ID :
22968
Mon, 10/06/2008 - 21:50
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/22968
The shortlink copeid
Pyongyang sent U.S. ultimatum on nuclear dispute: pro-NK daily
SEOUL, Oct. 6 (Yonhap) -- The stalled six-party talks on scrapping North Korea's nuclear programs may break down if Washington rejects an apparent "ultimatum" from Pyongyang on a verification protocol, a pro-Pyongyang daily in Japan said Monday.
Choson Sinbo, the organ of a pro-Pyongyang Korean group in Japan, said Pyongyang
appears to have delivered the ultimatum to the top U.S. nuclear envoy, who
visited the communist country last week to salvage the disarmament talks.
During his three-day stay in Pyongyang, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State
Christopher Hill is believed to have offered a compromise plan to settle a
dispute over verifying the North's nuclear declaration to Pyongyang officials,
including Ri Chan-bok of the North Korean People's Army.
Although no details have been disclosed, Seoul officials believe the talks
yielded some results, with some here saying the North may have proposed a meeting
of high-ranking military officials between Pyongyang and Washington to discuss
the verification issue.
"The North Korean side appears to have suggested ways to peacefully resolve the
nuclear dispute through the top U.S. negotiator to the six-party talks and issued
an ultimatum related to this," the daily said in a commentary monitored here.
"The six-party talks, reactivated after North Korea's underground nuclear test in
October 2006, may breakdown if the two sides fail to reach an agreement," said
the newspaper, widely seen as representing Pyongyang's position.
In such a case, North Korea would no longer adhere to the six-party framework and
may try to reverse its nuclear disablement process to strengthen its position in
negotiations with the next U.S. government, the daily said.
The fact that Pyongyang invited the U.S. nuclear envoy to the country, however,
shows it does not want to waste diplomatic efforts made so far, the newspaper
added.
Tensions have steadily mounted as the unpredictable North took steps in recent
weeks toward restarting its nuclear program, apparently in protest at
Washington's refusal to remove it from a terrorism blacklist before a deal on a
verification protocol.
The North announced in mid-August a halt in the slow-going disablement of its
nuclear facilities in Yongbyon under a 2007 deal with the U.S., South Korea,
China, Russia and Japan.
Pyongyang told the International Atomic Energy Agency late last month that it was
about to reload nuclear material into a plutonium reprocessing plant, where
weapons-grade material would be extracted from spent fuel rods.
Choson Sinbo, the organ of a pro-Pyongyang Korean group in Japan, said Pyongyang
appears to have delivered the ultimatum to the top U.S. nuclear envoy, who
visited the communist country last week to salvage the disarmament talks.
During his three-day stay in Pyongyang, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State
Christopher Hill is believed to have offered a compromise plan to settle a
dispute over verifying the North's nuclear declaration to Pyongyang officials,
including Ri Chan-bok of the North Korean People's Army.
Although no details have been disclosed, Seoul officials believe the talks
yielded some results, with some here saying the North may have proposed a meeting
of high-ranking military officials between Pyongyang and Washington to discuss
the verification issue.
"The North Korean side appears to have suggested ways to peacefully resolve the
nuclear dispute through the top U.S. negotiator to the six-party talks and issued
an ultimatum related to this," the daily said in a commentary monitored here.
"The six-party talks, reactivated after North Korea's underground nuclear test in
October 2006, may breakdown if the two sides fail to reach an agreement," said
the newspaper, widely seen as representing Pyongyang's position.
In such a case, North Korea would no longer adhere to the six-party framework and
may try to reverse its nuclear disablement process to strengthen its position in
negotiations with the next U.S. government, the daily said.
The fact that Pyongyang invited the U.S. nuclear envoy to the country, however,
shows it does not want to waste diplomatic efforts made so far, the newspaper
added.
Tensions have steadily mounted as the unpredictable North took steps in recent
weeks toward restarting its nuclear program, apparently in protest at
Washington's refusal to remove it from a terrorism blacklist before a deal on a
verification protocol.
The North announced in mid-August a halt in the slow-going disablement of its
nuclear facilities in Yongbyon under a 2007 deal with the U.S., South Korea,
China, Russia and Japan.
Pyongyang told the International Atomic Energy Agency late last month that it was
about to reload nuclear material into a plutonium reprocessing plant, where
weapons-grade material would be extracted from spent fuel rods.
