North Korea

11 January 2010 Resumption of Six-Party Talks Must Precede Korean Peace Treaty  The Obama administration is willing to discuss a peace treaty to formally end the 1950–53 Korean conflict, but says North Korea first must return to multilateral talks to discuss its nuclear activities and take “affirmative steps” toward dismantling its nuclear program. When that happens, the agenda of the discussions can be expanded, Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs P.J. Crowley told reporters.

16 December 2009 Bosworth Told North Koreans Benefits of Ending Nuclear Programs  Washington — U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Policy Ambassador Stephen Bosworth used his discussions with North Korean officials as an opportunity to present a vision of an improved bilateral relationship, as well as better relationships with its neighbors, if they agree to abandon its nuclear programs.

14 December 2009 Seizure of North Korean Arms Cargo Shows Strength of Sanctions  Thailand will hold the crew of a cargo plane in prison while investigating their role in smuggling weapons from North Korea. Regional experts say the seizure reflects the firmness of international sanctions against the North.

10 December 2009 Ambassador Bosworth Reports “Very Useful” Meetings in North Korea  The Obama administration’s special representative for North Korea policy said his talks with North Korean officials in Pyongyang, the first high-level meeting between the two countries in more than a year, had been “very useful,” and the two countries share a “common understanding” on the need to implement a 2005 agreement aimed at abandoning nuclear programs on the Korean Peninsula and to resume multilateral talks.

08 December 2009 United States Officials Gauging North Korean Willingness to Talk  U.S. officials have arrived in North Korea for the first time in more than a year to ascertain whether Pyongyang is willing to return to multilateral talks over its nuclear activities and to reaffirm its 2005 commitment to abandon nuclear weapons.

19 November 2009 End Distractions and Take Serious Steps, Obama Tells North Korea  The door is open to peacefully resolve the issue of North Korea’s nuclear weapons program and allow it to become more integrated with the international community, President Obama says. But Pyongyang must take concrete action and work with its partners in the Six-Party Talks to make progress on the core issues of the discussions.

11 September 2009 United States Willing to Meet Bilaterally with North Korea  Following discussions with its partners in talks to eliminate nuclear weapons from the Korean Peninsula, the United States says it is prepared to meet bilaterally with North Korea as a means of advancing the multilateral process known as the Six-Party Talks. North Korea had invited U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Policy Stephen Bosworth and Ambassador Sung Kim, the State Department’s special envoy for the Six-Party Talks, to hold direct talks.

08 September 2009 Designation of Two North Korean Nuclear and Missile Entities  United States to freeze assets, halt transactions with designated entities.

08 September 2009 United States Weighing North Korean Offer of Bilateral Talks  The U.S. is considering its response to North Korea's invitation for bilateral talks, but a senior Obama administration official says any bilateral engagement would not be a substitute for the established multilateral format known as the Six-Party Talks.

10 August 2009 United States Calls for North Korea to Resume Six-Party Talks  The United States would be willing to hold one-on-one talks with North Korean officials about North Korea’s nuclear weapons development program and related issues if North Korea resumes participation in the stalled Six-Party Talks, President Obama’s national security adviser said August 9 in several news interviews.

05 August 2009 Pardoned U.S. Journalists Return Home from North Korea  President Obama says he is "extraordinarily relieved" that American television journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling have safely returned to the United States after the North Korean government agreed to their release following a meeting between former President Bill Clinton and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il.

22 July 2009 United States Concerned About North Korea’s Ties to Burma  There is growing concern that North Korea is establishing military cooperation with Burma, which could destabilize the region, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says. "We know that there are … growing concerns about military cooperation between North Korea and Burma, which we take very seriously," Clinton said at a press conference in Bangkok, Thailand, with Thai Deputy Prime Minister Korbsak Sabhavasu. "It would pose a direct threat to Burma’s neighbors. And it is something as a treaty ally of Thailand that we are taking very seriously."

16 July 2009 U.S., China, Others Showing Strong Consensus on North Korea  Senior Obama administration officials praise the international community's "extraordinary convergence" over the seriousness of North Korea's nuclear program as well as the need to implement United Nations sanctions to achieve the ultimate goal of eliminating nuclear weapons from the Korean Peninsula.

08 July 2009 Sanctions, North Korea Talks "Mutually Reinforcing," U.S. Says   Increased sanctions on North Korea that were imposed by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1874 are getting the international community to return to the original goal of convincing North Korea that its only option to improve its relationship with the world is to have a dialogue over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, a senior State Department official says.

06 July 2009 U.S. Sees Seriousness of Purpose on North Korean Sanctions  The U.S. coordinator for implementing United Nations Security Council resolution 1874, which targets North Korean nuclear and missile technology, says East Asian countries are responding well to efforts to restrict Pyongyang’s ability to continue its programs in defiance of the international community.

02 July 2009 North Korea Must Stop Provocations and Return to Talks, U.S. Says  The Obama administration describes North Korea's launch of four short-range missiles July 2 as "not helpful" and "dangerous," and calls on the North Koreans to return to talks with the international community. According to the South Korean Defense Ministry, two of the missiles were launched from a base located near the eastern port of Wonsan and the others were launched from nearby Sinsang-ni.

22 June 2009 Obama Says U.S. Prepared for Any North Korean Threat  The United States is prepared if North Korea launches a long-range ballistic missile in the direction of Hawaii near the July 4 weekend, President Obama says. “This administration, and our military, is fully prepared for any contingencies,” Obama said in a CBS News interview broadcast June 22.

12 June 2009 United Nations Imposes Sanctions on North Korea  The U.N. Security Council unanimously voted to impose additional security and economic sanctions and a trade and arms embargo on North Korea for testing a nuclear device May 25 and also for testing a long-range ballistic missile in April.

10 June 2009 U.N. Security Council to Consider New Sanctions on North Korea  Key global powers presented a resolution to the U.N. Security Council that would impose additional sanctions on North Korea for its recent nuclear weapons tests, says U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice. The draft resolution was unanimously agreed to by the five permanent Security Council members — China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States — along with Japan and South Korea. A vote by the full 15-member Security Council could come as early as June 12 if there are no major objections from the Council.

08 June 2009 U.S. Seeking Strong Response to North Korea's Nuclear Actions  Not taking significant and effective action against North Korea's recent "provocative and belligerent behavior" to test a nuclear weapon and launch repeated short-range missiles could spark an arms race in Northeast Asia that nobody wants, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says.

01 June 2009 U.S. Will Not Accept North Korea as Nuclear Weapons State  The U.S. will not accept North Korea as a nuclear weapons state, Defense Secretary Robert Gates told an annual Asian security conference in Singapore. "Dependent on the charity of the international community to alleviate the hunger and suffering of its people, North Korea's leadership has chosen to focus the North's limited energies and resources on a reckless and ultimately self-destructive quest for nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles," Gates said.

27 May 2009 Clinton Says North Korea’s Actions Will Bring Consequences  The United States is working with the international community at the United Nations and in national capitals across the globe to determine the consequences that North Korea will face based on its latest behavior, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said.

26 May 2009 Obama Calls North Korea’s Nuclear Test Reckless  North Korea's recent underground nuclear test and short-range missile launches pose "a great threat to the peace and security of the world, and I strongly condemn their reckless action," President Obama said at the White House.
 • Remarks by Ambassador Rice on North Korean Nuclear Test

13 May 2009 Remarks to Media by U.S. Representative for North Korea Policy  Stephen Bosworth, the U.S. special representative for North Korea policy, concluded a visit to East Asia after having reached agreement with some members of the Six-Party Talks process regarding the way forward. The Six-Party Talks, which involve China, Japan, North Korea (DPRK), Russia, South Korea and the United States, are multilateral negotiations aimed at eliminating North Korea’s nuclear program. The talks stalled after North Korea refused to provide full disclosure of its nuclear weapons development program for international verification.

06 May 2009 U.S. Delegation Seeks to Resume North Korea Talks   A U.S. delegation is traveling to Northeast Asia and Moscow to determine if North Korea can be convinced to resume Six-Party Talks, says a State Department spokesman.

13 April 2009 Amb. Rice on U.N. Security Council's Statement on North Korea  Rice says any future launch is prohibited; violation of U.N. resolution.

20 February 2009 Clinton Names Special Representative for North Korea Policy  Veteran American diplomat Stephen Bosworth, the current dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, has been named special representative for North Korea policy and will oversee the Six-Party Talks on halting North Korea's nuclear development program.

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