Pres. Bush rallies China's Help on North Korea

Friday, President Bush sought China's help in pinning down North Korea to keep its shaky promises of nuclear disarmament. Chinese President Hu Jintao and Bush privately tried to push along a way to verify North Korea's nuclear declarations. This is the latest hand up in a showdown that has vexed six nations. It is scary to think of North Korea with nuclear weapons with the man who is in charge.

North Korea has agreed to give up its nuclear weapons in exchange for coveted aid and diplomatic recognition. This is a deal arranged with the U.S., China, russia, Japan and South Korea. But so far, they have not allowed outside inspectors and talks have repeatedly gone off course. I don't feel we can trust them at all.

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.

North Korea to End Nuclear Work

North Korea has agreed to declare and disable all its nuclear facilities by the end of this year, the US negotiator at talks with Pyongyang in Geneva said. Christopher Hill said details of the deal would be discussed at six party talks in China, later in September. North Korea tested a nuclear device last year, but has since agreed to a deal to shut down its program in return for economic and other aid. It has already shut down its main nuclear reactor at Yongbyon.

Korea Summit Delayed Over Floods

North Korea has asked for a historic summit with the South to be postponed because of severe flooding which may have made 300,000 people homeless. The meeting in Pyongyang, now delayed until October, will be only the second between the leaders of the two states, which technically are still at war. North Korea has made a rare appeal for international aid to tackle the floods which have killed hundreds of people. Damage to farmland could deal a serious blow to this year's harvest.

North Korea Floods Devastate Farmland

Severe flooding in North Korea has destroyed more than one-tenth of the country's farmland. More than 11% of rice and maize fields were submerged, buried or washed away as of August 14. Government officials also told aid workers in the region that 300,000 people may have been left homeless. Aid teams visiting the area warned of a need for emergency shelter and food.

South Korea Ships Oil To North Korea

South Korea sent a shipload of oil to North Korea, a move expected to trigger the communist nation to shut down its only working nuclear reactor in a landmark first step toward dismantling its atomic bomb program. The chief U.N. inspector, Mohamed ElBaradei, said he expects the agency's monitoring of the shutdown of the North's Yongbyon reactor will start early next week and the initial inspection is expected to be completed within maybe a month or so.