2002

Oct: North Korea reportedly admits to US special envoy James Kelly that it is running a uranium enrichment program in violation of a 1994 nuclear safeguard accord.

Nov 14: The United States suspends fuel oil shipments to North Korea promised under the 1994 accord.

Dec 12: North Korea says it is reactivating nuclear facilities frozen under the accord because of power shortages.

Dec 21-25: North Korea removes seals and monitoring cameras from its main nuclear complex at Yongbyon, north of Pyongyang.

Dec 27: UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors expelled from Yongbyon.

2003

Jan 10: Pyongyang withdraws from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Feb 12: The IAEA declares North Korea in violation of non-proliferation accords and refers the crisis to the UN Security Council.

Feb 26: North Korea restarts its five-megawatt nuclear reactor at Yongbyon facilities, US officials say.

April 9: UN Security Council expresses concern about the nuclear crisis but issues no condemnation of North Korea.

April 18: North Korea says it has begun reprocessing more than 8,000 spent nuclear fuel rods to make weapons-grade plutonium.

April 23: The United States, North Korea and China meet for three days of talks in Beijing. North Korea admits to possessing nuclear weapons, according to the US side. Pyongyang submits a "bold proposal" for resolving the crisis.

July 16: The White House says North Korea has informed the United States of completing reprocessing of 8,000 spent fuel rods on June 30.

Aug 13: North Korea asks for a non-aggression pact with the United States to resolve the nuclear stand-off.

Aug 27-29: Six-way nuclear talks start in Beijing. North Korea threatens to conduct a nuclear test and declare itself a nuclear power.

Aug 30: North Korea says talks on nuclear crisis were "useless".

Oct 2: North Korea says it has produced enough weapons-grade plutonium for half-a-dozen atomic bombs as a step towards boosting its nuclear deterrent.

Oct 16: North Korea vows to display the "physical force" of its nuclear deterrent.

Oct 29: China's number two leader, Wu Bangguo, visits North Korea. China and North Korea agree in principle to continue six-party talks.

Nov 21: The Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO), an international consortium set up to build safe nuclear power reactors for North Korea, suspends the 4.6 billion dollar project for one year.

2004

Jan 1: North Korea reaffirms in a New Year message that it is ready to resolve its nuclear crisis peacefully while vowing to take "toughest" measures against any US "hardline" stance toward Pyongyang.

Jan 6: Two US non-governmental delegations visit North Korea's nuclear complex in Yongbyon.

Jan 6: North Korea offers to refrain from testing and producing nuclear weapons in a "bold concession". US Secretary of State Colin Powell says he is encouraged by the offer.

Jan 12: North Korea again offers to freeze nuclear reactors producing weapons grade plutonium if compensated by Washington.

Jan 21: Siegfried Hecker, a US scientist who toured the Yongbyon complex, says Pyongyang did not prove it had made a nuclear bomb but likely had the capacity to make weapons grade plutonium.

Jan 22: IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei says North Korea's nuclear program is the world's most dangerous non-proliferation issue.

Feb 3: North Korea agrees to hold a new round of six-way nuclear crisis talks to open on February 25 in China.

Feb 4: Abdul Qadeer Khan, the founder of Pakistan's atomic program, admits proliferating nuclear technology after two-month investigation into the leaking of nuclear secrets to Iran, Libya and North Korea.

Feb 11: Top Japanese officials arrive in Pyongyang for talks with North Korea about its nuclear arms program and the abduction of Japanese citizens.

Feb 18: Senior US envoy John Bolton says North Korea's refusal to discuss its illicit uranium enrichment program threatens chances of peaceful solution.

Feb 23: US suggests willingness to consider freeze of North Korea's nuclear program, as delegates start arriving in Beijing for six-party talks.

Feb 24: Second round of six-party talks are held in Beijing, but end without concrete progress. China says "severe" differences remain.

April 19: North Korean leader Kim Jong-il meets Chinese President Hu Jintao during a three-day visit to Beijing and vows to be flexible and patient over the nuclear issue.

May 14: North Korea says it will never accept US demands for a complete dismantling of its nuclear programs at working level six-nation talks in Beijing.

May 22: Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visits Kim Jong-il in Pyongyang and the North Korean leader says he wants a solution to the crisis.

June 20: Second session of working-level talks start.

June 23: Third round of six-party talks to get underway.

WAR.WIRE