Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation: Senate Votes Late Thursday to Permit US Agencies to Assist Disablement and Dismantlement of North Korean Nuclear Facilities
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 27, 2008
2:57 PM
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CONTACT: Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation
Travis Sharp
202.546.0795 ext. 123
tsharp@armscontrolcenter.org |
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Senate Votes Late Thursday to Permit US Agencies to Assist Disablement and Dismantlement of North Korean Nuclear Facilities
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WASHINGTON - June 27 - After a 24-hour period of positive developments on the dismantlement of North Korea's nuclear program, an exclamation point was added late Thursday night when the U.S. Senate passed an Iraq war supplemental funding bill that included a waiver to the 1994 Glenn amendment, an amendment which would have limited the United States from providing financial assistance to North Korea for dismantlement.
The waiver has now passed both houses of Congress and is strongly supported by the Bush administration.
The waiver was an arcane but crucial step in enabling further progress to be made on removing nuclear material and shutting down North Korea's Yongbyon reactor. Up until now, the Glenn amendment had hindered the Department of Energy from funding work to verify and assist North Korea in disabling and dismantling its nuclear weapons programs.
"The absence of the waiver could have led to an embarrassing situation where progress on dismantling North Korea's nuclear program would have been delayed because of a technicality," said Leonor Tomero, Director of Nuclear Non-Proliferation at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation.
The Glenn amendment prohibits the United States from providing funding to states that detonate a nuclear device but are officially considered non-nuclear weapon states under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
For a brief summary of the Glenn amendment waiver, see the Center's short summary.
The Senate's action late Thursday capped a 24-hour period that saw North Korea release a detailed report of its nuclear activities. President Bush, in a reciprocal show of good faith, announced Thursday that he would begin the process of removing North Korea from the state sponsors of terrorism list.
"The waiver did not come a moment too soon, especially as North Korea on Thursday provided a declaration of its nuclear programs after a six-month delay," noted John Isaacs, Executive Director of the Center.
Tomero concluded: "Now that the Department of Energy can spend money to assist and verify the dismantlement of North Korea's nuclear weapons program, the next step will be to ensure that Congress provides the Department with enough money to get the job done in a timely manner."
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Founded in 1980, the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation is a leading advocate for prudent measures to prevent the spread of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons. Visit the Center online: www.armscontrolcenter.org
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