The Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO) was an organization founded on March 15, 1995, by the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

, and Japan to implement the 1994

U.S.-North Korea Agreed Framework The Agreed Framework between the United States of America and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (북미제네바기본합의서) was signed on 21 October 1994, between North Korea (DPRK) and the United States. The objective of the agreeme ...

that froze

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and ...

's indigenous nuclear power plant development centered at the

Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center The Nyongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center is North Korea's major nuclear facility, operating its first nuclear reactors. It is located in Nyongbyon County in North Pyongan Province, about 100 km north of Pyongyang. The center produ ...

, that was suspected of being a step in a

nuclear weapon A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bom ...

s program. KEDO's principal activity was to construct two

light water reactor The light-water reactor (LWR) is a type of thermal-neutron reactor that uses normal water, as opposed to heavy water, as both its coolant and neutron moderator; furthermore a solid form of fissile elements is used as fuel. Thermal-neutron reac ...

nuclear power plants in North Korea to replace North Korea's

Magnox Magnox is a type of nuclear power/production reactor that was designed to run on natural uranium with graphite as the moderator and carbon dioxide gas as the heat exchange coolant. It belongs to the wider class of gas-cooled reactors. The na ...

type reactors. The original target year for completion was 2003. Since then, other members joined: * 1995: Australia,

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New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

* 1996:

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Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

* 1997:

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* 1999:

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* 2000:

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KEDO discussions took place at the level of a U.S. Assistant Secretary of State, South Korea's deputy foreign minister, and the head of the Asian bureau of Japan's Foreign Ministry. The KEDO Secretariat was located in New York. KEDO was shut down in 2006.

History

Formal ground breaking on the site for two light water reactors (LWR) was on August 19, 1997, at Kumho, 30 km north of Sinpo. The Kumho site had been previously selected for two similar sized reactors that had been promised in the 1980s by the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

, before its collapse. Soon after the Agreed Framework was signed, U.S. Congress control changed to the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

, who did not support the agreement. Some Republican

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...

s were strongly against the agreement, regarding it as

appeasement Appeasement in an international context is a diplomatic policy of making political, material, or territorial concessions to an aggressive power in order to avoid conflict. The term is most often applied to the foreign policy of the UK governme ...

. KEDO's first director, Stephen Bosworth, later commented "The Agreed Framework was a political orphan within two weeks after its signature". Arranging

project financing Project finance is the long-term financing of infrastructure and industrial projects based upon the projected cash flows of the project rather than the balance sheets of its sponsors. Usually, a project financing structure involves a number of equ ...

was not easy, and formal invitations to bid were not issued until 1998, by which time the delays were infuriating North Korea. Significant spending on the LWR project did not commence until 2000, with "First Concrete" pouring at the

construction site Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and ...

on August 7, 2002. Construction of both reactors was well behind the original schedule. In the wake of the breakdown of the Agreed Framework in 2003, KEDO largely lost its function. KEDO ensured that the nuclear power plant project assets at the construction site at Kumho in North Korea and at manufacturers’ facilities around the world ($1.5 billion invested to date) were preserved and maintained. The project was reported to be about 30% complete. One reactor

containment building A containment building is a reinforced steel, concrete or lead structure enclosing a nuclear reactor. It is designed, in any emergency, to contain the escape of radiation, radioactive steam or gas to a maximum pressure in the range of . The con ...

was about 50% complete and another about 15% finished. No key equipment for the reactors had been moved to the site. In 2005, there were reports indicating that KEDO had agreed in principle to terminate the light-water reactor project. On January 9, 2006, it was announced that the project was over and the workers would be returning to their home countries. North Korea demanded compensation and has refused to return the approximately $45 million worth of equipment left behind.

Executive Directors

* Stephen W. Bosworth, 1995–1997 *

L. Desaix Anderson Laurence Desaix Anderson (1936 – February 11, 2021) was a career United States Foreign Service officer specializing in East Asian affairs, and served as American Chargé d'Affaires ad interim to Vietnam. Career Anderson, a 35-year veteran of ...

, 1997–2001 * Charles Kartman, 2001–2005

References

External links

*
Agreement on Supply of a Light-Water Reactor Project to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
- KEDO, 1995 *

U.S. Institute of Peace The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) is an American federal institution tasked with promoting conflict resolution and prevention worldwide. It provides research, analysis, and training to individuals in diplomacy, mediation, and other peac ...

, March 10, 2005
Half-forgotten project is a key in next round of 6-party talks
-

JoongAng Daily ''Korea JoongAng Daily'' is the English edition of the South Korean national daily newspaper ''JoongAng Ilbo''. The newspaper was first published on October 17, 2000, originally named as ''JoongAng Ilbo English Edition''. It mainly carries news ...

, September 12, 2005
Kumho: North Korea's nuclear ghost town
-

Asia Times ''Asia Times'' (), formerly known as ''Asia Times Online'', is a Hong Kong-based English language news media publishing group, covering politics, economics, business, and culture from an Asian perspective. ''Asia Times'' publishes in English an ...

, September 24, 2005
KEDO Puts Final Nail in N.Korea Reactor Project
The Chosun Ilbo, November 23, 2005

, JoongAng Daily, December 13, 2005
N.Korea says to build light-water nuclear reactors

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was est ...

, December 20, 2005
An unfair burden
JoongAng Daily, December 23, 2005
What Did We Learn From KEDO?
The Stanley Foundation, November 2006

The Korea Times ''The Korea Times'' is the oldest of three English-language newspapers published daily in South Korea. It is a sister paper of the '' Hankook Ilbo'', a major Korean language daily; both are owned by Dongwha Enterprise, a wood-based manufacture ...

, January 16, 2007
A History of KEDO 1994-2006
Robert Carlin, Joel Wit, Charles Kartman, Center for International Security and Cooperation, July 18, 2012
Reflections on KEDO: Ambassador Stephen Bosworth, Joel Wit and Robert Carlin
(video interview of first KEDO Director), 38 North, July 19, 2012 {{Authority control Organizations established in 1995 International nuclear energy organizations International organizations based in the United States Foreign relations of North Korea Foreign relations of South Korea Nuclear program of North Korea Nuclear power in North Korea Intergovernmental organizations established by treaty

History

Executive Directors

See also

References

External links