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11988
Thu, 07/10/2008 - 10:24
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https://oananews.org//node/11988
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Negotiators discuss verification steps ahead of N. Korea meeting
BEIJING, July 10 Kyodo - Negotiators to the six-party talks for denuclearizing North Korea held a series of bilateral talks on Wednesday, ahead of their first six-way negotiations in nine months that will deal with ways to verify a list of Pyongyang's nuclear programs.
Deciding on a scheme for verifying North Korea's report, which includes the amount of weapons-usable plutonium they have produced, will be the focus of themultilateral discussions to open in the Chinese capital on Thursday.
''We really want to get on with agreeing on a verification regime, and then get on with the actual verification,'' top U.S. nuclear negotiator Christopher Hilltold reporters.
''I hope it will go smoothly and we can close out phase two,'' Hill said, referring to the stage involving the disablement of North Korea's key nuclearfacility and the disclosure of Pyongyang's nuclear programs.
The six parties are in agreement on the general principle of the verification scheme. But details such as who will visit the sites and how interviews with North Korean nuclear experts will be carried out need to be worked out in theupcoming multilateral talks.
Hill said he held preliminary consultations on the topic with North Korean ViceForeign Minister Kim Kye Gwan for the second day on Wednesday.
''We want to make sure there will be no surprises'' in the upcoming multilateral meeting, said the assistant secretary of state for East Asian andPacific affairs.
South Korea's top nuclear negotiator Kim Sook, meanwhile, said his talks with his North Korean counterpart showed there were still differences to be bridgedover verification as well as compensation measures for Pyongyang.
''There are differences in the recognition of important issues as well as onthe order of priority,'' the South Korean envoy said.
''I feel a need for great efforts'' to bridge that gap, he said.
A stalemate in the six-way talks ended late last month when North Korea submitted a declaration of its nuclear programs after months of squabbling overwhat should be included in the report.
In response to the submission of the list, the United States announced it was taking steps to remove North Korea from its blacklist of terrorism sponsors and was lifting application of the Trading with the Enemy Act, both long-standingdemands of Pyongyang.
Subsequently, on June 27, Pyongyang blew up the cooling tower attached to its Yongbyon nuclear reactor in a symbolic move aimed at underscoring itscommitment to a six-way denuclearization deal.
==Kyodo
Deciding on a scheme for verifying North Korea's report, which includes the amount of weapons-usable plutonium they have produced, will be the focus of themultilateral discussions to open in the Chinese capital on Thursday.
''We really want to get on with agreeing on a verification regime, and then get on with the actual verification,'' top U.S. nuclear negotiator Christopher Hilltold reporters.
''I hope it will go smoothly and we can close out phase two,'' Hill said, referring to the stage involving the disablement of North Korea's key nuclearfacility and the disclosure of Pyongyang's nuclear programs.
The six parties are in agreement on the general principle of the verification scheme. But details such as who will visit the sites and how interviews with North Korean nuclear experts will be carried out need to be worked out in theupcoming multilateral talks.
Hill said he held preliminary consultations on the topic with North Korean ViceForeign Minister Kim Kye Gwan for the second day on Wednesday.
''We want to make sure there will be no surprises'' in the upcoming multilateral meeting, said the assistant secretary of state for East Asian andPacific affairs.
South Korea's top nuclear negotiator Kim Sook, meanwhile, said his talks with his North Korean counterpart showed there were still differences to be bridgedover verification as well as compensation measures for Pyongyang.
''There are differences in the recognition of important issues as well as onthe order of priority,'' the South Korean envoy said.
''I feel a need for great efforts'' to bridge that gap, he said.
A stalemate in the six-way talks ended late last month when North Korea submitted a declaration of its nuclear programs after months of squabbling overwhat should be included in the report.
In response to the submission of the list, the United States announced it was taking steps to remove North Korea from its blacklist of terrorism sponsors and was lifting application of the Trading with the Enemy Act, both long-standingdemands of Pyongyang.
Subsequently, on June 27, Pyongyang blew up the cooling tower attached to its Yongbyon nuclear reactor in a symbolic move aimed at underscoring itscommitment to a six-way denuclearization deal.
==Kyodo
