Materials may mean forward progress for Six-Party Talks

By David McKeeby
Staff Writer
May 14, 2008

Washington -- As translators and analysts review 18,882 pages of newly released North Korean nuclear documents, a top U.S. diplomat says the materials may represent “an important first step” toward a long-delayed declaration of Pyongyang’s nuclear activities.

“The North Koreans acknowledged the requirement for verification and indeed agreed to cooperate fully with verification activities,” Sung Kim, director of the State Department’s Office of Korean Affairs, said in a May 13 Washington briefing...more

Serious concerns expressed about proliferation risk from Iran’s program

By Jacquelyn S. Porth
Staff Writer
May 13, 2008

Washington -- Delegates to a two-week conference in Geneva to review the 40-year-old nuclear nonproliferation regime spent considerable time on challenges posed by Iranian and North Korean nuclear endeavors.

At the conclusion of the discussions May 9, the nuclear weapons states attending the 2008 Preparatory Commission meeting to examine the 1970 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) issued a statement pointing to the proliferation risks posed by Iran’s nuclear program and calling them “a matter of ongoing serious concern.”...more