ID :
11522
Sat, 07/05/2008 - 10:16
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/11522
The shortlink copeid
N. Korea says ready to cooperate over nuclear verification
PYONGYANG/BEIJING, July 5 Kyodo - North Korea said Friday it is ready to cooperate with its counterparts in the six-party process for denuclearizing the country to verify a list of Pyongyang's nuclear programs that it submitted last week.
In a statement, a Foreign Ministry spokesman criticized the other countries in
the six-way talks, saying that while Pyongyang is making progress with
disablement activities at its key nuclear plant, the others are slow in
delivering promised compensation.
North Korea is ''ready to cooperate in verifying the nuclear declaration,'' the
statement said.
But it ''is maintaining the basic principle that the principle of 'action for
action' should be observed,'' it added, in a warning that other countries
should also carry out their obligations.
Pyongyang submitted the list of its nuclear programs to China last week, six
months after the initial deadline set by the two Koreas, the United States,
China, Japan and Russia.
That was followed by U.S. action to take North Korea off its blacklist of
terrorism sponsors and to lift sanctions under the Trading with the Enemy Act,
both longtime demands by Pyongyang.
The statement said the destruction of a cooling tower at the Yongbyon nuclear
complex that took place last Friday was a gesture of goodwill demonstrating
Pyongyang's commitment to denuclearization.
''This constitutes a step taken out of goodwill, a proof of the DPRK's will for
the denuclearization, as it means that it has taken in advance the action to be
done at the phase'' of dismantling North Korea's nuclear facilities, it said.
The remark was the North Korean authorities' first public reference to the
demolition of the cooling tower. While the explosion was widely covered by the
international press, North Korean media have not reported the event.
DPRK is the acronym for North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's
Republic of Korea.
Friday's statement said North Korea's disablement of the Yongbyon nuclear
complex is now 80 percent complete.
But ''the commitments of the five parties to make economic compensation have
been fulfilled just 40 percent as of now,'' it said.
North Korea is disabling its nuclear complex in Yongbyon, about 90 kilometers
north of capital Pyongyang, in exchange for energy assistance and diplomatic
benefits.
==Kyodo
In a statement, a Foreign Ministry spokesman criticized the other countries in
the six-way talks, saying that while Pyongyang is making progress with
disablement activities at its key nuclear plant, the others are slow in
delivering promised compensation.
North Korea is ''ready to cooperate in verifying the nuclear declaration,'' the
statement said.
But it ''is maintaining the basic principle that the principle of 'action for
action' should be observed,'' it added, in a warning that other countries
should also carry out their obligations.
Pyongyang submitted the list of its nuclear programs to China last week, six
months after the initial deadline set by the two Koreas, the United States,
China, Japan and Russia.
That was followed by U.S. action to take North Korea off its blacklist of
terrorism sponsors and to lift sanctions under the Trading with the Enemy Act,
both longtime demands by Pyongyang.
The statement said the destruction of a cooling tower at the Yongbyon nuclear
complex that took place last Friday was a gesture of goodwill demonstrating
Pyongyang's commitment to denuclearization.
''This constitutes a step taken out of goodwill, a proof of the DPRK's will for
the denuclearization, as it means that it has taken in advance the action to be
done at the phase'' of dismantling North Korea's nuclear facilities, it said.
The remark was the North Korean authorities' first public reference to the
demolition of the cooling tower. While the explosion was widely covered by the
international press, North Korean media have not reported the event.
DPRK is the acronym for North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's
Republic of Korea.
Friday's statement said North Korea's disablement of the Yongbyon nuclear
complex is now 80 percent complete.
But ''the commitments of the five parties to make economic compensation have
been fulfilled just 40 percent as of now,'' it said.
North Korea is disabling its nuclear complex in Yongbyon, about 90 kilometers
north of capital Pyongyang, in exchange for energy assistance and diplomatic
benefits.
==Kyodo
