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NKorea says may slow down nuclear disablement: reports
Tokyo (AFP) Dec 27, 2007 North Korea has said it may slow down work to disable its nuclear plants because of what it called a delay in promised energy aid, Japanese media reported Thursday. North Korean foreign ministry official Hyun Hak-Bong made the comments after a meeting in Pyongyang Wednesday with Chinese and South Korean officials, Japan's Kyodo News and public broadcaster NHK reported. "There is a delay in the implementation of economic compensation obligations that is to be undertaken by the other countries in the six-party talks," Kyodo quoted Hyun as saying. "We have no choice but to take measures to adjust" the pace of disablement work, he said in the Kyodo report. Under a six-nation aid-for-disarmament deal, North Korea has agreed to disable its main nuclear facilities and declare all nuclear programmes by year-end in exchange for a million tons of energy aid or its equivalent. The talks in Pyongyang are aimed at agreeing the type of equivalent aid to be supplied by China under the next step in the deal. South Korea has already made a shipment of 5,100 tons of steel plates to the North, apparently for use in patching up its decrepit power stations. Hyun said slowing down the pace of nuclear disablement "is a purely technical issue" and indicated that North Korea does not plan to abandon the agreement entirely, Kyodo said. North Korea, which tested a nuclear weapon in October 2006, has gone ahead with the disablement of its plutonium-producing reactor and two related plants at Yongbyon. Experts say the US-supervised disablement is going well but may not be completed by year-end for technical reasons related to the removal of fuel rods. However, Pyongyang has yet to hand over the declaration of all its nuclear programmes. South Korean officials say it has not accounted for a suspected uranium enrichment programme to Washington's satisfaction. The six-nation talks comprise South Korea, China, the United States, Russia, Japan and the North. Japan has refused to contribute any aid until a row over Japanese abducted by the North is settled. Related Links Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com All about missiles at SpaceWar.com Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
China says NKorea likely to miss year-end deadline
Beijing (AFP) Dec 25, 2007China said Tuesday that North Korea was unlikely to meet a year-end deadline to disable and declare all of its nuclear programmes, although the "majority" of work will be finished. |
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