ID :
22514
Fri, 10/03/2008 - 19:50
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/22514
The shortlink copeid
U.S. nuclear envoy to brief S. Korean, Japanese officials on N. Korea trip
(ATTN: UPDATES with arrival of U.S. nuclear envoy in Seoul)
By Kim Hyun
SEOUL, Oct. 3 (Yonhap) -- Chief U.S. nuclear envoy Christopher Hill planned to meet separately with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts in Seoul later Friday to brief them on his just concluded trip to North Korea, South Korean officials said.
Hill crossed into the southern side of the inter-Korean border village of
Panmunjom shortly before 4 p.m., ending a two-day visit to Pyongyang, where he
met with his North Korean counterpart, Kim Kye-gwan, and other officials on a
mission to stop the country from reviving its atomic weapons drive.
His trip, originally scheduled to end on Thursday, was extended by another day,
prompting hopes for progress.
"The outcome of the negotiations wasn't known yet," an official at the South's
Foreign Ministry said, referring to Hill's talks with North Korean officials.
Hill was scheduled to separately brief his South Korean and Japanese
counterparts, Kim Sook and Akitaka Saiki, on the results of his trip, said the
official, requesting anonymity.
"There is no plan for the three to meet together at the moment," the official
said without elaborating.
From Seoul, Hill, who also serves as assistant secretary of state for East Asian
and Pacific affairs, is scheduled to fly to Beijing on Saturday to meet Chinese
Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei, who chairs the six-way talks aimed at
denuclearizing North Korea, according to the same South Korean officials.
Tensions have mounted since Pyongyang moved to resume its nuclear activity in
recent weeks, apparently in protest at Washington's refusal to take it off the
terrorism sanctions list. The U.S. insists that the North must first agree to an
intrusive verification protocol on its nuclear declaration.
The North announced in mid-August a halt in the slow-going disablement of its
nuclear facilities in Yongbyon under a 2007 aid-for-denuclearization deal with
the U.S., South Korea, China, Japan and Russia.
Late last month, North Korea began backtracking from the deal, telling the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that it was reactivating a facility in
Yongbyon, where weapons-grade plutonium can be extracted from spent fuel rods.
South Korean intelligence sources said that the North may also be restoring its
atomic weapons test site and preparing for another test of long-range missiles.
They cited increased activities in the areas as evidence.
North Korea's real intentions are still unclear, but many analysts view the
measures as a bargaining tactic.
They point out that North Korea must be fully aware that U.S. spy satellites are
closely monitoring those facilities. The North, in fact, has allowed IAEA
inspectors and U.S. monitors to stay at Yongbyon so that they can witness what is
going on there.
By Kim Hyun
SEOUL, Oct. 3 (Yonhap) -- Chief U.S. nuclear envoy Christopher Hill planned to meet separately with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts in Seoul later Friday to brief them on his just concluded trip to North Korea, South Korean officials said.
Hill crossed into the southern side of the inter-Korean border village of
Panmunjom shortly before 4 p.m., ending a two-day visit to Pyongyang, where he
met with his North Korean counterpart, Kim Kye-gwan, and other officials on a
mission to stop the country from reviving its atomic weapons drive.
His trip, originally scheduled to end on Thursday, was extended by another day,
prompting hopes for progress.
"The outcome of the negotiations wasn't known yet," an official at the South's
Foreign Ministry said, referring to Hill's talks with North Korean officials.
Hill was scheduled to separately brief his South Korean and Japanese
counterparts, Kim Sook and Akitaka Saiki, on the results of his trip, said the
official, requesting anonymity.
"There is no plan for the three to meet together at the moment," the official
said without elaborating.
From Seoul, Hill, who also serves as assistant secretary of state for East Asian
and Pacific affairs, is scheduled to fly to Beijing on Saturday to meet Chinese
Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei, who chairs the six-way talks aimed at
denuclearizing North Korea, according to the same South Korean officials.
Tensions have mounted since Pyongyang moved to resume its nuclear activity in
recent weeks, apparently in protest at Washington's refusal to take it off the
terrorism sanctions list. The U.S. insists that the North must first agree to an
intrusive verification protocol on its nuclear declaration.
The North announced in mid-August a halt in the slow-going disablement of its
nuclear facilities in Yongbyon under a 2007 aid-for-denuclearization deal with
the U.S., South Korea, China, Japan and Russia.
Late last month, North Korea began backtracking from the deal, telling the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that it was reactivating a facility in
Yongbyon, where weapons-grade plutonium can be extracted from spent fuel rods.
South Korean intelligence sources said that the North may also be restoring its
atomic weapons test site and preparing for another test of long-range missiles.
They cited increased activities in the areas as evidence.
North Korea's real intentions are still unclear, but many analysts view the
measures as a bargaining tactic.
They point out that North Korea must be fully aware that U.S. spy satellites are
closely monitoring those facilities. The North, in fact, has allowed IAEA
inspectors and U.S. monitors to stay at Yongbyon so that they can witness what is
going on there.
