US, Russian officials open plant to destroy chemical weapons

[Forkboy]

SHCHUCHYE, Russia - Rising out of the rolling fields and tree-lined country roads of southern Siberia is a complex of hulking metal buildings, piping, and high-security fencing.

Its purpose? To cope with one of the nastiest legacies of the Cold War.

Yesterday, Russian and US officials formally dedicated the high-tech plant, built with the help of $1 billion from the United States and designed to destroy about 2 million chemical-weapon shells.

The opening was a major step toward disposing of Russia's huge stockpile of Soviet-era chemical weapons, and a rare example of cooperation between two nations that still don't quite trust one another two decades after the Soviet collapse.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2009/05/30/us_russian_officials_open_plant_to_destroy_chemical_weapons/

[Lasher]

1. A good investment on our part.

I'm glad we have the opportunity to help destroy such weapons.

[DailyGrind51]

2. Why don't they consider North Korea?

[Forkboy]

3. Nothing to consider in this case.

This agreement was strictly to deal with Russian stockpiles leftover from the Cold War, and couldn't have been done without their agreement. No such agreement will be forthcoming from North Korea, even if we know they have chemical weapons.