The February 2007 six-party agreement on North Korea’s nuclear program was hailed in the capitals of its signatories as proof that Pyongyang is finally serious about denuclearization and that multilateral negotiations have finally paid off. But the agreement raised almost as many questions as it answered. What will be the fate of North Korea’s existing nuclear weapons stockpile, which went unmentioned in the treaty? And what of Pyongyang’s uranium enrichment program, which American officials now indicate may never have existed? How will the lifting of financial sanctions on North Korean accounts affect U.S. leverage against Pyongyang’s recidivist tendencies?
On April 5, AEI will hold a panel discussion to address these and other questions concerning the North Korean nuclear crisis.