ID :
12171
Fri, 07/11/2008 - 12:02
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/12171
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6-way envoys agree on need for mechanism to verify N. Korea report
BEIJING, July 11 Kyodo - Top nuclear negotiators from six countries agreed in Beijing on Thursday on the need to come up promptly with a mechanism to verify North Korea's declaration of its nuclear programs, Japan's chief delegate said.
Akitaka Saiki, head of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, told reporters after the day's talks that the delegates from North and South Korea, the United States, China, Japan and Russia will continuetalks Friday to discuss specific verification methods.
South Korea's envoy Kim Sook said separately the parties agreed to advance discussions on four topics, including a verification regime for North Korea's declaration of its nuclear programs as well as economic and energy assistancefor Pyongyang in exchange for denuclearization steps.
The two other topics concerned setting the date for the six parties' foreign ministerial meeting and how to proceed in the third phase of North Korea's denuclearization, which will involve the abandonment of its nuclear facilitiesand materials, according to Kim.
''We basically agreed on the need to create a mechanism to monitor the implementation of each party's obligations in the six-party talks,'' Saiki toldreporters.
He said the delegates will continue talks on possible verification methods based on three principles -- accessing North Korea's nuclear facilities, accessing additional documents related to Pyongyang's nuclear programs andinterviewing people involved with the programs.
A stalemate in the six-way talks ended last month, when North Korea submitted a list of its nuclear programs six months after the initial deadline. The delaywas due to a dispute over what should be included in the report.
The specific content of the declaration -- including how many kilograms ofweapons-use plutonium Pyongyang has produced -- has yet to be made public.
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.
The six countries agree that site visits and interviews with nuclear experts are necessary to check the North Korean report, but have yet to nail downspecifics such as who will be doing what and how.
''The heads-of-delegations meeting adds fuel to efforts to fully implement the second-stage actions,'' Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei, the host of the talks, said at the outset of Thursday's meeting, which came after a nine-monthhiatus in the multilateral process.
The second stage refers to the phase during which North Korea's key nuclearfacility is disabled and Pyongyang discloses its nuclear programs.
Wu said earlier that preliminary consultations have shown that there were stilldifferences over ways to check North Korea's nuclear report.
''Views are not unified. There is still a need for talks. That is why we are holding a meeting,'' he told reporters shortly before the start of talks at theDiaoyutai State Guesthouse.
Two working groups under the six-party framework -- one tasked with discussing denuclearization methods and the other on economic and energy aid for NorthKorea -- are also expected to meet to deal with specific issues.
Negotiators from the two Koreas, the United States and Russia had arrived inthe Chinese capital by Wednesday, and have held a series of bilateral meetings.
Japan's top nuclear negotiator, Akitaka Saiki, arrived in Beijing on Thursdayafternoon and held a trilateral meeting with his South Korean and U.S.
counterparts ahead of the six-party meeting.
==Kyodo
Akitaka Saiki, head of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, told reporters after the day's talks that the delegates from North and South Korea, the United States, China, Japan and Russia will continuetalks Friday to discuss specific verification methods.
South Korea's envoy Kim Sook said separately the parties agreed to advance discussions on four topics, including a verification regime for North Korea's declaration of its nuclear programs as well as economic and energy assistancefor Pyongyang in exchange for denuclearization steps.
The two other topics concerned setting the date for the six parties' foreign ministerial meeting and how to proceed in the third phase of North Korea's denuclearization, which will involve the abandonment of its nuclear facilitiesand materials, according to Kim.
''We basically agreed on the need to create a mechanism to monitor the implementation of each party's obligations in the six-party talks,'' Saiki toldreporters.
He said the delegates will continue talks on possible verification methods based on three principles -- accessing North Korea's nuclear facilities, accessing additional documents related to Pyongyang's nuclear programs andinterviewing people involved with the programs.
A stalemate in the six-way talks ended last month, when North Korea submitted a list of its nuclear programs six months after the initial deadline. The delaywas due to a dispute over what should be included in the report.
The specific content of the declaration -- including how many kilograms ofweapons-use plutonium Pyongyang has produced -- has yet to be made public.
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.
The six countries agree that site visits and interviews with nuclear experts are necessary to check the North Korean report, but have yet to nail downspecifics such as who will be doing what and how.
''The heads-of-delegations meeting adds fuel to efforts to fully implement the second-stage actions,'' Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei, the host of the talks, said at the outset of Thursday's meeting, which came after a nine-monthhiatus in the multilateral process.
The second stage refers to the phase during which North Korea's key nuclearfacility is disabled and Pyongyang discloses its nuclear programs.
Wu said earlier that preliminary consultations have shown that there were stilldifferences over ways to check North Korea's nuclear report.
''Views are not unified. There is still a need for talks. That is why we are holding a meeting,'' he told reporters shortly before the start of talks at theDiaoyutai State Guesthouse.
Two working groups under the six-party framework -- one tasked with discussing denuclearization methods and the other on economic and energy aid for NorthKorea -- are also expected to meet to deal with specific issues.
Negotiators from the two Koreas, the United States and Russia had arrived inthe Chinese capital by Wednesday, and have held a series of bilateral meetings.
Japan's top nuclear negotiator, Akitaka Saiki, arrived in Beijing on Thursdayafternoon and held a trilateral meeting with his South Korean and U.S.
counterparts ahead of the six-party meeting.
==Kyodo
