NKorea to Slow Disablement of Nuclear Facilities, Citing Delay in Compensation
KWANG-TAE KIM
AP News
Dec 26, 2007 15:59 EST
North Korea indicated Wednesday it will slow down the disablement of its nuclear facilities because of what it said was a delay in receiving economic aid under an international deal.
Economic compensation pledged by the United States, South Korea, Japan, China and Russia in return for disabling its nuclear facilities by the end of 2007 "is being delayed," said Hyon Hak Pong, vice director-general of North Korea's Foreign Ministry, according to footage from broadcaster APTN.
"To cope with this, we have no option but to adjust the speed of the disablement process," Hyon said.
In Washington, a State Department spokesman said he was not aware of any slowdown in aid and that "we expect further heavy fuel oil shipments and other energy assistance to move forward in the near future."
The spokesman, Gonzalo Gallegos, said North Korea had agreed in October to disable three core nuclear facilities at Yongbyon by the end of the year and to provide a complete and correct declaration of all its nuclear programs.
He said the parties' commitments to provide energy would be carried out in parallel with North Korea's actions.
Hyon made the comments at a meeting with counterparts from South Korea and China in Pyongyang, where they discussed the issue of energy-related equipment going to the North under an international disarmament deal.
Under the agreement, North Korea pledged to disable all its nuclear programs by year's end in exchange for aid equivalent to 1 million tons of heavy fuel oil and political concessions, including its removal from a U.S. terrorism blacklist.
Diplomats have already said the year-end deadline for North Korea to disable the facilities was unlikely to be met because a key step — removing fuel rods from the nuclear reactor — could take several months.
North Korea began disabling key facilities at its nuclear complex north of Pyongyang last month under the watch of U.S. experts. Pyongyang has also promised to provide a complete list of all its nuclear programs by the end of the year, but has not yet done so.
Source: AP News |
