Yearbook 2007
North Korea. According to
CountryAAH, several steps towards a solution to the
international conflict surrounding North Korea's nuclear weapons
program were taken during the year. In February, new
so-called six-party talks in Beijing led to the regime in
Pyongyang promising to close the nuclear reactor in Yongbyon
within 60 days and then to close other plants for the
production of weapons use plutonium. In addition, IAEA
nuclear inspectors would be given access to Yongbyon to
monitor the closure. North Korea, for his part, would get fuel oil
and other financial aid. The United States pledged to begin
normalizing diplomatic relations with Pyongyang, removing North Korea
from the list of countries that support terrorism, and
removing trade sanctions against the country. South Korea
promised continued fuel and food shipments.

In March, IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei was allowed to
visit North Korea for the first time in five years, and in June the
inspectors came. After an initial supply of fuel oil arrived
in N. from South Korea in July, Pyongyang announced that Yongbyon had been closed, which was confirmed by the IAEA on
site at the plant.
During new six-party talks in September, it was decided
that the entire Yongbyon plant would be dismantled and
rendered unusable before the end of the year. The work was
to be led by US technical experts, who traveled to North Korea in
October. The US promised the equivalent of $ 25 million in
aid in the form of fuel. Later in the fall, North Korea also promised
to render three more nuclear power plants unusable as well
as publish their entire nuclear weapons program before the
end of the year.
By the end of the year, the work to dismantle the nuclear
power plants had not yet been completed, but the US
engineers announced that it was solely due to technical
problems. Nor has North Korea published its nuclear weapons
program, which has led to great disappointment among the
nations involved. No explanation for the delay came from
Pyongyang.
As part of the sluggish peace process between North Korea and
South Korea, the first summit between the two countries was
held in October since the historic meeting in 2000. Present
this time was North Korea's leader Kim Jong Il and South Korea's
president Roh Moo Hyun. Among other things, the countries
decided to work for a permanent and formal peace and to
resolve all conflicts between them. In May, a symbolic
initiative for reconciliation had been taken as train
journeys were made in both directions across the
demilitarized zone which forms a border between the
countries. It was the first train trip across the "border"
since 1950 when the Korean War broke out. Technically, North
Korea
and South Korea have been at war with each other since the
end of the war in 1953 because peace agreements have not yet
been concluded.
Another success in the peace process came in November
when North Korea and South Korea's prime ministers met in Seoul for
the first time in 15 years. It was then decided that regular
freight traffic by train from South Korea to North Korea would be
initiated, which happened on December 11.
North Korea - Pyongyang
Pyongyang
Pyongyang, P'yŏngyang, capital of North Korea; 3. 4 million
residents (2012). The city is the country's dominant industrial center with
extensive heavy industry, among others. a. Steel plant, chemical industry and
manufacture of machinery and transport equipment and also large textile
industry. A large port is located in Nampo, about 50 km southwest of the
capital. Pyongyang is also the most important hub for all aspects of North
Korean social and cultural life.
Large parts of the city were destroyed during the Korean War (1950–53). It
was rebuilt with Soviet and Chinese aid, which is reflected in the cityscape.
Prominent are wide, almost traffic-empty parades and monumental buildings,
several on a gigantic scale. They are symbols of ideology and many depict Kim Il
Sung, the leader for many years. In Pyongyang there is a sports arena with space
for 150,000 people and extensive gatherings for mass parades. In the city there
is also the country's only metro.
P. , which has been an important political and cultural center ever since the
older Choson period (first millennium BC), was the capital of Koguryo 427-668
and regained its position as capital in connection with the proclamation of
North Korea in 1948.
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