Chronologies
US - Korea
Chronology from Apr 2005 to Jul 2005
: After meeting with Unification Minister Chung in Washington, Assistant Secretary Hill says the U.S. will not object to South Korea’s proposal of a massive aid program for North Korea, if it rejoins the Six-Party Talks.
: U.S. negotiator DeTrani meets, though informally, for second time with North Korean officials in New York, while attending an academic conference.
: Korean Minister of Unification Chung Dong-young briefs Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley in Washington on his recent meeting with Kim Jong-il.
: FM Ban says South Korea will strive to reconvene a new round of Six-Party Talks in July.
: World Trade Organization overturns on appeal its previous ruling and leaves in place U.S. punitive tariffs against Hynix Semiconductor; major Korean agricultural groups call for maintaining import ban against U.S. beef after new U.S. finding of “mad cow” disease.
: South Korean media report that Kim Jong-il told Unification Minister Chung that North Korea might abolish all medium- and long-range missiles if the U.S. establishes normal relations.
: Kim Jong-il says North Korea will join the Six-Party Talks as early as July if the U.S. “recognizes and respects” North Korea’s sovereignty.
: Presidents Bush and Roh meet in Washington and jointly call for North Korea to return to the Six-Party Talks; President Bush apologizes for accidental death a day earlier of a Korean woman killed by a USFK truck.
: Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Richard Lawless meets with Korean defense officials to discuss “strategic flexibility.”
: North Korean Ambassador Kim Gye-kwan tells ABC News that his country has enough nuclear weapons to defend against a U.S. attack.
: Secretary Rice says the U.S. is unlikely to bring the North Korea nuclear issue before the UN Security Council soon.
: At a press conference, President Bush calls for peaceful solution to North Korea nuclear issue and refers to North Korean leader as “Mr. Kim Jong-il.”
: Pentagon confirms deployment of 15 stealth fighters to South Korea and suspension of joint U.S.-North Korea program to recover remains of U.S. soldiers from the Korean War.
: North Korea denies planning to conduct a nuclear test.
: South Korea and North Korea resume inter-Korean talks in Kaesong after a 10-month hiatus.
: Japan calls for reconvening the Six-Party Talks, even in the absence of North Korea; U.S. and North Korean diplomats meet in New York.
: State Department spokesman condemns North Korea’s “provocative statement and actions” for allegedly removing 8,000 spent fuel rods. Former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung says the Six-Party Talks are entering an “ominous stage” and urges direct U.S.-North Korea talks.
: North Korea claims it has finished removing 8,000 spent fuel rods from the five-megawatt reactor at Yongbyon.
: U.S. negotiator for the Six-Party Talks Joseph DeTrani travels to New York to meet with North Korean officials at Pyongyang’s mission to the UN to show U.S. has “no hostile intent.”
: ABC News reports the U.S. has prepared contingency measures to prevent a North Korean nuclear test; at a meeting in Moscow, President Roh and Chinese President Hu Jintao urge North Korea to return to the Six-Party Talks.
: Foreign ministers of Japan, South Korea, and China, meet in Tokyo to urge North Korea to make a “strategic decision” and return to the six-party process.
: U.S. Forces Korea Commander Gen. Leon LaPorte says any military action against North requires U.S. and South Korean consensus; U.S. downplays North Korean missile test, saying it is “not surprising.”
: North Korea test launches short-range missile into the East Sea.
: North Korea retorts President Bush is a “hooligan bereft of any personality as a human being.”
: Ambassador Christopher Hill meets South Korean officials in Seoul.
: In a news conference, President Bush calls North Korean leader Kim Jong-il a “tyrant” and a “dangerous person.”
: South Korea announces agreement with U.S. on military burden-sharing with an 8.9 percent reduction in South Korea’s annual contribution.
: The Wall Street Journal reports U.S. has evidence that North Korea is planning a nuclear test.
: Foreign Minister Ban says Seoul opposes seeking U.N. sanctions against North Korea or taking other punitive measures.
: White House spokesman says the U.S. will refer the nuclear issue with North Korea to the UN Security Council if Pyongyang refuses to return to the Six-Party Talks; Seoul confirms that North Korea has shut down its five-megawatt reactor at Yongbyon, but says it may have been for “technical” reasons.
: North Korea is reported to have shut down its five-megawatt reactor at Yongbyun to remove spent fuel rods for the purpose of reprocessing.
: U.S. and South Korean military officials begin two days of Security Policy Initiative talks on the state of the alliance in Hawaii.
: North Korea calls for the exclusion of Japan from the Six-Party Talks.