In an attempt to try to revive the Korean denuclearization deal, Russia reportedly offered a secret proposal to give North Korea a nuclear power plant, a potential boon for a country with constant energy shortages.
The deal would have the plant operated entirely by the Russian
government, with all byproducts and waste shipped back to Russia to
prevent any proliferation concerns. North Korea would effectively get
free energy.
This was conditional on North Korea dismantling its nuclear weapons and
ballistic missiles programs, which under deals with the US they were
expected to do anyhow. US officials preseted the move as
“opportunistic,” as Russia tried to get involved in the situation.
It’s unclear from all of this where the Russian offer stands in the
lead-up to the next Trump-Kim summit. Russia is asking for North Korea
to have a timeline for dismantling those programs as part of the plant
deal.
Russia Secretly Offered North Korea Nuclear Power Plant to Boost Denuclearization
Russian government would operate plant, but give energy to North Korea
Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.
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