respect to the Democratic 
People's Republic of Korea (DPRK, or North Korea), and 
notified Congress of his intent to rescind North Korea's 
designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism (SST), having 
confirmed that North Korea meets relevant statutory 
criteria. 
 
-- North Korea's declaration, in conjunction with the 
steps North Korea has taken to disable, for the purpose 
of abandonment, its ability to produce plutonium for 
nuclear weapons, are significant steps toward our goal of 
the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. 
 
-- The Six-Party process operates on the principle of 
"action for action," in which the United States, China, 
Japan, South Korea, and Russia have taken steps to 
fulfill commitments in correlation to actions taken by 
North Korea to fulfill its commitment to denuclearize. 
 
-- In the October 3, 2007 agreement on "Second-Phase 
Actions for the Implementation of the Joint Statement," 
North Korea committed to disabling its nuclear facilities, 
beginning with the three core facilities at Yongbyon, and 
to providing a complete and correct declaration of all 
its nuclear programs. 
 
-- Since November 2007, U.S. experts have been on the 
ground at Yongbyon continuously, overseeing disablement 
activities.  As North Korea has fulfilled its disablement 
commitments, the other parties, including the United 
States, have taken reciprocal action to provide energy 
assistance to North Korea. 
 
Trading with the Enemy Act (TWEA) 
--------------------------------- 
 
-- The President's action on June 26 effectively lifts 
the application of the Trading with the Enemy Act (TWEA). 
 
-- This action is largely symbolic, as most of the TWEA- 
based sanctions were lifted in 2000.  Other sanctions - 
in particular those related to North Korea's detonation 
of a nuclear device on October 9, 2006, proliferation 
activities, and human rights violations - will continue 
on the basis of other laws and regulations. 
 
-- The termination of the application of TWEA does remove 
the current requirement for licenses on all imports from 
the DPRK, but certain imports continue to be banned under 
other legal authorities. 
 
-- On December 16, 1950, President Truman declared a 
national emergency with respect to North Korea.  The next 
day, the Treasury Department implemented restrictive 
regulations under TWEA with respect to North Korea. 
President Bush's proclamation terminates this exercise of 
TWEA authority with respect to North Korea. 
 
State Sponsor of Terrorism (SST) 
-------------------------------- 
 
-- The President on June 26 provided a report to Congress 
justifying the intended rescission of North Korea's 
designation as a state sponsor of terrorism and 
certifying that North Korea has satisfied the statutory 
criteria for rescission. 
 
-- Consistent with the statutory criteria for rescission, 
the President has certified to Congress that North Korea 
(1) has not provided any support for international 
terrorism during the preceding six-month period and (2) 
has provided assurances that it will not support acts of 
international terrorism in the future. 
 
-- After a period of 45 calendar days and absent the 
enactment of a joint resolution blocking the proposed 
rescission, the Secretary of State may rescind North 
Korea's designation as a state sponsor of terrorism on 
August 11. 
 
-- During the 45-day period before the Secretary may 
rescind North Korea's designation as a state sponsor of 
terrorism, we will continue to assess the level of 
cooperation by North Korea in obtaining a Six Party 
agreement on acceptable verification principles; a Six 
Party agreement on an acceptable verification protocol; 
Six Party agreement on an acceptable monitoring mechanism; 
and commencement of verification activities.  Based on 
this assessment the United States will act accordingly. 
 
-- As is the case with TWEA, rescission of North Korea's 
SST status is largely symbolic.  Most sanctions, 
including those related to North Korea's human rights 
violations, detonation of a nuclear device on October 9, 
2006, and proliferation activities will continue on the 
basis of other laws and regulations. 
 
-- North Korea was designated as an SST in 1988 primarily 
on the basis of North Korea's involvement in the bombing 
of a Korean Airlines passenger flight in 1987. 
 
-- The State Department's 2007 Country Report on 
Terrorism noted that North Korea has not been known to 
have sponsored any terrorist acts since 1987.  The report 
noted, however, that four Japanese Red Army members who 
participated in a jet hijacking in 1970 continue to live 
in North Korea.  The report also notes that the Japanese 
government continues to seek a full accounting of the 
fate of Japanese nationals believed to have been abducted 
by DPRK state entities. 
 
-- On June 10, 2008, the North Korean Government issued 
an authoritative and direct public statement affirming 
that it does not support international terrorism now and 
will not support international terrorism in the future. 
 
-- Rescission of the State Sponsor of Terrorism 
designation will not diminish the United States' concern 
over the matter of North Korea's past abductions of 
Japanese citizens.  The United States strongly supports 
Japan's position on the abduction issue.  As the 
President has stated on several occasions, we have not 
forgotten, and will never forget, the suffering of the 
families of the abductees. 
 
-- Following bilateral meetings in early June between 
Japan and North Korea, North Korea agreed to take some 
steps toward addressing Japan's concerns on this matter. 
The United States will continue to urge the DPRK to 
address Japan's concerns without further delay, while 
welcoming any sincere actions taken by North to address 
this issue. 
 
Verification 
------------ 
 
-- North Korea's declaration will be subjected to an 
iterative process of verification aimed at resolving any 
discrepancies and achieving a declaration that is in fact 
complete and correct. 
 
-- On May 8, 2008, North Korea provided U.S. experts with 
nearly 19,000 pages of documentation consisting of 
operating records for the five-megawatt reactor [5-MW(e)] 
and the fuel rod reprocessing plant at the Yongbyon 
nuclear complex, where North Korea had produced its stock 
of weapons-grade plutonium. 
 
-- Review of these operating records, which date back to 
1986, has yielded useful data and will contribute to the 
verification of North Korea's declaration. 
 
-- A comprehensive verification regime would include, 
among other things, short notice access to declared or 
suspect sites related to the North Korean nuclear program, 
access to nuclear materials, environmental and bulk 
sampling of materials and equipment, interviews with 
personnel in North Korea, as well as access to additional 
documentation and records for all nuclear-related 
facilities and operations. 
 
-- Any discrepancies in its declaration must be addressed 
by North Korea until the declaration is deemed to be 
complete and correct.  Issues related to the declaration, 
including concerns on uranium enrichment and 
proliferation, can be also addressed via a Monitoring 
Mechanism to be established under the Denuclearization 
Working Group.  That Monitoring Mechanism is intended to 
ensure follow-through on all Six Party commitments. 
 
Disablement of Yongbyon 
------------------------ 
 
-- The DPRK shut down and sealed the Yongbyon nuclear 
facility in July 2007 in accordance with the February 13, 
2007 Six-Party agreement on "Initial Actions for the 
Implementation of the Joint Statement." 
 
-- The Yongbyon nuclear complex houses the three core 
facilities of North Korea's plutonium program: the 5-MW(e) 
reactor, the reprocessing facility (radiochemical 
laboratory), and the fuel rod fabrication plant. 
 
-- These facilities were operating until they were shut 
down in July 2007 as part of the Six-Party process. 
 
-- In addition, North Korea invited back IAEA personnel 
to monitor and verify the shutdown and sealing of these 
facilities. 
 
-- North Korea also shut down and sealed two nuclear 
reactors that were under construction: a 50 MW(e) plant 
at Yongbyon and a 200 MW(E) plant at Taechon.  IAEA 
personnel continue to monitor and verify the shutdown 
status of these sites. 
 
-- The DPRK subsequently agreed in the October 3, 2007 
agreement on "Second-Phase Actions for the Implementation 
of the Joint Statement" that it would disable all its 
existing nuclear facilities, beginning with the core 
facilities at Yongbyon by December 31, 2007. 
 
-- Since November 2007, U.S. experts have been on the 
ground at Yongbyon continuously, overseeing disablement 
activities. 
 
-- Eight out of 11 agreed disablement activities at the 
three core facilities have been completed.  Work on 
disablement activities continues. 
 
-- U.S. experts currently are overseeing the discharge of 
the spent fuel rods from the 5-MW(e) reactor.  As of late 
June, close to one-half of the spent fuel rods have been 
discharged successfully.  We expect the DPRK to 
accelerate the process of discharging the reactor. 
Additionally, the DPRK must adequately disable its entire 
stock of fresh fuel rods by bending or selling the rods 
to another Party. 
 
-- These actions have halted the DPRK's ability to 
produce additional weapons-grade plutonium for its 
nuclear weapons program. 
 
-- The United States remains committed to the full 
implementation of the September 19, 2005 Joint Statement 
of the Fourth Round of the Six-Party Talks, which 
unanimously reaffirmed that the goal of the Six-Party 
Talks is the verifiable denuclearization of the Korean 
Peninsula in a peaceful manner. 
 
¶6.  Minimize considered. 
 
RICE