The North Korean Nuclear Program Through the Eyes of CNN

CNN was one of only two American news organizations ever allowed to visit the main nuclear facility at Yongbyon.

For a nation President Bush labeled as part of the "axis of evil," it was not an impressive sight: a dilapidated concrete hulk, built with few resources back in the early '80s.

But it did produce plutonium, enough to make a few bombs and to test-fire a nuclear weapon 18 months ago.

Today is a very different story though. North Korea shut down Yongbyon last summer under an agreement with the United States and four other nations in the nuclear disarmament negotiations.

We were shown the extraordinary sight of heavy metal pipes, chopped down and laid on the ground: They had been part of a coolant loop that sent steam to the turbine generators to produce electricity.

For starters, appearances can and are deceiving. North Korea was intent upon enriching uranium and producing plutonium, and appearances were a distant concern. The dilapidated conditions belie the fact that they worked extremely well and secured North Korea sufficient weapons grade material to put together several nuclear weapons including test shots in violation of international law.

Amanpour makes light of the real security concerns posed by this dilapidated facility and is essentially opining that the threat was overstated, even as she admits that the facility produced the very materials needed and used in making nuclear weapons.

That the North Koreans have taken those facilities and chopped up their guts to show that they are now in compliance with IAEA and the UN shows that the US backed talks worked.

And there are American technicians from the Department of Energy on-site helping with all of this. It seems a far cry from the hostility conjured by the axis of evil.

For all of this, North Korea expected a million tons of heavy fuel oil, a lifting of sanctions and removal from the U.S. list of terrorist sponsors. This has not happened yet, so North Korea has slowed down the disabling process at Yongbyon.

The United States says Pyongyang hasn't yet fully accounted for its past nuclear activities. However, both sides seem determined to overcome this stumbling block and reach out in other ways, too.

It's a far cry because North Korea couldn't manage to do this alone. China wasn't backing their efforts, and North Korea couldn't afford to bankroll its nuclear efforts. It had no choice but to fold - in return for significant economic aid.

The threat has been partially neutralized, though the technologies developed by the North Koreans are sure to be put to use by the Iranians, Pakistanis, Syrians, and whoever else had the money to buy them.

Trust but verify. The US is there to verify that the North Koreans are doing what they're saying they are doing.