North Korea Destroys Cooling Tower

The most visible of North Korea's atomic weapons program is the gray cooling tower that stood 60 feet above their main nuclear reactor complex. They blew it up in front of diplomats and TV cameras in a dramatic gesture of its commitment to stop making plutonium for atomic weapons.They did this at Yongbyon nuclear complex in response to concessions from the U.S.

At international arms talks with the U.S., China, Japan, China, and South Korea, North Korea delivered a declaration of its atomic programs under an agreement. They did this because President Bush said he would lift economic sanctions banning trade with enemy nations and said he would notify Congress that we would remove North Korea from a State Department list of terrorism sponsoring countries in 45 days. The country is energy starved. Therefore, they will be receiving the equivalent of 1 million tons of heavy fuel oil for the initial disarmament steps.