ID :
25949
Wed, 10/22/2008 - 10:08
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/25949
The shortlink copeid
U.S. confident on fulfilling energy aid obligations to N. Korea
By Hwang Doo-hyong
WASHINGTON, Oct. 21 (Yonhap) -- The United States expressed confidence Tuesday that Japan and other countries involved in the multilateral nuclear talks will be able to meet their obligations to provide one million tons of fuel to North Korea.
"I think there's a high degree of confidence among the five that we will meet our
obligations," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said at a daily news
briefing.
McCormack was asked if the U.S. and other parties to the talks are seeking
another country to replace Japan in the provision of 200,000 tons of heavy fuel
oil to the North by the end of October in return for Pyongyang's disabling of its
nuclear program.
Japan has been reluctant to provide the energy unless the North addresses its
alleged abduction of Japanese citizens decades ago to train North Korean agents
in Japanese culture and language.
North Korea returned five Japanese abductees in 2002, soon after an unprecedented
summit between the leaders of the two countries, but Japan claims several more
abductees are still alive in North Korea. The North says they are dead.
Reports said Australia and the European Union might be willing to take Japan's
position in the energy aid to save the six-party nuclear deal, which has been on
and off for the past five years.
In the most recent deadlock, North Korea stopped disabling its nuclear facilities
for weeks up until a couple of weeks ago in defiance of Washington's failure to
delist the North as a state sponsor of terrorism.
Amid criticism of bending to brinksmanship, Washington removed Pyongyang from its
terrorism blacklist in early October while announcing the North agreed to allow
access by international inspectors to its declared nuclear facilities and
undeclared sites, though conditionally.
McCormack said Russia will be the next to provide energy.
"I think Russia's next up in the queue in terms of heavy fuel oil," he said. "And
we are all as a group going to look for ways to continue to meet our
obligations."
Amid criticism that Japan is crippling the difficult negotiations with North
Korea with the inclusion of the kidnapping issue, Tokyo said it was ready to fund
the scrapping of North Korea's nuclear facilities in lieu of financing the energy
aid.
North Korea has periodically demanded Japan be ousted from the six-party talks,
citing its efforts to include bilateral issues in the multilateral talks.
U.S. officials have said Japan cannot be replaced in the six-party talks
regardless of who provides energy aid.
WASHINGTON, Oct. 21 (Yonhap) -- The United States expressed confidence Tuesday that Japan and other countries involved in the multilateral nuclear talks will be able to meet their obligations to provide one million tons of fuel to North Korea.
"I think there's a high degree of confidence among the five that we will meet our
obligations," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said at a daily news
briefing.
McCormack was asked if the U.S. and other parties to the talks are seeking
another country to replace Japan in the provision of 200,000 tons of heavy fuel
oil to the North by the end of October in return for Pyongyang's disabling of its
nuclear program.
Japan has been reluctant to provide the energy unless the North addresses its
alleged abduction of Japanese citizens decades ago to train North Korean agents
in Japanese culture and language.
North Korea returned five Japanese abductees in 2002, soon after an unprecedented
summit between the leaders of the two countries, but Japan claims several more
abductees are still alive in North Korea. The North says they are dead.
Reports said Australia and the European Union might be willing to take Japan's
position in the energy aid to save the six-party nuclear deal, which has been on
and off for the past five years.
In the most recent deadlock, North Korea stopped disabling its nuclear facilities
for weeks up until a couple of weeks ago in defiance of Washington's failure to
delist the North as a state sponsor of terrorism.
Amid criticism of bending to brinksmanship, Washington removed Pyongyang from its
terrorism blacklist in early October while announcing the North agreed to allow
access by international inspectors to its declared nuclear facilities and
undeclared sites, though conditionally.
McCormack said Russia will be the next to provide energy.
"I think Russia's next up in the queue in terms of heavy fuel oil," he said. "And
we are all as a group going to look for ways to continue to meet our
obligations."
Amid criticism that Japan is crippling the difficult negotiations with North
Korea with the inclusion of the kidnapping issue, Tokyo said it was ready to fund
the scrapping of North Korea's nuclear facilities in lieu of financing the energy
aid.
North Korea has periodically demanded Japan be ousted from the six-party talks,
citing its efforts to include bilateral issues in the multilateral talks.
U.S. officials have said Japan cannot be replaced in the six-party talks
regardless of who provides energy aid.
