In my last post, I brought the history of the North Korean nuclear program up to early 2013 when international negotiations fell apart again. What is referred to as the N.K. Crisis began in March of 2013. N.K. new leader, Kim Jong-Un issued increasingly belligerent threats against South Korea, Japan and the United States.
In April of 2013, N.K. announced that it would restart a reactor that produced plutonium which was shut down in 2007. They also denied the S.K.s access to the Kaesong Industrial Region (KIR). The KIR is a collaborative industrial park just north of the DMZ where S.K. companies could employ N.K. cheap labor. During most past periods of tension between the North and the South, the park had remained open to S.K. The ending of access signaled to many that this crisis was much more serious that other crises in the past.
The U.S. ordered the deployment of an anti-missile system to Guam to counter the N.K. threats of a immediate "merciless" attack against the U.S. with nuclear weapons. N.K. missiles were moved to the east coast of the country and foreign embassies in N.K were closed and the staffs evacuated. South Korean warships with advanced radar systems were deployed to both sides of the Peninsula. Japan said that it would shoot down any missiles that N.K. launched. All N.K. workers were withdrawn from the KIR. N.K. said that all foreigners in S.K. should evacuate immediately because the two Koreas were on the verge of war. North Korea began fueling ballistic missiles.. The United States and China agreed that N.K. should have its nuclear weapons capability removed. Tensions continued to escalate.
The U.S. Secretary of State said that the U.S. would talk directly with N.K. if it would halt their development of nuclear weapons. N.K. countered that they were ready to negotiate peaceful relations with the world if their right to have nuclear weapons was not disputed. Japan said that it would it reserved the right to carry out a preemptive strike on N.K. N.K. said that they would attack S.K. without warning. N.K. conditions for resumption of negotiations were that all trade sanctions be lifted and that U.S. and S.K. military exercises be canceled. The U.S. Secretary of State rejected the N.K. conditions. N.K. agreed to engage in a dialog with China but demanded recognition as a nuclear state first. The U.S. and S.K. military exercises ended at the end of April.
In May, the Bank of China stopped doing business with N.K. The Bank had been accused of supplying money that was used by N.K. for the development of nuclear weapons. Three other big banks in China also stopped all transactions with N.K. The crisis seemed to be fading but then N.K. launched several missiles into the Sea of Japan. The old familiar story of N.K. appearing to be ready to negotiate but then reverting to belligerent statements and provocative actions continued to play out.
North Korean missiles on launchers:
