Siegfried Hecker analyzes N. Korea-US denuclearization talks

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[Interview] The importance of diplomacy in reducing tensions with N. Korea

Hankyoreh

Sep.23,2019 17:29 KST Modified on : Sep.23,2019 17:29 KST

Siegfried Hecker analyzes N. Korea-US denuclearization talks

Over the course of seven visits to North Korea between 2004 and 2010, Hecker has surveyed the Yongbyon nuclear facility complex four times, becoming the only outsider known to have personally seen its centrifuges and other infrastructure for its enriched uranium program. No one else has seen the Yongbyon facilities on the ground since his last North Korea visit in November 2010. Born in Poland in 1943, Hecker served from 1986 to 1997 at the director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, which developed the world’s first atomic weapons. As a nuclear physicist and expert in denuclearization programs, he has been directly involved in the application of a cooperative threat reduction (CTR) program for the denuclearization of former Soviet Socialist Republics such as Kazakhstan and Ukraine. He has also headed the “Comprehensive History of North Korea’s Nuclear Program” project, which tracked the development of the North Korean nuclear issue since the “first North Korean nuclear crisis” in 1992 to confirm the hypothesis that diplomacy – including North Korea-US dialogue – has functioned to lower tensions and slow the rate of North Korea’s nuclear development. In 2009, he was honored by the US president with the Enrico Fermi Award.

Hecker is interviewed by Moon Chung In, an adviser known to be close with President Moon Jae In of South Korea. President Moon currently in the US to attend the General Assembly and meet Trump. To read the interview:

http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_northkorea/910574.html

There is a related article focusing on Moon Chung In's presentation concerning the potential for working level nuclear negotiations between North Korea and the US.

http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_northkorea/899767.html