U.S. not considering halting energy aid to N. Korea despite refitting of reactor: Rice

WASHINGTON, Sept. 26 (Yonhap) -- The United States will not consider halting
energy aid to North Korea despite Pyongyang's recent move to reactivate its
nuclear facilities, a top U.S. diplomat said Friday.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in a media interview, "We just haven't
considered what specific steps we might take. We may need to take steps, but
that's not the stage at which we are right now," according to a transcript
released by the State Department.
The North Korean reactor at Yongbyon had been disabled under a multilateral
nuclear deal.
Rice echoed the sentiments of South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan, who
said days earlier that his country "can continue providing promised heavy fuel
oil and other aid to North Korea at the current stage." However, he added, "Any
further aid provision might be difficult if North Korea suspends disabling on a
full scale and begins restoring (the reactor), as it (disablement) is related to
aid of materials."
Yu also told a press conference here Wednesday that the nuclear deal does not
make a clear connection between a verification regime for North Korea's nuclear
facilities and removing the North from a U.S. list of state sponsors of
terrorism.
Rice said she did not know if the recent change in North Korea's attitude is
linked to North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's reported health failure.
"They do correspond in time," she said. "But, frankly, I don't know if that's
coincidence or causality, and I just don't think we know."
The fresh deadlock came as the U.S. refused to remove the North from its
terrorism blacklist until the North presents a complete protocol for verification
of its nuclear facilities, a demand Pyongyang does not accept.
In recent days, North Korea expelled inspectors of the International Atomic
Energy Agency and removed seals and surveillance equipment from its plutonium
processing plant in Yongbyon, north of its capital, Pyongyang, amid concerns that
it is reloading spent fuel rods on the plant for production of weapons-grade
plutonium.
The plant, a five-megawatt reactor, and other facilities were among those
disabled under a nuclear deal involving South Korea, China, Russia, Japan and the
United States. Washington insists its verification demand is in accordance with
international standards, while Pyongyang says it cannot accept unfettered
surveillance of its sensitive facilities.
The Washington Post Friday said U.S. hardliners pushed for the "far-reaching
plan" to grasp North Korea's real intentions on abandoning of its nuclear
ambitions, despite strong opposition from Assistant Secretary of State
Christopher Hill, who doubles as the chief nuclear envoy for the six-party talks.
"The U.S. sought full access to any site, facility or location deemed relevant to
the nuclear program, including military facilities," the Post said.
"Investigators would be able to take photographs and make videos, remain on site
as long as necessary, make repeated visits and collect and remove samples."
No sovereign state would likely accept such an inspection, the daily said, citing
an expert.
Under the six-party deal, North Korea is supposed to get 1 million tons of energy
or the equivalent from other partners by the end of October in return for the
North's disabling of its nuclear facilities by that time.
The deal also calls for the U.S. to remove North Korea from its terrorism
blacklist to pave the way for the isolated communist state to get financial
assistance from the International Monetary Fund and other lending institutions.