Location: The Heritage Foundation's Allison Auditorium

The Six Party talks have achieved some progress toward disabling what is known of North Korea’s nuclear weapons production capability.  But Pyongyang’s failure to meet the deadline for full disclosure of its program threatens further progress in the negotiations and calls into question the feasibility of the February 2007 agreement.  The Bush Administration insists on full disclosure of North Korea’s nuclear weapons inventory, the extent of its uranium enrichment program, and past proliferation activities with rogue nations such as Syria and Iran.  Is the current impasse merely a speed bump on the road to North Korean denuclearization or have the talks hit a brick wall?

Marking the one year anniversary of the 2007 agreement, our distinguished panelists will assess the progress to date of the Six Party talks, the likelihood of completing the disablement and declaration phase, and the potential for Pyongyang to actually dismantle its nuclear weapons.  The panel will also discuss the impact that the election of Lee Myung-bak as President of South Korea will have on the Six Party talks, the prognosis for the talks, and whether the U.S. should prepare contingency plans for a collapse in negotiations.