Yongbyon Tower Demolition

North Korea imploded a cooling tower at its Yongbyon nuclear plant on June 27, 2008, paving the way for the lifting of sanctions by the United States imposed on the reclusive Communist regime.

Fast Facts

1. Date: June 27, 2008
2. Location: Yongbyon, North Korea
3. Cooling tower can be easily rebuilt
4. North Korea removed from U.S. list of state that sponsor terrorism
5. North Korea exploded nuclear weapon underground in 2006
6. North Korea believed to have 110 pounds of weapons-grade plutonium¹
7. 110 pounds of plutonium is enough for 10 nuclear bombs¹

The Agreement

In return for the destruction of its cooling tower, the Bush Administration removed North Korea from its list of state sponsors of terrorism and lifted some specific sanctions. North Korea began the process of dismantling its nuclear program last year and has received fuel aid from the United States, Japan, Russia, South Korea and China in return.¹

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