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South Korea ships oil to North Korea in nuke-shutdown deal

South Korea will ship oil to North Korea next week as part of a six-nation agreement reached in February that trades energy aid for a shutdown of the North's main nuclear facility. Funny story, though: North Korea hasn't shut down the reactor. But it totally will! It promises! In talks on Tuesday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-il said that "all the parties should implement the initial actions" of the agreement. But then he asked for 5,500 to 11,000 tons of the promised 55,000 tons of oil in advance. "Good faith is going to be met in turn by good faith," said Sean McCormack of the U.S. State Department. Japan, on the other hand? Not feeling the faith. "While North Korea demands to be given aid beforehand, the proper way is to carry [the pledges] out simultaneously," said Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki. "We cannot allow one to come before the other unless it is clear that the activities at the Yongbyon facility have been suspended and sealed for certain." What, they don't trust Kim?

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North Korea's Environment Is in Sorry Shape

Its rivers and streams are filled with industrial waste, its air is polluted, and its landscape is increasingly devoid of trees. Can't tell what country we're talking about? It's North Korea. The first large-scale environmental assessment of the country, conducted by dozens of government and academic researchers under the auspices of the U.N. Environment Program, found that increasing population, agriculture-related problems, natural disasters, and an over-reliance on coal power are pushing the nation toward a troubling future. (And while the report didn't highlight the country's brutal, repressive, totally isolated communist government, it can't be helping matters.) At a ceremony last week in which North Korea signed an agreement on international environmental cooperation, UNEP Director Klaus Toepfer lauded the country's "willingness to engage with the global community" (ironic given that the North Korean delegation refused to appear at a press conference after the signing) and urged a shift to sustainable agricultural practices and cleaner-burning coal.

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In a sign of the further souring of relations with Washington, North Korea announced yesterday that it would immediately restart a nuclear reactor that has been offline since 1994, when it nearly provoked a war with the U.S. North Korea says the Yongbyon reactor is its only option for producing electricity in light of the recent suspension of fuel deliveries from the U.S., Japan, South Korea, and the European Union. Fuel deliveries were halted as punishment for North Korea's secret nuclear weapons program, which top officials acknowledged early in October. North Korea's foreign ministry says the 1994 nuclear shutdown was adopted with the understanding that the country would receive 500,000 tons of oil annually; hence, the ministry noted, "Whether the [nation] refreezes its nuclear facilities or not hinges upon the U.S." According to U.S. intelligence sources, the reactor is capable of generating enough plutonium to make one or two nuclear weapons per year. Busy with the Middle East, the White House announced that it had no plans to invade North Korea, but said it would not negotiate its hard-line stance regarding the country's nuclear weapons.

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