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[ Presenting plain-text part of multi-format email ] > US Lets N. Korea Get Nuclear Data > Wayne Washington > Boston Globe > > Friday 7 March 2003 > > > >> Transfer Pact Stays in Effect >> >> > > WASHINGTON - The Bush administration has not suspended or revoked the > authority of Westinghouse Co. to transfer documents related to nuclear > technology to North Korea, despite the fact that the Asian nation has > admitted that it violated terms of a nonproliferation agreement it signed > with Washington in 1994, US Department of Energy documents show. > Some Republicans have blamed the Clinton administration for the > nuclear standoff with North Korea, arguing that the 1994 agreement calling > for an end to the North's nuclear program in exchange for food and fuel was > hopelessly optimistic and naive. > But Department of Energy documents released yesterday to > Representative Edward J. Markey, Democrat of Malden, indicate that the Bush > administration quietly worked under that agreement and rejected a chance to > repudiate it in May 2001, when the Department of Energy extended for five > more years the authority for Westinghouse to transfer nuclear technology to > North Korea. > ''They've engaged in rhetorical hostility, but policy continuity with > the Clinton administration's North Korea policy from the very beginning,'' > said Markey, who is cochairman of a congressional nonproliferation task > force and a member of the Homeland Security Committee. > Former secretary of state James A. Baker III and Senator John S. > McCain, Republican of Arizona, have been strongly critical of the Clinton > administration's handling of the issue in 1994. > Baker wrote that the agreement, under which the United States would > also provide North Korea with two new nuclear reactors that would be used > for nonmilitary purposes, was ''a mistake that has made stability on the > Korean Peninsula less, not more, likely.'' > McCain wrote that ''the Clinton administration's lack of credibility > in dealing with North Korea emboldened the regime to defy America.'' > McCain did not fault Bush for not stepping away from the agreement > when he had a chance to. Yesterday, a source in McCain's office, speaking > on condition of anonymity, said: ''The overwhelming responsibility lays at > the doorstep at the Clinton administration.'' > Markey, however, said the Republicans were trying to have it both > ways, quietly working under the agreement and then blaming Clinton for the > current situation in North Korea. > In a series of letters and committee meetings, Markey prodded the Bush > administration to provide specific information on what nuclear technology > transfers had been approved. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham, responding > on March 4 to a letter Markey sent to him on Oct. 22, told the congressman > that more than 3,000 nuclear-related documents have been reviewed by the > department and that 300 documents have been transferred to North Korea. The > department did not say when those documents were transferred. > The 300 documents include a safety analysis report, training > documents, quality assurance documents, and construction documents, Energy > Department documents show. > In light of North Korea's admission that is has been pursuing a > nuclear weapons program in violation of the 1994 agreement, the Bush > administration is ''now considering appropriate courses of action, possibly > to include suspension or revocation of the May 2001 authorization,'' > Abraham said. > Officials at Westinghouse could not be reached for comment yesterday. > After being confronted with US intelligence on its activities, North > Korea admitted last October that it had embarked on a nuclear weapons > program. Since that time, North Korea has tested weapons while Secretary of > State Colin L. Powell was in the region and intercepted a US reconnaisance > flight. The Bush administration has refused to call the situation a crisis > and refused to meet with the North Koreans, arguing that doing so would > reward Pyongyang's behavior. > > Congressional Democrats have been increasingly critical of Bush's approach > to North Korea, with many insisting that the threat posed by a > nuclear-armed North Korea is far greater than any posed by Iraq. _______________________________________________ Sent via the discussion list of the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq. To unsubscribe, visit http://lists.casi.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/casi-discuss To contact the list manager, email casi-discuss-admin@lists.casi.org.uk All postings are archived on CASI's website: http://www.casi.org.uk