A/HRC/25/CRP.1
exchange and to provide channels to the international market. The Kaesong Industrial
Complex was the key cooperation project.96
143. In 2002, Kim Jong-il attempted to undertake economic reforms. The “7.1 Measures”
(named for the date 1 July 2002 when they were announced) included the increasing of
consumer prices to more accurately reflect market prices, increasing official wages,
changing policies on management of state enterprises to allow more independence, and the
formal establishment of general markets. While these events were unfolding domestically,
Kim Jong-il was continuing to seek international assistance to compensate for the country’s
economic shortfall on terms that were not easy for humanitarian agencies to accept.97
Normalization talks between Japan and the DPRK had begun in 1990s. They culminated in
a summit between Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Chairperson Kim JongIl of the DPRK National Defence Commission in September 2002.
144. The second nuclear crisis occurred in late 2002. During a visit to Pyongyang, United
States Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly announced evidence of a secret uraniumenriching programme carried out in violation of the 1994 Agreed Framework, which he
said DPRK authorities had acknowledged. The DPRK subsequently removed seals and
surveillance equipment from the Yongbyon reactor, shipped 1,000 fuel rods to the reactor,
expelled two International Atomic Energy Agency nuclear inspectors from the country, and
announced its intention to reopen a reprocessing plant that could start producing weapons
grade plutonium within months. In 2003, United States President George W. Bush ended
bilateral discussions with the DPRK. Instead, the Six Party Talks98 was determined to be
the appropriate forum for further negotiations.
145. In the meantime, Kim Jong-il’s 2002 economic reform initiative appears to have met
with backlash from the military, and ultimately he retreated. In 2005, the DPRK attempted
to revive the Public Distribution System and confiscated grain from farmers. At the same
time, the government made it more difficult to cross the border into China. Nevertheless, by
2006, the ban on trading in rice and corn was effectively ended.99
146. In July 2006, the DPRK launched several long-range missiles. This led to the
imposition of sanctions by various countries and a resolution by the United Nations
Security Council condemning the multiple launches and calling on the DPRK to suspend all
ballistic missile related activity.100 Months later, the DPRK announced its first nuclear test.
China issued strong statements criticizing the DPRK for its actions and supported for the
first time a Security Council resolution imposing sanctions on the DPRK to prevent nuclear
and ballistics weapons development.101 Nevertheless, the criticism was quickly toned down
as China has remained generally supportive of the leadership in the DPRK.
96
97
98
99
100
101
40
The temporary closure of the Kaesong Industrial Complex in early 2013 demonstrated the difficulties
for the DPRK in engaging in the international economy. After the DPRK shuttered the operation for
several months in a political stand-off, the complex reopened in September 2013. ROK-based
companies suffered serious financial damage and face an uncertain future.
See section IV.D.
The Six Party Talks are aimed at ending the DPRK’s nuclear programme through negotiations
involving China, the United States, the DPRK, the ROK, Japan, and Russia. After several rounds of
negotiations, the September 2005 agreement was reached whereby the DPRK agreed to abandon its
pursuit of nuclear weapons. In 2009, the DPRK abruptly ended its participation in the Six-Party
Talks. Discussions to re-start the talks continue.
See section IV.D.
S/RES/1695 (2006).
Acting under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, but barring automatic military enforcement
of its demands under the Charter’s article 41, the Council unanimously adopted resolution 1718
(2006), which prevents a range of goods from entering or leaving the Democratic People’s Republic