>> this is al jazeera. u.s. president joe biden has defended his withdrawal of u.s. troops from afghanistan and said the evacuation has been a success. he criticized his predecessor's deal with the taliban. >> we succeeded in what we set out to do in afghanistan over a decade ago. and we stayed for another decade. it was time to end this war. this is a new world.

the terror threat has metastasized across the world, well beyond afghanistan. we face threats from al-shabaab in somalia, al qaeda affiliates, and isis, establishing affiliates across africa and asia. a president should defend and protect america, not against threats of 2001, but against the threats of 2021 and tomorrow. >> taliban leaders spoke of international investment and forming an inclusive government. the group has been celebrating and expressed disappointment at what's been left behind. at kabul disabled and other equipment, destroyed. there are reports the syrian government and local leaders

have reached an agreement for a three-day cease-fire due to begin on wednesday. government forces ramped up their offensive, blocking food and medical supplies getting in. hurricane ida left hundreds of thousands in the u.s. gulf coast without drinking water and electricity. a nighttime curfew is in place in new orleans to stop further crime after the city was left in darkness. 32 people have died in peru after a plunge off a cliff. it is a third such accident in the country in this pinafore days. -- the span of four days. the news continues on al jazeera on "inside story." do stay with us. ♪

dareen: north korea appears to have resumed its nuclear activity. it follows pyongyang's warning it will expand its program unless sanctions are lifted. but are the u.s. and its allies ready to engage in more diplomatic talks? this is "inside story." ♪ hello, and welcome to the program. i'm dareen abughaida. the u.n. nuclear watchdog says north korea has restarted its main nuclear reactor. the international atomic energy agency released a report saying it has observed evidence of cooling water from the plant, indicating it's in use. the five-megawatt reactor is

capable of producing weapons-grade plutonium. that's one of the crucial elements needed to build nuclear weapons. the finding poses yet another challenge for the u.s. and its goal of denuclearizing the korean peninsula. some analysts believe it may be a tactic for future talks with the biden administration, but will it work? we'll bring in our guests in a moment, but first, this report from andrew chappelle. reporter: without inspectors in north korea, the iaea relies on satellite images. using these, it says is detected -- it has detected a discharge of cooling water at the main nuclear plant in yangbiyon, and that suggests the reactor is operating. if the latest findings are correct, the u.n. nuclear watchdog says it's a deeply troubling development. it is believed the reactor produced plutonium for north korea's nuclear arsenal in the past. the white house says the iaea report underscores the urgent need for dialogue and diplomacy. whatever warmer relations that appear to be cultivated under

former president donald trump seemed to have grown cold under his successor, joe biden, as u.s. military exercises were held with the south. >> unfortunately, the biden administration has been slow off the mark on the north korea file. of course, they were dealing with the renewal of the strategic arms reduction treaty with russia, which happened in february. the resumption of talks with iran on the comprehensive plan of action, fighting with covid, and also the withdrawal from afghanistan. so these are a number of important programs, but unfortunately, it seems that the united states' traditional position has not changed the old -- position has not changed, the old demand for complete irreversible, verifiable disarmament of north korea's nuclear program has never worked and is not likely to work. reporter: the subject of consternation and negotiation for decades. the heart of north korea's nuclear program. its cooling tower was famously destroyed in 2008, as part of an international drive to dismantle

parts of the program, in exchange for relief from sanctions. the following year, north korea kicked monitors out. nearly a decade later, kim jong-un offered to dismantle the reactor in return for the same concessions the trump administration. the weapons are what give north korea leverage, right, if they've got, you know, 30 instead of 20, or 100 instead of, you know, 50, or whatever. we don't know how many they have, then this gives them more bargaining chips when eventually negotiations take place. >> by apparently allowing the world to see this new activity the north korean leader may be signaling he's ready to talk. andrew chappelle, al jazeera. dareen: let's take a closer look at north korea's recent nuclear activity. this was the first sign of operational activity since december, 2018, months after the former u.s. president donald trump met kim jojong-un in singapore. north korea has continued to develop nuclear weapons since

iaea inspectors were expelled, holding its largest test to date in 2017. and the previous year, it conducted a warhead explosion that the u.s. geological survey registered at a magnitude of 5.3. ♪ let's bring in our guests. now joining us from stuttgart, germany is se-woong koo, who's the publisher of korea expose a -- the publisher of korea expose, a newsletter on contemporary korean affairs. in seoul, june park, a fung global fellow at princeton university. and in singapore, graham ong-webb, who's a defense analyst and research fellow at nanyang technological university. thanks for joining us. welcome to you all. graham, if this report is correct, if it's anything to go by, these are the first signs of operation to be spotted since late 2018. what is the message that kim jong-un is sending out? >> well, it's clearly a signal coming out from the kim regime

that they want to be noticed once again, because i think they have been ignored for some while. there is a lot of strategic movement going on, in line with the biden administration's series of policies, you know, dealing with foreign affairs and with defense issues. and i think the north koreans have a concern about being left out, particularly at a time when we're seeing the withdrawal of u.s. -- seeing the withdrawal of u.s. forces from afghanistan, the pivoting of u.s. interests into the asia pacific. and also, with the discussion of a possible back to the table talks with the iranians on the nuclear deal. dareen: se-woong, do you agree with that assessment? is this a signal that kim jong-un is ready to talk, or what's going on here? >> absolutely. we have been seeing a series of developments out of north korea that clearly suggests that pyongyang has become very impatient with the state of the process. we have seen change in the language used by the north

korean state media, with regard to south korea. it's definitely become more hostile, aggressive. we have also seen remarks coming from kim jong, the sister of kim jong-un, belittling south korea, to the point that the south korean media and public have observed it with quite some alarm. and as many north korea experts know, when north korea starts to engage in activities around the reactor, this is a very clear signal that it wants to get a response. the only thing worse that they could perhaps do at this point is certainly conducting another nuclear experiment. the last time it did was in 2017, and i wouldn't be surprised that we actually see that happening again. dareen: okay, important points raised. we'll get on to all of those in a moment, but first, let's drill down a little bit more on this particular u.n. report. june park, the u.n is describing this as deeply disturbing, deeply troubling.

excuse me. can you tell us what exactly the discharge of cooling water indicates? >> well, basically, the fact that the reactor is reactive, is in under operation now, indicates that it is going against sanctions, and it is -- against u.n. sanctions, and it is clear to many observers in north korea that what's happening inside north korea, with regard to the premises of denuclearization, is not really built on something that is trustworthy for the south korean side or the american side. dareen: and june, there are also indications, according to the u.n. report, of mining and concentration activities at a uranium mine and plant, as well as activity at a suspected enrichment facility.

how significant are those? >> well, the enrichment facilities, if they are activated, then they're surely against the u.n. security council sanctions guidelines. and so, if that is the case, then there has to be an emergency meeting that should be convened at the security council right now. it seems to be the case that there are two. there is a huge concentration, not just by the international media, but the u.s. government, per se, just on afghanistan, so it'll take time for these kinds of attention to be paid to the north korean issue. dareen: all right, graham, the response by the international community, what do you expect it to be? because the u.n. is also describing this as a "clear violation of relevant u.n. security council resolutions," and what they're saying is this is deeply regrettable, so do you agree with june, that some sort

of meeting should be held and might be held? >> i definitely concur with june's assessment. i mean, the united nations is compelled to gather on this issue, to convene, and to discuss it, because it is clear for all to see that there have been a new slate of violations, and this has to be tackled. i mean, we've seen over the last few years an alignment by members of the global community, first of all, in general terms, on the proliferation of nuclear weapons, but secondly, in particular, states of concern. north korea and iran fall in this category. and i think the north korean regime has gone pretty far in its nuclear development program, its weapons program. we've seen some headway, some constructive results a couple of years back, but a lot of that has unraveled over the last 18 to 24 months, and i think it is

time for the community to gather, and it will gather to put a backstop to this, by taking to mind a host of other global issues that need to be tabled and discussed at the u.n. level. and so, we're seeing a bit of a backlog here, but one is hoping that i think that it's going to be a little bit more responsiveness, because the north koreans aren't going to wait for the rest of us. they're just going to chug ahead and continue to develop these nuclear weapons for a range of political reasons. dareen: right. and graham, i mean, some people are saying that the north koreans are moving to expand its current arsenal with the current moves on the ground. is that a safe assessment to make? >> definitely, i mean, there is nothing, of course, you know, it's still a black box, north korea, i mean, about what's going on on the ground, because we don't have, you know, experts and observers in the country to report on what's going on with a great degree of fidelity. but nevertheless, there are significant indications that the

north korean regime, mr. kim jong-un, is pressing ahead with a range of military and nuclear weapons related developments, and we've seen that happen over the last 18 months, and it's expanding as we speak, and it needs to be curtailed. dareen: that's just it. june, a point that graham was just saying, that the iaea has had no access to north korea since pyongyang kicked out the inspectors back in 2009, so everything is monitored, really, through satellite imagery. so does this mean that we -- things perhaps could be under-reported and we actually don't know what's really going on? it's difficult to ascertain what's going on in the country, -- was going on in the country. >> but according to the report that was released, it seems to be the case that the activation has started since july. and if that's the case, even if they're satellite imagery, there's enough of a case to be made at the security council and not just at the global community

level, but by bilateral levels between the u.s. and south korea, as well. and what's really alarming, is that the south korean government has not been alert to this. they had been watching the changes in the satellite inventory, they had been receiving the reports, but they haven't haven't actually alerted the public about these developments, and it only came to light after the u.s. pulled out of afghanistan. this is the perfect timing for north korea. dareen: se-woong, you were mentioning a moment ago that the last nuclear test was back in 2017. so do you think that the north koreans are now on the path to conducting another one, with the revelations from the ground? >> well, i said it's a possibility. i don't think any one of us can say for sure that this will happen in the near future. what we can only acknowledge collectively is that north korea

certainly feels impatient, and it wants to see response. what we have heard until now from the u.s. side under the biden administration is that it is, of course, open to a new dialogue with north korea without any condition, but clearly, from the north korean perspective, this is not enough, because they know exactly where this is going to go. it's going to go back to the point where the u.s. demands the same thing as always, which is the complete irreversible, verifiable abandonment of nuclear arms, and that is something that north korea is not interested in doing. at least from the very beginning, we saw in the hanoi summit in 2019 what north korea is looking for. it offered to dismantle the facilities in yangbiyon in exchange for the relaxing or lifting of all the sanctions that have been imposed since 2016. and clearly, that is not what happened, and here we are. but it's also interesting to mention at this point is the

development of washington, just last night or this morning, there was a high level meeting between song kim, the u.s. special representative for north korea, and his south korean counterpart, where they were discussing the possibility of actually offering humanitarian aid to the north. and this is something that the south korean government certainly has been fully supporting. they really want to go back to the point where they try to assist or at least offer some kind of incentive to north korea, in exchange for coming to the negotiation table with more, let's say, accommodating attitude. dareen: right, and given the -- that the negotiations between the u.s. and pyongyang have stalled, what is it going to take to break that impasse? >> yeah, we're going to need some major gesture. and the south korean government hopes that this gesture can be the proposed inter-korean economic cooperation that it has been talking about since the very beginning of the mundane

administration in 2017. they were always hoping that the u.s. would also be onboard to support this, which was clearly not possible while donald trump was the american president, and with the biden administration not yet having quite clearly articulated its north korea policy, it is the hope certainly of the korean government, the south korean government, that washington will be onboard for this more, let's say, appeasing stance. dareen: graham, do you agree with that assessment, and what do you think needs to be done now, to move forward and break the sticking points, at least between the united states and north korea? >> well, it's really hard to say. i mean, i agree that i think we've been moving in circles over the last few years, not last decade alone, a broken record that has been playing over and over again. i always think about the fundamentals, about what north korea presumably wants, i mean fundamentally, in addition to economic aid, economic

cooperation, to lift all boats in north korea, and to get the people out of this very difficult situation, food short -- food shortages, natural catastrophes, floods, and the like. it really wants something as fundamental as the withdrawal of u.s. forces from south korea and from northeast asia at large. and i think that is something that is, you know, often ends up being the elephant in the room that needs to be discussed. there's a larger issue, also, about the 1953 armistice agreement, whether or not the establishment of a peace treaty finally might mean something. but it's going to set an -- set in motion a whole range of issues, even relating to these aliens of the standing u.s.-south korean defense treaty, which came out from the armistice agreement. so there's a whole package of things that need to be tackled, which i think are deeply concerning from the north korean standpoint, which amounts to them saying that there is this

hostile posture of the united states against north korea as we speak. dareen: right, and graham, so then the the weapons is what gives north korea leverage. that is what north korea is looking for more than washington is currently offering when it comes to talks? >> definitely, i mean, and it just brings us back to the saga of 2017. i mean, not only do we see an unprecedented number of missile tests in any one year, but we also saw the combination of the testing of the past 115 icbm missile, which is still not a foreclosed scientific journey for the north koreans. there's still a question of the re-entry test, and that's why i still sit at the edge of my seat wondering when the north koreans may resume that testing regime. and so, yeah, these weapons, particularly the intercontinental ballistic missiles, are potent deterrent weapons that the north koreans feel they need to have in order to blackmail the -- whatever u.s. administration of the day

that's in power, to seek for political concessions and other concessions that will benefit the north korean regime. dareen: do you agree that this, the latest activity on the grounds, could be some sort of bargaining chip by north korea for any potential talks with the united states and its allies? >> it could be, but it could also be just a a hostility move by the north koreans. there hasn't been any of these kinds of international attention when the north koreans cyber hacked south korean institutions in -- starting from may, there were hacks on astrazeneca, but there was not enough international media attention on north korea's behavior back then, so anything that happens on the nuclear front is a gesture that north korea wants to get some response to. but it's not really clear whether they would want to have

a warm engagement or a cold engagement. dareen: the south korean foreign ministry -- the south korean spokeswoman, excuse me, for seoul's unification ministry. said that the south korean government is monitoring the situation closely in cooperation with the united states, but behind the scenes, what could be going on right now in south korea? >> we can't discuss the hot lines, because they were not mentioned, but the hotlines were re-established, and there must be a channel between the blue house, the nis, and also the north korean authorities, vis-a-vis re-engagement with the united states, and i am also expecting that washington has its own hotlines ongoing with the blue house, but it's not really clear what the washington people have in mind. it is quite clear that the south korean authorities want to have

re-engagement going on, but think about political capital in south korea. there's not enough enough room, especially when there is a presidential election coming up in march. dareen: se-woong, one key question as well is what role china will play in the diplomacy, obviously, given its economic and political leverage over north korea. but with relations between us and beijing described as tense, -- u.s. and beijing described as tense, to what extent is china willing to work with the u.s. on this issue? >> yeah, that is a very good question, because china is always involved in some aspect of the denuclearization process, whether it's because china is helping to prop up north korea, or whether because china is helping north korea avoid some aspects of these sanctions. and also, china perhaps has the key to making sure denuclearization actually takes place, because it is the most important partner for north korea on the international stage.

and that's the reason why many experts in south korea also demand that any kind of future negotiation with north korea involving the u.s. must also involve south korea as well as china. the question is, getting china to support any aspect of the negotiation would imply that the u.s. needs to make some concession, and given this current geopolitical circumstance, in which china and the u.s. have been at odds for such a long time already, can we really count on that situation to happen? more importantly, as graham had mentioned earlier, if north korea wants the u.s. forces in south korea to indeed withdraw. but for the u.s., this is not just about north korea. they have soldiers in county kim -- in king humphreys, which is

now the biggest overseas american military base. it is there to consolidate america's geopolitical interests in the region, which certainly concerns china, as well. so this is a very complicated picture, and china certainly has a very big role to play in all this. dareen: right. graham, and to what extent is the u.s. willing to work with china on this? >> in my assessment, i think it remains to be seen. i think front and center right now, there are a range of issues that pertain directly to beijing and washington that need working out, in terms of the ongoing trade war, the ongoing war over technological development, and access to technology, the ongoing disputes over the perimeter across, you know, the south china sea and the east china sea. and i think that that's immediate for both sides. so i think it remains to be seen, the amount of bandwidth that's going to be a portion to dealing with the north korean issue.

so i really can't say right now, but let's see what happens. dareen: talks don't take place in the short-term future, at least. what does this mean for the future of denuclearization? >> denuclearization was only a political slogan during the singapore and hanoi summits. denuclearization of the korean peninsula is the coined term used by all parties, south korea, united states, north korea, in the formal declarations that they keep on building. but in fact, the denuclearization of north korea in a very, very concise and precise manner is not something that we can expect from north korea, based on what we've seen today. dareen: okay. understood. we'll have to leave it there. thank you so much for joining

us, se-woong koo, june park, and graham ong-webb. thanks for speaking to us. and thank you for watching. you can see the program again anytime by visiting our website, aljazeera.com. for further discussion, you can go to our facebook page. that's facebook.com/ajinsidestory. you can join the conversation on twitter. our handle is @ajinsidestory. from myself and the whole team, thanks for watching. bye for now. ♪

ñg?ok!3ó

diep tran: i think people are aware of vietnamese cuisine, and most people don't want that cuisine to change or don't want to have their understanding of the cuisine to change. because the cuisine is changing all the time. the idea of a, like, this unifying national cuisine, vietnamese cuisine, it doesn't exist. really, it truly doesn't exist. even a unified vietnamese identity doesn't exist. [dings] like, it's kind of like saying italians--defined by tomatoes and olive oil. what people see as essential, it's because they're looking from like an outsider's point of view, and it's not granular.