ID :
20609
Mon, 09/22/2008 - 15:35
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/20609
The shortlink copeid
(LEAD) S. Korea hints at suspending energy aid for N. Korea
(ATTN: UPDATES with S. Korean foreign ministry spokesman's comments, additional background; CHANGES dateline)
NEW YORK/ SEOUL, Sept. 21 (Yonhap) -- South Korea has no "clear plan yet" on whether to take retaliatory steps against North Korea for its move to restart a key plutonium-producing reactor, Seoul's chief nuclear negotiator said Sunday.
Kim Sook, however, hinted at suspending promised energy aid to Pyongyang if it
continues to renege on its disarmament deal. The agreement was made during
six-party talks involving South Korea, the U.S., China, Russia, and Japan.
Seoul chairs an energy aid working group in the framework of the six-way talks
aimed at ending the North's nuclear ambitions.
"For now, there is no clear plan on halting or postponing aid for North Korea,"
Kim told reporters after a one-hour closed-door meeting with his U.S. counterpart
Christopher Hill in New York. "There was no concrete discussion on the (energy
aid) issue."
Kim said the North's future stance would be a key factor.
"It depends on how the situation will proceed," Kim said, "Certainly, the
economic and energy assistance for North Korea is part of a scheme based on an
action-for-action principle."
Hill pointed out that the six-way talks are facing a difficult situation, adding
the U.S. will continue efforts to coax Pyongyang into cooperating with a plan to
verify its recent nuclear declaration.
The U.S. maintains that verification is a vital precondition to removing the
communist state from its list of state sponsors of terror.
In Seoul, South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman Moon Tae-young said energy aid
will certainly be affected should the North continue the work to restore the
nuclear reactor in Yongbyon.
"South Korea and the other parties concerns are keeping a close watch on North
Korea's move," Moon said at a press briefing. "Close consultations among them are
under way."
North Korea announced on Aug. 26 that it had stopped disablement work.
The North's Foreign Ministry said last Friday that "work has been under way to
restore its nuclear facilities."
The U.S. State Department said later that North Korea has not yet reactivated the
facilities but is moving closer to doing so.
"They haven't gotten to that point yet and we would urge them not to get to that
point," department spokesman Sean McCormack said.
South Korean negotiators said the North's intentions remain unclear. They
construe the North's recent move as aimed at putting pressure on Washington to
remove it from the terror list. But Seoul has not ruled out the possibility that
the unpredictable regime will take additional steps.
"North Korea initially linked its nuclear disablement with energy aid, while
linking the nuclear declaration with political incentives," a South Korean
negotiator said.
"But it is now using the disablement as a card to gain U.S. concessions on its
removal from the terror list."
In the Oct. 3 agreement, North Korea agreed to disable the Yongbyon reactor and
submit a list detailing its nuclear activity in return for the political reward
and the delivery of energy aid equivalent to one million tons of heavy fuel from
the five nations.
lcd@yna.co.kr
(END)
NEW YORK/ SEOUL, Sept. 21 (Yonhap) -- South Korea has no "clear plan yet" on whether to take retaliatory steps against North Korea for its move to restart a key plutonium-producing reactor, Seoul's chief nuclear negotiator said Sunday.
Kim Sook, however, hinted at suspending promised energy aid to Pyongyang if it
continues to renege on its disarmament deal. The agreement was made during
six-party talks involving South Korea, the U.S., China, Russia, and Japan.
Seoul chairs an energy aid working group in the framework of the six-way talks
aimed at ending the North's nuclear ambitions.
"For now, there is no clear plan on halting or postponing aid for North Korea,"
Kim told reporters after a one-hour closed-door meeting with his U.S. counterpart
Christopher Hill in New York. "There was no concrete discussion on the (energy
aid) issue."
Kim said the North's future stance would be a key factor.
"It depends on how the situation will proceed," Kim said, "Certainly, the
economic and energy assistance for North Korea is part of a scheme based on an
action-for-action principle."
Hill pointed out that the six-way talks are facing a difficult situation, adding
the U.S. will continue efforts to coax Pyongyang into cooperating with a plan to
verify its recent nuclear declaration.
The U.S. maintains that verification is a vital precondition to removing the
communist state from its list of state sponsors of terror.
In Seoul, South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman Moon Tae-young said energy aid
will certainly be affected should the North continue the work to restore the
nuclear reactor in Yongbyon.
"South Korea and the other parties concerns are keeping a close watch on North
Korea's move," Moon said at a press briefing. "Close consultations among them are
under way."
North Korea announced on Aug. 26 that it had stopped disablement work.
The North's Foreign Ministry said last Friday that "work has been under way to
restore its nuclear facilities."
The U.S. State Department said later that North Korea has not yet reactivated the
facilities but is moving closer to doing so.
"They haven't gotten to that point yet and we would urge them not to get to that
point," department spokesman Sean McCormack said.
South Korean negotiators said the North's intentions remain unclear. They
construe the North's recent move as aimed at putting pressure on Washington to
remove it from the terror list. But Seoul has not ruled out the possibility that
the unpredictable regime will take additional steps.
"North Korea initially linked its nuclear disablement with energy aid, while
linking the nuclear declaration with political incentives," a South Korean
negotiator said.
"But it is now using the disablement as a card to gain U.S. concessions on its
removal from the terror list."
In the Oct. 3 agreement, North Korea agreed to disable the Yongbyon reactor and
submit a list detailing its nuclear activity in return for the political reward
and the delivery of energy aid equivalent to one million tons of heavy fuel from
the five nations.
lcd@yna.co.kr
(END)
