Dec. 1998:
U.S. sends former Defense Secy. Wm. Perry to consult with Asian allies, China.
May 1999:
former Defense Secy. Wm. Perry then visits, consults with DPRK.
Missile and nuclear proliferation are key topics raised.
Subsequent Perry report questions DPRK’s compliance with “Agreed
Framework.”
March 1999:
DPRK again rejoins formal peace talks, invites U.S. to inspect nuclear
facilities; U.S. announces increased food aid
June 1999: So.
Korea sinks DPRK torpedo boat in Yellow Sea as tensions rise in fishing dispute;
No – So talks in Beijing are suspended (July)
1999: Annual
U.S. Terrorism report cites DPRK ties to Al Qaeda
Dec. 15, 1999:
Consortium announces plan to build 2 light water reactors in DPRK.
So Korea will pay $3.2B; Japan: $1B; U.S. $115M; EU: $80 M.
$200M additional cost is undetermined who will pay.
June 2000:
Pres. Kim Jung Il (DPRK) and Pres. Kim Dae Jung meet in Pyongyang, agree on need
for reconciliation
July 2000:
Secy. Of State Madeline Albright visits DPRK, seeking end of missile exports
Jan. 2001: G.W.
Bush Administration is begun in U.S.; Secy. Of State Colin Powell initially
speaks of continuation of Clinton’s “engagement policy” under Bush;
Armitage suggests possibility of “full normalization of relations” if
“Agreed Framework” is adhered to.
March 2001:
Bush visits South Korean Pres. Kim Dea Jung, expresses skepticism about DPRK and
proliferation.
June 2001:
Powell states that U.S. concerns go beyond proliferation to include humanitarian
concerns about conditions in the DPRK. U.S. insists on strict adherence to “Agreed Framework”:
all weapons must be dismantled before any rewards are given.
Nov. 2001:
DoS’s John Bolton accuses DPRK of developing biological weapons.
Jan. 2002:
Bush names DPRK part of “axis of evil;” “engagement policy” of the
Clinton years is ended.
October
2002: DoS Special Envoy James Kelly visits DPRK;
DPRK admits having a nuclear weapons development program (Oct. 16); U.S.
withdraws from “Agreed Framework,” weighs military options.
Japan opposes this, favoring normalization of relations and return to
“Agreed Framework” principles.
follow this link to a map of
North Korea's nuclear facilities
August
2003: “Six Party” negotiations (US, China, DPRK, So Korea, Japan, Russia)
convened with China chairing. No
consensus emerges.
January
2004: Unofficial U.S. delegation visits nuclear facility at Yongbyon, confirming
that DPRK has converted spent fuel rods into plutonium.
February
2004: China hosts second round of “Six Party” negotiations.
No progress is made: U.S. continues to demand complete and verifiable end
to DPRK nuclear weapons program; DPRK demands economic aid and security
assurances prior to any dismantling of nuclear weapons and WMD programs.
Early
March 2004: DPRK accuses U.S./So.Korea joint military exercises of being
preparation for invasion of the North.
March
19, 2004: DPRK threatens to upgrade “quantity and quality” of its nuclear
weapons arsenal.
February
10, 2005:
North Korea announces it has made nuclear weapons.
April 28, 2005: The Washington
Post reported (April 29, 2005: 1, 18) that in testimony before the
Senate Armed Services Committee, Vice Admiral Lowell Jacoby (who heads the
Defense Intelligence Agency) asserted that North Korea possesses the capability
to arm long range missiles with nuclear warheads. In earlier testimony,
the Senate had been told that the missiles, known as Taepo Dong 2, are capable
of reaching parts of the United States if launched from North Korea.
May 2005: On May 20,
the Washington Post reported that on instructions from Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice, Ambassador Joseph DeTrani, U.S. special envoy to the North
Korean disarmament talks, and Jim Foster (of the State Department's Office of
Korean Affairs) met secretly in New York a week earlier with North Korea's
Ambassador to the U.N. Pak Gil Yon and his deputy, Han Song Ryol. U.S.
officials insisted that this was not a negotiation, but that "direct contacts"
would be possible in the future in the context of six-nation talks. The
meeting, which seemed to break from previous U.S. insistence that all talks
occur within the context of the six nation negotiating process preferred by the
U.S., occurred as South Korea announced that it had agreed to ship to North
Korea 200,000 tons of fertilizer and to had agreed to resume bilateral talks
with the North at a ministerial level.
Summer 2005: Six party talks in
Beijing provided a setting in which apparent progress seemed to have been made.
On Sept. 19, North Korea and U.S. negotiator Assistant Secretary of State
Christopher Hill separately confirmed that
an agreement had been reached under which North Korea agreed to abandon its
nuclear weapons and nuclear weapons program if the U.S. would provide energy
(generally understood to be a nuclear reactor) and enter into discussions about
these energy matters at an "appropriate time." In exchange, the U.S.
agreed to pledge it would not invade North Korea and would respect its
sovereignty. Disagreements surfaced within hours over exactly what had been
agreed to, with
North Korea insisting that no steps would be taken on the nuclear weapons
issue until the U.S. provided a nuclear reactor for power generation. Two
days later,
Russia, Japan, and China joined with the U.S. in rejecting this new demand,
urging the North Koreans to stick to the terms of the September 19th agreement.
North Korea, however, returned to old habits: on Sept. 21, it accused the U.S.
of seeking to "crush us to death with nuclear weapons."
July 2006: North Korea tested
long range missiles: Taepodong-2 test failed. Test is widely condemned by neighboring states.
October 2006: North Korea tests
a nuclear bomb, but the test was not fully successful. In response, the
United Nations Security Council imposes new sanctions on North Korea.
February 13, 2007: Six party
talks resume at Beijing, and produce what then is seens as a breakthrough. In exchange for $300
million in aid and steps toward full diplomatic relations with the United
States, North Korea agrees to dismantle its nuclear weapons program.
Direct bilateral negotiations between the US and the North Koreans commence on
March 5.
April 2007: North Korea
launches a test rocket over Japan, igniting worldwide criticism. As U.N.
Security Council begins debate on the matter, North Korea walks out of "6 Party"
talks on dismantling its nuclear program.
January 2008: U.S. states that
North Korea failed to fulfill its commitments made in the 2007 nuclear
agreement.
June 2008: North Korea makes
its declaration on nuclear programs called for under the 2007 agreement.
U.S. Secretary of State Rice visits Pyongyang and conducts formal negotiations
for first time in years.
October 2008: U.S. drops North
Korea from list of states that sponsor terrorism, fulfilling part of the 2007
U.S. agreement with North Korea.
July 2009: North Korea
launches a series of missile tests in the Sea of Japan, again igniting worldwide criticism.
May 26, 2009: Explosion of a
nuclear device substantially stronger than the October 2006 test was detected by
Western intelligence services and was announced by the North Korean Government.
U.N. Security Council condemns, again without meaningful sanctions being imposed
for this violation of previous agreements.
March 26, 2010: North Korea sinks South Korean destroyer the ROKS Cheonan in disputed waters near the two countries' border.
Nov. 23, 2012: North Korean artillery shell
Big Yeonpyeong Island in the Red Sea, off the coast of South Korea; 2 civilians and 2 South Korean military personnel were killed. About 70 civilian homes also were destroyed in this action.
Dec. 29, 2011:
Kim Jong Eun ascends to position of top leader of North Korea after his father, Kim Jong-il, died on Dec. 17.
Feb. 29, 2012: U.S. agrees to provide food aid to North Korea in exchange for North Korea's promise to not test nuclear weapons or ballistic missiles.
April 2012: North Korea readies launch platform for missile test; U.S. suspends food aid.
other sources on these issues: