North Korea Prepared To Discuss Scrapping Nuke Program

NUKEWARS

US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Christopher Hill gestures while listening to a speaker during the opening ceremony of the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear programme 08 February 2007. Six-nation talks aimed at pressing North Korea into giving up its nuclear weapons resumed here for what delegates said could be a watershed moment in the four years of negotiations. Photo courtesy AFP.

US envoys denies signing nuke deal with NKorea
Beijing (AFP) Feb 8 - US envoy Christopher Hill denied Thursday a Japanese press report that said he had secured a deal with North Korea in which Pyongyang had agreed to shut down a nuclear reactor in exchange for energy aid. The Asahi Shimbun newspaper report said Hill, the chief US envoy to six-party talks on Pyongyang's nuclear programme, and North Korean counterpart Kim Kye-Gwan had signed the memorandum last month when they met in Berlin.

"No, we did not sign anything," Hill told reporters when asked about the report ahead of the start of a new round of six-nation talks that were due to start here on Thursday. "We had a very good discussion and we talked about what we might do at the next six-party talks. Although it was a very useful discussion, we did not sign anything." In the memorandum, North Korea agreed to stop the Yongbyon nuclear reactor and allow inspections by the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the newspaper said, quoting US and North Korean sources.

The United States in turn pledged energy and humanitarian assistance to the reclusive state, although the memorandum did not give further details, the daily reported. The six-nation talks, which group host China with the two Koreas, the United States, Japan and Russia, began in 2003 with the aim of convincing Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear ambitions. However North Korea conducted its first atomic test in October last year and the forum is now aiming to get North Korea to disarm.

by Staff Writers
Beijing (AFP) Feb 8, 2007
North Korea will discuss at six-nation talks here Thursday the prospect of dismantling its nuclear programme, but the outcome depends on the United States, the isolated nation's envoy said. Kim Kye-Gwan told reporters he was prepared to talk about recommitting to a deal made in the six-party forum in September 2005, in which North Korea agreed to scrap its nuclear programme in return for aid and security guarantees.

"We have come here to discuss initial steps to take for the implementation of the September 19 joint statement," Kim told reporters after arriving in Beijing for the talks that are scheduled to begin later Thursday.

"We are ready to discuss the initial steps, but whether the US will give up its hostile policy against us and come out for mutual peaceful co-existence will be the basis for our judgement."

Kim said he was "neither optimistic nor pessimistic" about this week's round of talks.

"There are still lots of contentious points yet to be settled. It depends on how we settle those contentious points. We'll have to wait and see," he said.

Press reports have said North Korea may be willing to freeze its Yongbyon nuclear reactor and allow inspections from the International Atomic Energy Agency if it receives energy aid and other benefits.

However North Korea has repeatedly insisted the issue of US financial sanctions imposed against it in 2005 for alleged counterfeiting and money laundering must also be resolved before making a deal on its nuclear programme.

Kim refused to go into details on Thursday, saying only the onus was on the United States.

"The US knows well what it should do," he said.

The six-nation talks, which group host China with the two Koreas, the United States, Japan and Russia, began in 2003 with the aim of convincing Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear ambitions.

However North Korea conducted its first atomic test in October last year and the forum is now aiming to get North Korea to disarm.

Source: Agence France-Presse

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