(2nd LD) S. Korea calls for N. Korea's cooperation in nuclear

verification
(ATTN: UPDATES with comments from Seoul's presidential office, prime minister in
last 4 paras)
By Lee Chi-dong
SEOUL, Oct. 12 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's top nuclear envoy said Sunday that North
Korea holds the key to the implementation of a new deal on how to verify its
nuclear claims, which could prove to be a lengthy and difficult process.
"With regard to difficulties down the road, it is totally up to North Korea's
cooperation," Kim Sook told a press briefing.
His comments reflect concerns about the future of the three-page verification
protocol, which outlines ways of checking the authenticity of Pyongyang's June
declaration of its nuclear program.
Under the compromise, North Korea will allow outside inspectors to take samples
and conduct scientific surveys at all of its declared sites, while inspections at
undeclared sites will be based on mutual consent.
In return, the outgoing Bush administration removed Pyongyang from a U.S. list of
state sponsors of terrorism.
Kim said that the agreement put the six-way talks on the nuclear crisis back on a
normal track and provided a steppingstone for the North to abandon its nuclear
program. North Korea's dialogue partners in the often-troubled negotiations are
the U.S., South Korea, China, Russia, and Japan.
Kim pointed out that all five countries will partake in the verification process
with the help of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
He also acknowledged the limits of the planned verification scheme which differs
from the U.N. agency's own special inspection regimen.
"As shown in various international inspections either by the IAEA or not, the
level of cooperation by a country to be inspected is very important," he said.
Kim's statements point to the likelihood that the U.S. and the other nations
will have to undergo tough negotiations to seek Pyongyang's consent before
inspection of each undeclared site.
The envoy said, meanwhile, that six-way talks will be reconvened at an early
date to formally endorse the verification protocol and discuss details,
including when to begin the verification process.
China, which hosts the talks, is expected to propose a date soon, he added.
South Korea's presidential office on Sunday hailed the U.S. delisting of North
Korea from its terrorism blacklist as a step forward towards the North's
denuclearization.
"The U.S. move has paved the way for the international community to advance to
the next stage of North Korea's denuclearization," a Cheong Wa Dae official said
on condition of anonymity. "We hope the verification process will go without a
hitch."
South Korean Prime Minister Han Seung-soo also said the U.S. decision to take
North Korea off its list of terror-sponsoring nations will help resolve the North
Korean nuclear issue.
"It is hoped that the U.S. announcement will serve as the initiator for defusing
the North Korean nuclear crisis," Han said at a sports event hosted by people who
fled to the South during the 1950-53 Korean War and their descendants. "It may
also help Pyongyang achieve autarky at an early date."