S. Korea satisfied with China's proposal on N. Korean nuclear verification

(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with results of second-day meeting; CHANGES headline)
By Lee Chi-dong
BEIJING, Dec. 9 (Yonhap) -- South Korea expressed cautious satisfaction with a
draft agreement distributed by China Tuesday on ways to verify North Korea's
recent accounting of its nuclear program.

"My impression is that China prepared for it seriously," Seoul's top envoy to the
six-way talks underway here told reporters after the second day of negotiations.
"I think it will be enough to be used as a basis for drawing up a verification
protocol."
The seasoned diplomat refused to go into its contents, saying the four-page
document is in the process of being modified.
He said that the current session of the six-party talks will likely end on
Wednesday as scheduled.
Asked about whether the draft can be viewed as a sign of progress, he just said,
"It is not that easy. We are making efforts."
Putting verification methods in the six-way written agreement is a primary but
tough task in this week's talks, the first such session in five months.
At the end of talks in July, North Korea agreed with its dialogue partners --
South Korea, the U.S., China, Russia, and Japan -- to allow their inspectors to
choose "visits to facilities, review of documents, interviews with technical
personnel and other measures unanimously agreed upon among the six parties" for
verification.
The planned verification protocol will provide more detailed guidelines on what
inspection measures will be used.
A major sticking point is whether sampling from the North's nuclear sites will be
allowed. The U.S. says it is a crucial tool for thorough verification, while
North Korea says sampling can be discussed only in the next stage, when
dismantling its nuclear program.
Washington's representative to the talks said sampling is addressed in the draft,
but without detailed wording.
"It is fair to say yes," Christopher Hill said in response to a question on
whether the draft touches on U.S. demands for scientific procedures, including
sampling.
"We've taken the draft with great seriousness. We worked very hard ourselves
today to make sure it encompasses what we need to do to get on with
verification," he said, "We need a verification process that's clear and that
does not leave ambiguity, and that certainly, I think, is what the draft tries to
address and what we tried to address in our comments."
While the U.S. and its allies focused on verification methods, North Korea has
been more interested in receiving the energy aid promised in return for the
slow-going disablement of its main nuclear reactor in Yongbyon.
South Korea made it clear that the issues of verification and energy assistance
are connected, pressing the North to agree on the verification plan if it wants
to receive the remaining 450,000 tons of heavy oil.
lcd@yna.co.kr
(END)