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July 1, 2008: South Korea’s Cabinet approves a bill on the KORUS Free Trade Agreement in an effort to win parliamentary approval for the delayed deal after resuming U.S. beef imports. July 3, 2008: The U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack responds to questions regarding whether North Korea fully disclosed information on its uranium program and nuclear proliferation by stating that Pyongyang’s declaration was “completed” and that North Korea “made statements that can be verified.” July 3, 2008: State Department spokesman McCormack reports that the U.S. has reserved $19.5 million to fund North Korea’s nuclear disarmament through the State Department’s Nonproliferation and Disarmament Fund. July 5, 2008: Chosun Ilbo reports that the U.S. Department of Agriculture Quality System Assessment program, which guarantees that beef exported to South Korea comes from cattle aged under 30 months and is the last step prior to beginning beef exports to South Korea, is now under way in the U.S. July 10, 2008: Head of Delegations Meeting of Six-Party Talks convenes in Beijing, focusing on the establishment of verification protocol for North Korean denuclearization. July 10, 2008: North Korea accuses the U.S. of escalating tension after the U.S. announces a U.S.-South Korean joint military exercise, which North Korea views as a criminal act. The exercise, Ulchi-Freedom Guardian, will be led by the ROK Army with assistance from the U.S. to prepare for transfer of full control of ROK forces to South Korea in 2012. July 12, 2008: Head of Delegations Meeting of Six-Party Talks concludes in Beijing with North Korea apparently agreeing to disable its main reactor by the end of October and to allow ∗ Compiled by Peggy Hu U.S.-Korea Relations 41 October 2008 international inspectors to verify its nuclear disarmament in exchange for economic aid. Technical details of the verification process are still to be determined by a working group. July 15, 2008: U.S. Forces, Japan Commander Lt. Gen. Edward Rice urges North Korea to disclose more information about its military capabilities and purposes, describing the country as posing “a potential threat” to Northeast Asia. July 16, 2008: Yonhap News reports that a comprehensive report on environmental damages at U.S. bases in Korea covering the past 10 years shows significant environmental damage, with land contamination from oil being the most serious problem. July 21, 2008: Senior defense officials from the U.S. and South Korea meet in Washington, D.C. to discuss how to share joint defense costs to maintain the 28,000 U.S. troops on the Korean Peninsula, but are unable to reach an agreement. July 23, 2008: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice meets with North Korean Foreign Minister Pak Ui Chun in Singapore on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum conference, marking the first time in four years that the U.S. and North Korea hold a Cabinet-level meeting. July 25, 2008: The Donga Ilbo reports that a group from the Institute for Strategic Reconciliation has been sent to teach English to North Korean middle school students, marking the first time North Korea has invited U.S. citizens to teach in the North Korean school system. July 28, 2008: A shipment of 2.2 tons of U.S. beef arrives at Incheon International Airport in South Korea, marking the first import of U.S. beef in four years. Aug. 1, 2008: Kathleen Stephens is confirmed by the Senate to serve as U.S. Ambassador to South Korea. The confirmation by voice vote came after Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., removed a hold on Stephens over objections regarding the Bush Administration’s policy on North Korea. Aug. 3. 2008: The South Korean government’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission completes an initial investigation concluding that the U.S. military indiscriminately killed large groups of refugees and civilians early in the Korean War. The Commission is urging the South Korean government to seek U.S. compensation for victims’ families. Aug. 6, 2008: Presidents George W. Bush and Lee Myung-Bak meet in Seoul and issue a joint statement pressing North Korea to improve its citizens’ human rights, a rare mention of the North Korean human rights issue in a U.S.-South Korean joint statement. Aug. 7, 2008: Kurt Tong, a National Security Council director, replaces Sung Kim as the head of the Korea Desk at the U.S. State Department. Aug. 11, 2008: After the 45-day notification period to Congress (from June 26), the U.S. does not remove North Korea from the State Department’s State Sponsors of Terrorism List because North Korea has failed to agree to verification protocol for denuclearization. U.S.-Korea Relations 42 October 2008 Aug. 13, 2008: Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez notes during a news briefing that the ratification of the KORUS FTA was “just a matter of when, rather than if,” noting his hope for Congress’ action during the lame duck session. Aug. 14, 2008: State Department’s Special Envoy for North Korea Sung Kim arrives in Beijing for the second time in two weeks to consult with Chinese officials in an effort to resolve the stalemate in finalizing details for the North Korean denuclearization verification system. Aug. 29, 2008: Negotiations in Seoul between the U.S. and South Korea on increasing South Korea’s financial share in maintaining U.S. troops on the peninsula conclude without agreement. Aug. 31, 2008: U.S. Forces Korea announces that when South Korea takes wartime control of all troops in the country in 2012, operations will continue under three military commands. The U.S. will lead one command, while South Korea will lead two commands. Sept. 1, 2008: South Korea’s First Vice Foreign Minister Kwon Jong-rak leaves for Washington to meet the U.S. presidential candidates, Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte, and Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill to discuss regional issues and the Six-Party Talks. Sept. 2, 2008: The IAEA reports that it was informed on Aug. 18 that North Korea had suspended disablement of the Yongbyon nuclear facility. Sept. 3, 2008: Reacting to activity at the Yongbyon nuclear facility, State Department spokesman McCormack denies that North Korea is rebuilding the facility, stating that North Korea is only “moving some equipment around that they had previously put into storage” and that no effort has been made to “reconstruct, reintegrate this equipment.” Sept. 3, 2008: U.S. Ambassador Alexander Vershbow, who will leave his post in South Korea at the end of September, states that while the U.S.-ROK alliance has important security functions, its role should be expanded to include global issues such as climate change, food security, and multilateral trade. Sept. 6, 2008: Assistant Secretary Hill completes two days of meetings in Beijing with his Chinese, Russian, Japanese, and South Korean counterparts, stating that the U.S. would take North Korea off the State Sponsors of Terrorism List “immediately” if it would agree to a verification regime for denuclearization. Sept. 7, 2008: The Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries announces that it will send seven inspectors from the National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service to 22 U.S. meat processing and packing facilities to review conformance with established export rules. Sept. 9, 2008: North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s failure to appear at a military parade celebrating the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea prompts speculation regarding his health and rumors that he has suffered a stroke. U.S.-Korea Relations 43 October 2008 U.S.-Korea Relations 44 October 2008 Sept. 10, 2008: In North Korea’s first reaction to reports that Kim Jong-il is in poor health, Ambassador Song Il-ho denies the claim and states that, “We see such reports as not only worthless, but rather as a conspiracy plot.” Sept. 10, 2008: President of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly Kim Yong Nam states that the halt in disablement and the moves to reassemble the Yongbyon nuclear facility are aimed at pressing the U.S. to take North Korea off its State Sponsors of Terrorism List. Sept. 16, 2008: Chosun Ilbo reports that North Korea has completed tests on an engine mechanism for an intercontinental missile capable of hitting major cities on the U.S. west coast at a previously unidentified missile launch site on the west coast of North Korea. Sept. 18, 2008: Defense Secretary Robert Gates states that the U.S. is monitoring North Korea closely for potential instability in the wake of Kim Jong-il’s stroke last month. Sept. 18, 2008: The DPRK Foreign Ministry releases a statement that North Korea no longer wishes to be removed from the U.S. State Sponsors of Terrorism List and confirms that it has begun reassembling the Yongbyon facility that can produce weapons-grade plutonium. Sept. 22, 2008: The IAEA states that North Korea has asked the agency to remove its seals from the Pyongyang nuclear reactor. Sept. 24, 2008: The IAEA announces that its inspectors have been barred from the reprocessing plant in Yongbyon and that North Korea announced that it intends to resume production of nuclear weapons-grade fuel within a week. Sept. 25, 2008: U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Kathleen Stephens arrives in Seoul, stressing that the U.S. and South Korea should work together to resolve issues such as the FTA, a visa waiver program, and the denuclearization of North Korea. Sept. 25, 2008: Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan announces in Washington a final agreement on a deal with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff to allow South Korea to join the U.S. Visa Waiver Program. Sept. 26, 2008: In an interview with Reuters, Secretary Rice states that the U.S. is not considering halting fuel aid to North Korea despite growing tension over North Korea’s moves to rebuild its nuclear program. Sept. 30, 2008: Assistant Secretary Hill departs for Seoul with the intent to travel to Pyongyang for meetings aimed at breaking the impasses on the verification protocol.