Evidence has been disclosed concerning North Korea’s nuclear collaboration with Syria. The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency presented some members of Congress with strong evidence substantiating the alleged nuclear link between North Korea and Syria on April 24. It is still unclear what was discussed in detail during the closed-door briefing session, but the U.S. intelligence authorities officially announced it was convinced of North Korea’s assistance to Syria’s secret nuclear development. What is the conclusive evidence of Pyongyang’s nuclear cooperation with Syria? Here’s Professor Kim Yong-hyun from Dongguk University to explain.

The Congress members reportedly saw video clips showing a nuclear reactor that had been recorded before it was bombed by an Israeli air strike. Also, the CIA showed them photos of a North Korean nuclear expert in Syria standing with a Syrian scientist. The U.S. cites the photographs of the Syrian nuclear facility showing a strong resemblance with one at Yongbyon in North Korea as a convincing evidence of Pyongyang’s nuclear connection with Syria.

During the secret briefing session to Congress, the CIA reportedly unveiled video clips of a nuclear facility in Syria, where North Koreans are spotted. They also showed the suspected nuclear reactor is very similar to the Yongbyon facility. The CIA explained that the nuclear facility in the video was the one in a desert of northeast Syria that was bombed by an Israeli air raid on September 6 last year. The nuclear facility was destroyed by the air strike, so controversy is likely to continue over whether or not the facility actually existed. Washington Post diplomatic correspondent Glenn Kessler maintained that the government’s announcement lacked major evidence of nuclear fuels and reprocessing facilities. So, the dispute over a more persuasive evidence of the suspected nuclear collaboration between the North and Syria will likely continue. Actually, there has been constant speculation about the North Korea-Syria nuclear connection. But why did the U.S. bring up the issue at this moment? Professor Kim explains.

The U.S. law governing state sponsors of terrorism requires that a country first demonstrate it has not assisted another country on the terrorism list for at least six months before being removed from the list. The Bush administration disclosed the evidence of the alleged North Korea-Syria nuclear link only recently, indicating that the U.S. apparently wants to push the idea of taking North Korea off from the list. Pyongyang and Washington have engaged in a grueling tug-of-war over the North’s second denuclearization step for months. It seems that the U.S. didn’t want the allegation to undermine the nuclear dismantlement process. That is, the U.S. seeks to focus more on the current state of the nuclear issue than the North’s nuclear activities from the past. That’s why the U.S. disclosed the evidence of the North-Syria nuclear cooperation rather belatedly.

North Korea and Syria maintained cooperative ties in the missile area. With both countries included in Washington’s list of state sponsors of terrorism, the allegation of the nuclear connection between the two countries has attracted media attention. The speculation has become more rampant since last September when nuclear experts began to point out that photographs taken by the Israeli air force of a nuclear facility in Syria show it’s similar to the Yongbyon facility in North Korea. But the U.S. administration reported relevant evidence to Congress eight months after the speculation first arose. Professor Kim now explains the respective positions of the U.S. administration and Congress about the North Korean nuclear issue.

The Bush administration seeks to speed up North Korea’s denuclearization process, focusing more on the amount of plutonium stockpiled in the North and the current state of its nuclear development. On the other hand, some members of Congress argue that North Korea should come clean on its proliferation activities in Syria, taking Israel’s position into account. Washington is likely to adopt the views of the administration and concentrate more on North Korea’s current nuclear development, including the uranium-enrichment program.

Meanwhile, Syria immediately denied the U.S. allegation that it was involved in a secret nuclear program with North Korea. Syrian ambassador to the U.N., Bashar Jaafari, maintains that there was no Syria-North Korea cooperation whatsoever in Syria. North Korea has yet to make an official response to the U.S. announcement. Pyongyang only expressed its will to make an effort to produce a result at the six-party talks during a meeting with China on Monday. The six-way talks seemed to be progressing smoothly, following the Singapore deal reached between North Korea and the U.S. in early April. So then, how will the U.S. statement on the alleged North Korea-Syria nuclear dealings influence the nuclear disarmament talks?

The allegation will influence the six-party talks in some way. It is highly possible that the U.S. will pressure North Korea to declare and verify its nuclear programs more thoroughly. Basically, the U.S. is interested in how much plutonium the North has accumulated and how extensively its nuclear programs will be verified. So, I don’t think the allegation will derail the nuclear talks altogether.

Speculation is still rife over the alleged North Korea-Syria nuclear ties, but participants of the six-party nuclear talks are moving fast to make headway with the nuclear issue. North Korean Foreign Minister Park Ui-chun met with his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi in Beijing on Monday and agreed to make joint effort to resolve the nuclear issue. On the same day, South Korea’s new chief nuclear negotiator Kim Sook met with top U.S. nuclear envoy Christopher Hill in Washington to discuss ways to resume the six-way talks and the verification procedures involving North Korea’s promised declaration of its nuclear activities. South Korea and the U.S. predict that the six-way talks may restart around mid-May, as soon as North Korea submits its nuclear declaration list to China, the host country of the multilateral talks. Despite the repeated setbacks, the nuclear issue seems to be moving ahead little by little. Involved countries should be able to keep the dialogue momentum afloat and produce some visible results.

　 [Interview] Musical Portrays N. Korean Prison Camp
The musical , describing the horrors of a North Korean concentration camp, was staged at the Aramnuri Arts Complex in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, from April 17 to 27. Premiering in March of 2006, the musical has been performed 100 times in South Korea alone. It was staged 15 times in the United States in 2006, and 50 times in 2007. The show has attracted some 200-thousand viewers from both at home and abroad for the past two years. The performing art piece has been the talk of the town, because it was based on the real experience of its director and former North Korean defector, Jeong Seong-san. Director Jeong now tells us about his own story.

So many North Korean defectors are coming to South Korea these days. But it was difficult for North Koreans to defect to the South in the 1990s, unless they committed a serious crime. I was caught by the police in 1994 while listening to a South Korean radio program. I was sent to a prison camp in Sariwon and I suffered torture there for two months. I was sentenced to 13 years in prison at the military court in Gaeseong. While I was taken to another prison camp by bus, the vehicle was turned over. I was fortunate enough to escape North Korea. Living here in the South, I tried to forget everything about North Korea. But I heard my father had died from public execution at a concentration camp in Hoeryeong in 2001. That was the moment I decided to make something to let people know about the dire situation of North Korea. When producing this musical, I employed tragic stories of many North Korean defectors who had actually been detained at the Yoduk prison camp. But most defectors say the musical doesn’t fully mirror its reality. In fact, the reality in North Korea is much more severe than the scenes described in the musical.

revolves around Kang Ryong-hwa, who is imprisoned at the Yoduk camp because of her father’s crime, and her tragic love with prison warden Lee Myung-soo. The musical realistically portrays why the inmates were sent to the prison camp and how human rights are abused there. Watching the show, the audiences are once again reminded of the harsh reality of North Korea today. Here, some audience members share their opinions.

…I heard the musical vividly depicts the North Korean reality. I came here with my children. I felt sad when I realized there is no freedom in the North. I hope South Korea will pay more attention to the human rights issue in North Korea, in addition to economic and cultural exchanges with the North.
…I was wondering how people are detained in North Korea. I found that human rights violations are more severe than I thought. North Koreans aren’t allowed to do things we take for granted. I became ashamed of my life. I was able to look at North Korea from a different angle.
…It was heartbreaking. I hope unification will come about soon so that North Koreans can live freely just as South Koreans do.

Born in Pyongyang, director Jeong graduated from the Pyongyang Drama and Film College. He was initially thinking of making his own story into a movie. When he heard about his father’s death in 2001, however, he wrote a scenario of in memory of his ill-fated father. He put everything he had into this work, and he even planned on overseas performances in 2006.

I was very worried, because I wasn’t invited. I just decided to present the show in the U.S. It was a risky attempt. But I did want to speak about human rights abuses in North Korea in Washington D.C., the center of world politics. The American audiences in Washington gave us a standing ovation. The theaters were packed with people in New York and LA. I hope to advance into Broadway. If opened on Broadway in New York, North Korea would take down at least one or two prison camps.