May 12, 2006 The Financial Times - Roula Khalaf

The United Nations' nuclear watchdog is investigating the source of traces of highly enriched uranium found on equipment procured by a suspicious Iranian site once associated with the defence ministry. The preliminary finding of traces of material that could be used in nuclear weapons production will add to concerns that Iran is concealing the more dubious parts of its nuclear programme.

It comes as members of the UN Security Council struggle to forge a common policy on Iran's nuclear crisis. But the results of sampling taken by the International Atomic Energy Agency this year could also be due to contaminated equipment bought from Pakistan, as was the case with previous suspicious samples taken by UN inspectors from other Iranian sites.

Western diplomats on Friday confirmed a Reuters report that the traces of highly enriched uranium were found in samples taken from equipment bought by the Physics Research Centre. The site at Lavizan Shian, northeast of Tehran, was tied to the defence ministry and had been under investigation by the IAEA since 2003. But it was razed in 2004, before it was visited by inspectors, fuelling even greater concern about its previous activities.

Tehran says it has enriched uranium only to low levels needed for fuel in nuclear reactors. But a history of concealment and resistance to demands for information from the IAEA have reinforced doubts about Iran's facilities.

The US and other western governments suspect Tehran of pursuing a parallel, clandestine nuclear programme.

So far, the IAEA has not found a "smoking gun", but nor has it been able to reassure the world community that Iran is not seeking to build atomic bombs.

In a report last month, the IAEA said Tehran was still resisting agency requests to interview one of the former heads of the Lavizan centre and inspectors were still waiting for clarification on the procurement of equipment.

Tehran's resumption of small-scale, low-level uranium enrichment this year provoked the high-stakes crisis now facing the Security Council.

Russian and Chinese opposition to tough measures against Tehran, however, have delayed plans for a new UN resolution.

France, Germany and the UK are now working on proposals to induce Tehran to cease all uranium-enrichment activities and, if not, convince Russia and China to sign a tough-worded resolution requiring Iran to comply.

But Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the IAEA, on Friday said the nuclear dispute could only be resolved through a package that also addressed Iran's security needs.

"This is primarily a regional security issue," he said. "Iran is surrounded by countries that have nuclear weapons. Russia has nuclear weapons, Pakistan has nuclear weapons, Israel has nuclear weapons, Iraq has used chemical weapons against them. There is a sense of insecurity."

Kofi Annan, UN secretary-general, reiterated his call for direct dialogue between the US and Tehran.

"I have...stated very clearly both in private contacts with the American administration and publicly that I think it is important that the United States come to the table and join the European countries and Iran to find a solution," he said.

But U.S. pushes U.N. resolution with penalties, incentives

WASHINGTON ( CNN) -- The national security adviser under former U.S. President Jimmy Carter said Sunday that the United States should open direct talks with Iran over its nuclear program, and dismissed the current negotiations as "absurd."

"It's really ironic," Zbigniew Brzezinski told CNN's "Late Edition." "We're not negotiating with Iran, but we are negotiating. Who are we negotiating with? We're negotiating with the negotiators with Iran. And it's an absurd situation."

The so-called EU-3 -- Britain, France and Germany -- have been leading negotiations with Iran, which stalled earlier this year. China and Russia have also been involved in negotiations.

But national security adviser Stephen Hadley told "Late Edition" that the current framework "is even better" than direct negotiations.

However, Brzezinski noted that, in the case of North Korea, the United States is one of six countries involved with direct talks on Pyongyang's nuclear program.

"The argument that the administration makes is that we can't negotiate with Iran because it will legitimate them. Well, we're legitimating North Korea, so what's the big deal?" he asked. "The fact is there are serious differences between the United States and Iran, conflicts over security issues, over financial problems, claims and counterclaims. We need to talk to each other to create a measure of security and to be engaged."

The United States and some other countries accuse Iran of trying to build nuclear weapons under the guise of a peaceful nuclear energy program, a charge Iran denies.

By "pumping up an atmosphere of urgency," Brzezinski said, U.S. officials fail to consider that Iran is likely years away from being able to build a nuclear weapon. "The fact is that the earliest, by most intelligence analyses, the Iranians will have nuclear weapons is approximately five years, more likely 10. Some even say 15," he said. "So there is time to set in motion a negotiating process which is multilateral, bilateral; we participate in it and then we address some of the issues that concern us."

If the United States were able to address Iranian concerns on a range of issues, "we might be able to contrive an arrangement whereby they're allowed to process but in a fashion that gives all of us security that they're not building weapons."

But Hadley said the current efforts under way at U.N. headquarters in New York ought to be pursued.

"There needs to be a Chapter 7 resolution coming out of the United Nations Security Council that makes clear what Iran needs to do, in terms of reassuring the international community that it has given up its weapons ambitions," Hadley said.

"We are looking at the kinds of sanctions that might be applied if it does not make the right choice. We're also looking at the kinds of benefits that might be applied if Iran does make the right choice.""We have a number of countries that are engaged with Iran on this issue. We are supportive of those discussions," Hadley said.

The U.N. Security Council is considering a resolution that would demand Iran give up its production of nuclear fuel or face penalties that could include economic sanctions.

A European diplomat said last week that Britain, France and Germany were cobbling together a U.N. package that would also include incentives to induce Iran to halt its nuclear program.

The United States, Britain and France want a resolution under Chapter 7 of the United Nations charter, which would compel Tehran under international law.

But the other two veto-wielding permanent members of the Security Council, Russia and China, have said they oppose sanctions and balked at passing the resolution under Chapter 7.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Sunday on state television that incentive proposals were "invalid" if "they want to offer us things they call incentives in return for renouncing our rights," The Associated Press reported.

The White House last week acknowledged it had received a letter from Ahmadinejad. It was the first publicly announced communication between the presidents of Iran and the United States since the break between the two countries in 1979 after Iran's Islamic revolution, during Carter's presidency.

The 18-page letter was dismissed by both the White House and the State Department, saying it failed to address the nuclear issue.

On Thursday, Ahmadinejad cast the letter as a sign his country seeks dialogue with Washington, even as he issued new condemnations of the United States and Israel during a trip to Indonesia.

14/05/2006 - 10:52:26 - IOL

European Union foreign ministers are tomorrow expected to restate the bloc's willingness to help Iran develop a civilian nuclear power program if the Islamic republic agrees to international controls to ensure it will not build atomic weapons.

A meeting document posted on Friday on the EU's Website said the ministers were likely to express the Union's, "preparedness to support Iran's development of a safe, sustainable and proliferation-proof civilian nuclear program, if international concerns were fully addressed."

The EU and the US fear Iran's nuclear research program is a cover for the development of nuclear weapons. Tehran says the program is peaceful and its only aim is to generate nuclear power.

The Europeans are seeking to build on a package of economic and political incentives offered to Iran in August last year in return for a permanent end to uranium enrichment activities.

Iran rejected that deal, but EU governments have continued to offer sweeteners to try to persuade Iran to bring its nuclear program into line with international demands, as well as pushing at the United Nations for measures that could lead to sanctions if Iran refuses.

The head of the UN nuclear watchdog welcomed the EU moves.

"European Union is preparing a package of proposals to present Iran which is a positive thing because as I have always said a solution, a comprehensive solution, to the Iranian issue needs to address all the issues of security, economics trade, etc.," Mohammed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said yesterday.

Germany, France and Britain - who are leading the European efforts - are working to outline possible advantages Iran might be offered if it complied with international demands. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on Friday that the EU was seeking to pave the way for the resumption of negotiations with the Iranians.

Meanwhile, Iran's president has won support from fellow Muslim leaders for his contested uranium enrichment program, as he told the world there was no reason to be nervous about his nuclear ambitions.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in Indonesia that he has co-operated fully with the UN nuclear agency and was willing to hold talks about the deepening international stand-off with anyone except long-time foe Israel and countries who hold "bombs over our heads."

The hard-line leader made the comments yesterday after meeting heads of state and prime ministers from Indonesia, Pakistan, Nigeria, Turkey and Malaysia and government ministers from Egypt and Bangladesh.

Though they were on the resort island of Bali to discuss ways to boost economic and political cooperation, alleviate poverty and restructure debt it was impossible to ignore Iran's intensifying nuclear stalemate with the West.

Fears that Iran is trying to build nuclear warheads were aggravated on Friday, when diplomats said UN inspectors may have found traces of highly enriched uranium on equipment from an Iranian research centre linked to the military.

BERLIN, May 14 (Reuters) - Afghanistan has offered to mediate between Washington and Tehran in the dispute over Iran's nuclear programme, Afghan Foreign Minister Rangeen Dadfar Spanta was quoted on Sunday as saying.

Spanta added that he and Afghan President Hamid Karzai planned to travel to Tehran at the end of May to assess the "room for manoeuvre" for a peaceful resolution to the conflict.

Iran, which in April said it had enriched uranium suitable for use in power stations, is under pressure from the United Nations, and in particular the United States and its European allies, to halt its atomic programme or risk sanctions.

"I will gladly mediate between the United States and Iran if desired," Spanta told German newspaper Bild am Sonntag.

"Afghanistan is a friend of both these countries and neither Iran nor the United States has attempted to use our country as a tool in this conflict," he added.

The United States and its western allies suspect Iran's declared civilian nuclear programme is a smokescreen for building atomic weapons. Iran denies this, saying it wants nuclear power to generate electricity. - alertnet.org

2006-05-15 - China Daily

The foreign ministers of the Shanghai Co-operation Organization (SCO) members, a six-member intergovernmental group, will meet in Shanghai today to pave the way for the SCO Summit to be held in mid-June.

The ministers from China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are expected to sign several agreements after the annual gathering to set the final agenda for the summit.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told reporters earlier that the ministers would exchange views on deepening SCO co-operation and debate other international and regional issues of common concern.

As Iran has observer status and seeks to become a full member, the country's nuclear issue has been given much attention, though Liu said SCO members are yet to decide whether to discuss it.

In addition to attending the annual meeting, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov began a two-day official visit to China today.

He is scheduled to hold talks with Chinese leaders and his Chinese counterpart Li Zhaoxing in Beijing tomorrow to further the bilateral strategic partnership.

Observers said as this year marks the Year of Russia in China, co-operation between the two countries in various fields is constantly being enhanced and the frequent and in-depth exchange of the two foreign ministers is of great significance in safeguarding global and regional peace and stability.

The Chinese foreign minister also held bilateral talks with visiting Tajikistan Foreign Minister Talbak Nazarov yesterday in Shanghai ahead of the gathering.

Big News Network via malaysia sun Sunday 14th May, 2006 (UPI)

Iran's president Sunday refuted reports from anonymous Western sources that inspectors found traces of highly enriched uranium at an Iranian nuclear facility.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told correspondents upon completion of the Islamic Eight summit conference that he knew nothing about it.

He reiterated Iran builds all of its nuclear activity under strict control by the International Atomic Energy Agency, and its nuclear projects are exclusively peaceful, so the world community has nothing to worry about, Itar-Tass reported.

Ahmadinejad said inspectors keep the Iranian program under permanent watch and all future works in atomic energy in Iran will remain under the atomic agency's control. He accused countries longing for a brawl of spreading misinformation in a bid to strip Iran of its right to develop an atomic energy industry.

Ahmadinejad said Iran is ready to discuss the issue, but against a background of clanging arms.

Published: 15th May 2006 TEHRAN: - gulf-daily-news

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared yesterday it was pointless for Europe to devise an economic and political incentive package if it required Tehran to stop enriching uranium - effectively pulling the rug from under the latest international diplomatic effort before it even began.

The hard-line Iranian leader spoke on state television after returning from Indonesia, where he was warmly welcomed and won developing nations' support for the peaceful production of nuclear energy. Ahmadinejad said proposals being shaped by the European Union were "invalid" if "they want to offer us things they call incentives in return for renouncing our rights."

Also yesterday, a Foreign Ministry spokesman declared "insignificant" reports that inspectors from the UN nuclear watchdog found traces of highly enriched uranium on equipment from an Iranian research centre.

Ahmadinejad's remarks were clearly aimed at European Union foreign ministers meeting today in Brussels, to consider sweetening a package of incentives that would entice Iran to suspend uranium enrichment - an issue that has now reached the UN Security Council but was put on hold to give the EU more time for diplomacy.

A document posted on the EU's website said the ministers were likely to express the bloc's "preparedness to support Iran's development of a safe, sustainable and proliferation-proof civilian nuclear programme, if international concerns were fully addressed."

A top White House official said yesterday the UN was the "right forum" to address Iran's nuclear programme and shrugged off suggestions for direct talks with Tehran. Asked on CNN's Late Edition whether the US should open direct talks, National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said Washington would prefer backing European countries holding direct talks with Iran, while pursuing the issue through the UN Security Council.

15th May 2006 - smh.com.au/

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez says the oil price could soar to triple figures if the United States attacks Iran in its dispute with Tehran over nuclear technology.

Visiting London following an EU-Latin American summit in Vienna at the weekend, Chavez, leader of the world's fifth largest oil exporter, said the Iranians would have no choice but to respond to a US assault by cutting oil production.

"If the United States attacks Iran ... oil could reach $US100 a barrel or more," Chavez told a meeting hosted by London's left-wing mayor Ken Livingstone. "The English middle classes would have to stop using their cars."

"If they attack Iran, the Iranians will cut off their supply of oil. We would do the same if we were attacked. We would cut off our oil," Chavez told around 1,000 British leftists and trade unionists. "Moreover, Iran has said it would attack Israel, and I know they have the wherewithal to do so."

The United States and European Union is putting pressure on Iran to halt uranium enrichment, which Tehran says it wants for peaceful nuclear power. The White House has refused to rule out military action although it is pursuing a diplomatic settlement.

The oil price has rocketed in recent years to around $US70 a barrel, pouring billions of dollars into Venezuela's economy and fuelling Chavez's self-styled socialist Bolivarian revolution.

"If they attack Iran I think it will be far worse than the situation is in Iraq," Chavez said, describing the Iraq as "the Vietnam of the 21st century".

Chavez was welcomed to London by Livingstone, who opened the meeting by accusing US President George W Bush of running "a gangster regime".

"We salute you Mr President," Livingstone told Chavez. "Londoners stand with you, not with the oil companies and the oligarchs."

Chavez is in London for two days to meet various figures from the British left. He will not meet Prime Minister Tony Blair, who he criticised for his close alliance with Washington. The ex-soldier was greeted by jubilant supporters as he took the platform in a stuccoed ballroom. Hundreds more gathered outside in a futile bid to hear him speak. The atmosphere inside was more like a rock concert than a political meeting.

Young Chavez supporters, clad in Venezuela's red, blue and yellow colours, banged drums, waved placards and chanted the president's name until he took the stage - nearly two hours later than scheduled.

In a speech broadcast in Venezuela as Chavez's regular "Alo Presidente" program, Chavez extolled the virtues of Fidel Castro's Cuban government.

by Staff Writers Jakarta (AFP) May 15, 2006 - spacewar.com/

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned Thursday that Israel will "one day vanish," ramping up the stakes in the midst of frantic international diplomacy over Tehran's nuclear ambitions. In speeches to students in Jakarta, he shrugged off the threat of sanctions or even war and accused the West of peddling lies and oppression.

"This regime one day will vanish," Ahmadinejad said of the Jewish state in comments that echoed previous statements, in which he said Israel should be "wiped off the map" and also questioned the Holocaust.

"Is it logical to give compensation in the Middle East for an incident that occurred in Europe, if this incident is indeed true ... by murdering thousands of local Palestinians and making millions of Palestinian refugees?" he asked.

Nevertheless, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog IAEA, Mohamed ElBaradei, said he felt "a good sense of optimism" about diplomacy to resolve the crisis over Iran's nuclear program.

"I think it is a very good idea for the Security Council to hold their horses, so to speak," he told a press conference during a visit to Amsterdam. "The more we go back to the negotiating table, the more we have a chance at a durable solution."

Iran says its nuclear programme is a peaceful drive to generate electricity but the United States and Europe fear it is a cover for the secret development of atomic weapons.

On Wednesday Washington, which has so far failed to win support for UN sanctions against Tehran, said it would give its European partners "a couple of weeks" to draft a fresh approach.

Negotiators from the Security Council's five permanent members -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- plus Germany plan to confer in London on May 19 to weigh a new package of incentives, diplomats said.

They will also consider what penalties to seek if Iran does not comply with UN demands.

"I am very optimistic and I hope both sides will move away from their war of words ... we need compromises from both sides," ElBaradei said. He said Tehran "owes it to the international community to make sure their nuclear programme is for peaceful means."

The United States and European Union troika of Britain, France and Germany are pushing for a binding UN resolution that could clear the way for economic sanctions, possible escalating toward military action. They are meeting resistance from China and Russia, however, which both have close economic ties with Iran.

Igor Ivanov, the head of Russia's Security Council, described the talks as "fairly complicated," and warned that military action could ignite the whole region. "Any military action in Iran will lead to consequences that could seriously explode the situation in the region and beyond," he was quoted as saying by state-run news agencies.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Wednesday the Europeans would present Tehran with two options: defiance leading to international isolation or "a path to a civil nuclear programme that is acceptable to the international community."

Ahmadinejad, who is on a five-day visit to Indonesia, told Metro TV that any military action against Iran would hurt its attackers more than Tehran. "First of all, actually, the idea of going to war is a joke, it's like a joke. Why should there be a war?" he asked. "They do know that any mistreatment of the Iranian people will actually cause more losses to them than for us. They need us more than we do actually need them. This is just rhetoric."

Separately, the influential head of Iran's hardline parliament reiterated that Tehran would not give up uranium enrichment, the process which makes the fuel for reactors but what can also be the core for an atom bomb.

Gholam Ali Hadad-Adel, who is close to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was quoted by news agencies as saying the Islamic republic "will in no way accept a suspension of enrichment."

And a nuclear spokesman said Iran was prepared to negotiate an anticipated European offer aimed at cooling the crisis, but would not suspend enrichment.

"For the moment we have received no offer (from the Europeans) but because Iran believes in a diplomatic solution, we believe that such a proposition can be taken into consideration and negotiated," Hossam Entezani was quoted by the semi-official Mehr news agency as saying. He added that in "any offer, particularly one from Europe, suspending Iran's basic rights of uranium enrichment research is not acceptable."

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who met Ahmadinejad on Wednesday, backed Tehran's claim that its nuclear program was peaceful and also offered to help mediate in a bid to reduce rising tensions over the program. But on Thursday Indonesia appeared to back down from the proposal, with Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda saying that "we did not claim that we offer mediation on Iran's nuclear issue."

"We suggested to Iran to maximise their effort to solve the problem of the Iranian nuclear issue through diplomatic and peaceful negotiations. I think Iran accepted that Iran as well as other countries councerned should try to settle this issue through negitiations," Wirayuda said.

In Beijing, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said the stand-off was now at "a critical moment," and called for fresh diplomatic efforts. He warned, however, that "China is opposed to arbitrarily resorting to the use of sanctions or the use of force in international affairs."

05.15.06, - ynetnews.com

Zeevi-Farkash says global jihad groups concentrating operations in Middle East; warns of excessive moderation in dealings with Iran Hanan Greenberg

The Middle East is on the verge of a 'global Jihad tsunami,' former IDF Intelligence Chief Aharon Zeevi-Farkash said at a conference in Tel Aviv University on Monday.

Expert on Iranian affairs says Israeli politicians should refrain from responding to hostile comments by Iranian leader

"Iran's determination to obtain nuclear arms represents the most significant strategic development in the Middle East against the free Western world and the United States in the recent period," Zeevi-Farkash, who retired from his post only several months ago, stated. He also stressed that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's declarations should be taken seriously.

"At the moment," Zeevi-Farkash said, "Iran has missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads up to a distance of 500 kilometers (roughly 312 miles)." However, he estimated that Iran would eventually have missiles with a 5,000 kilometers (roughly 3,120 miles) range, "and then the entire Europe will be in their reach."

The former intelligence chief expressed concern over what he defined as the international community's moderate stance toward Tehran. "As long as the 'smoking gun' is not found, the interests of Germany, France and even Britain regarding Iran will take precedence… and this could be too late," he said.

'Classic war' a threat

According to Zeevi-Farkash, another scenario that should worry Israel refers to the possible eruption of a "classic" war on its northern border with Syria and the Hizbullah.

The former commander also commented on the penetration of the Internet to the Arab world. "This is something that enables anyone to learn how to prepare a bomb and be informed of other terror techniques at home," he explained.

Referring to the political processes the Arab world has been undergoing in recent years, Zeevi-Farkash stated that to a large extent the appearance of a change toward democracy was false: "In Egypt this is what caused the global Jihad bombings, and in general the global jihad is focusing on the Middle East, which has become a center for the groups affiliated with it."

By IAN BRUCE Defence Correspondent 05/16/06 - "Herald Tribune" -- --

THE US is updating contingency plans for a non-nuclear strike to cripple Iran's atomic weapon programme if international diplomacy fails, Pentagon sources have confirmed.

Strategists are understood to have presented two options for pinpoint strikes using B2 bombers flying directly from bases in Missouri, Guam in the Pacific and Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.

RAF Fairford in Gloucester also has facilities for B2s but this has been ruled out because of the UK's opposition to military action against Tehran.

The main plan calls for a rolling, five-day bombing campaign against 400 key targets in Iran, including 24 nuclear-related sites, 14 military airfields and radar installations, and Revolutionary Guard headquarters.

At least 75 targets in underground complexes would be attacked with waves of bunker-buster bombs.

Iranian radar networks and air defence bases would be struck by submarine-launched Tomahawk cruise missiles and then kept out of action by carrier aircraft flying from warships in the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf.

The alternative to an all-out campaign is a demonstration strike against one or two high-profile targets such as the Natanz uranium enrichment facility or the hexafluoride gas plant at Isfahan.

UK sources say contingency plans have also been drawn up to cope with the inevitable backlash against the Basra garrison in neighbouring Iraq.

By Daniel Dombey in Brussels and Mark Turner at the United Nations - Published: May 16 2006 - FT.com

The European Union is set to offer Iran a nuclear reactor in an attempt to break the impasse over Tehran's nuclear programme.

The proposal, to provide political and financial guarantees for construction of a light water reactor, goes further than any previous offer to Iran. It is set to be hammered out at a series of meetings on Friday between diplomats from France, Germany and the UK - known as the EU3 - and the US, Russia and China.

But Iran has made clear that it is unwilling to accept any offer that does not allow it to continue a "pilot project" to enrich uranium - a process that can generate weapons grade material.

"We are thinking about a light water reactor in the offer, but we need first to discuss it within the EU3," said a European diplomat.

The EU is also mulling the inclusion of a long-term revision clause in an agreement with Tehran, which would allow Iran to claim it had not permanently closed the door on enrichment.

Diplomats said the reactor would be a big improvement on the EU's last offer to Tehran, which the Islamic Republic rejected last August. Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, has long called for such a step to make a European offer more palatable to Iran.

The move follows Tehran's triumphant announcement in April that it had begun uranium enrichment. It also comes in the wake of continuing deadlock between the west and Russia and China, which have refused to endorse a tough draft United Nations Security Council resolution on Tehran.

The EU is now concentrating on developing a package of incentives for Tehran, which western diplomats believe could also help win over Russia.

John Bolton, US ambassador to the UN, said the US needed to see the full set of carrots and sticks before agreeing any proposal. "It is a package of incentives and disincentives, all of which have to be considered before we agree to it or not," he told reporters in New York.

But other diplomats said that, given the current diplomatic deadlock, the US would have little scope to object if Russia agreed to the whole package.

The EU still insists that in return for any offer Iran has to suspend all uranium enrichment and cease work on a heavy water reactor in Arak.

This Tehran steadfastly refuses to do, arguing that it has no reason to bargain away what it sees as a key part of its right to peaceful use of nuclear energy.

The EU offer would echo a deal struck between the US and North Korea in the 1990s, under which Washington agreed to provide two light water reactors and move towards normal relations in return for a promise that Pyongyang would freeze plutonium production and comply with international safeguards.

Light water reactors differ from heavy water reactors in that they produce plutonium that is usually harder to use for weapons purposes because of the presence of impurities. While they use ordinary water to slow down the nuclear reaction, heavy water reactors use a special form of water to give a greater measure of control.