Patterson School Director Carey Cavanaugh chaired the post-simulation discussion between the professors and students who played roles in within six nations: North Korea, South Korea, China, Russia, the United States and Japan.

This was the 8th annual crisis simulation. In the opening hours, a radiation leak from a nuclear site in North Korea was announced, and students dealt with the consequences of that, including the demise of Kim Jong Il.

The meeting, concluding a tense 10-day period in which the Six Party group meet an unprecedented three times, twice with North Korea present in the group, was called after a second nuclear leak at Yongbyon nuclear facility was contained by a group of technicians and advisors from several of the nations.

With a new regime representing North Korea, ruled for decades by recently deceased Kim Jong Il, officilas from China, North Korea, South Korea, the U.S., Japan and Russia discussed whether North Korea would advance or stay where it is with nuclear development and power.

The three from North Korea said the country was not willing to draw down but would work with the Six Parties before moving forward.

Also on the table were measures in regard to economic development and potentially using hydropower as both a replacement to nuclear power and an economic development incentive.

“That’s too distant in the future for us to really speculate on,” North Korea said, when asked at what date the country might do without nuclear weapons.

North Korea stood firm under questioning, repeatedly raising the possiblity that the first emission of radioactive gas may have been from an accident or an intervention, perhaps by a Stuxnet-like virus.

The meeting came on the same day that Iran was rowing back hard on its nuclear plant, valued at $1 billion in what experts were calling a possible “game over” scenario for the Iranian site, according to reportage in the New York Times.

The triumvirate mentioned the possible revision of the country’s constitution and the leader stated that the revised form of government, possibly available within the next six months, would not see the three individuals in the interim positions in power.

“Are you saying elections would be held in 6 months?” the group was asked.  Elections in six months would be overly hasty.

“I’ll be sure to tell that to our South Korean children who are born with third eyes,”  snapped the South Korean defense minister.

Russia has called for immediate Six Party Talks.

Japan advises its people to follow the same precautions: to stay indoors with windows sealed, to wear long clothes, to drink bottled water and to wear a hat.

Japan has sent a group of nuclear experts to N. Korea to help stop the leak.

Officials say that failure to seal the crack, which has now caused a second leak, is “due to the Kim regime’s abrupt detention of the Yongbyon nuclear engineering team.”  New leadership is now working to seal the leak completely.

The government is warning citizens to remain inside, and to only drink bottled water. If anyone must go outside, officials ask that they cover skin and hair, and wear a face mask.

In an effort to stop the radiation leak, Japan is sending a response team at the request of the North Korean government. They will be joining teams from China and Russia.

South Korean Press Secretary John Foster says this new cloud poses health risks to the people of the Korean peninsula and beyond.

North Korea, being run by a triumvirate of leaders who stepped in to depose Kim Jong Un quickly after he took up the post of his father who died in office, says on its Web site that it is investigating the leak.

North Korea has been closed to open outside investigation by nuclear experts for years.

There has been no word from the North Korean government  on how Kim Jong Il died or what charges, if any, attend the house arrest of Kim Jong Un.

A tumultuous fortnight for the Korean Peninsula began on Feb. 25, when a release of radioactive gas escaped from a nuclear plant in Yongbyon.

There have been reports from the official North Korea News Agency say that the Red Cross presence has tempered the protests. Official reports say that the protest were non-violent and there were no casualties.