ID :
12393
Sun, 07/13/2008 - 20:48
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/12393
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6-way envoys agree on principles for checking N. Korea declaration
BEIJING, July 12 Kyodo - Top nuclear negotiators from six countries agreed Saturday to try to verify a list of nuclear programs North Korea disclosed last month by carrying out site visits, reviewing documents and interviewing experts.
But the delegations stopped short of working out the specifics of a verification scheme during their three-day talks in Beijing, and decided to take back draft proposals to their respective capitals with a promise to meet again soon.
''The plan is that the delegations will take...the drafts that have been shared...to their respective capitals for further work,'' U.S. envoy Christopher Hill said after the talks.
''We'll reconvene at an early date and try to finish the protocol as soon as possible,'' he said.
The six countries -- North and South Korea, the United States, China, Japan and Russia -- held talks in Beijing from Thursday to try to complete the second phase of Pyongyang's denuclearization under an agreement reached last year.
In the second stage of the deal, North Korea is to disable its key nuclear facility in Yongbyon and disclose its nuclear programs in exchange for energy assistance and diplomatic benefits.
According to a press communique issued at the end of the talks, the six parties agreed that the mechanism for verifying North Korea's nuclear declaration will include experts from all six countries.
The International Atomic Energy Agency will be asked to assist the checking of North Korea's nuclear report if necessary, the communique said.
North Korea will work to complete the disablement of its Yongbyon nuclear complex by the end of October, while other parties will also deliver promised energy aid to North Korea within that time frame, according to the document.
North Korea submitted a long-delayed list of its nuclear programs late last month, ending a stalemate in the denuclearization process stemming from a dispute over what should be included in the document.
The contents of the declaration -- including how many kilograms of weapons-grade plutonium Pyongyang has produced -- have 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 list of state sponsors of terrorism and was lifting application of the Trading with the Enemy Act, both long-standing North Korean desires.
Hill, U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, said he hopes the verification scheme can be set up before Aug. 11, or the end of the 45 days needed before the U.S. administration can cross Pyongyang off its terrorism list.
''We would like, first of all, for protocol to be reached within the 45 days and secondly to actually begin the verification within the 45 days,'' Hill said.
''We don't see any obstacles to getting that done,'' he said.
The verification scheme was first discussed in Beijing by the chief delegates of the six parties, who later tasked a working group that includes nuclear experts to figure out questions such as who will visit sites and what they will be able to bring.
''Unfortunately, we could not reach an agreement on the specifics,'' said Akitaka Saiki, Japan's chief delegate to the six-party talks. ''There is no accord over basic ideas,'' he added.
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei also said earlier in the day at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, where the talks were held, that verification remained the most complicated problem.
''We have agreed to establish a verification system,'' said Wu, the chair of the multilateral negotiations. ''While we must agree on specific measures of verification, an agreement has yet to be reached.''Diplomats said they will try to meet again as soon as possible. Hill said additional talks among the six parties may be held in an informal capacity later this month when they gather in Singapore for a regional meeting.
But the delegations stopped short of working out the specifics of a verification scheme during their three-day talks in Beijing, and decided to take back draft proposals to their respective capitals with a promise to meet again soon.
''The plan is that the delegations will take...the drafts that have been shared...to their respective capitals for further work,'' U.S. envoy Christopher Hill said after the talks.
''We'll reconvene at an early date and try to finish the protocol as soon as possible,'' he said.
The six countries -- North and South Korea, the United States, China, Japan and Russia -- held talks in Beijing from Thursday to try to complete the second phase of Pyongyang's denuclearization under an agreement reached last year.
In the second stage of the deal, North Korea is to disable its key nuclear facility in Yongbyon and disclose its nuclear programs in exchange for energy assistance and diplomatic benefits.
According to a press communique issued at the end of the talks, the six parties agreed that the mechanism for verifying North Korea's nuclear declaration will include experts from all six countries.
The International Atomic Energy Agency will be asked to assist the checking of North Korea's nuclear report if necessary, the communique said.
North Korea will work to complete the disablement of its Yongbyon nuclear complex by the end of October, while other parties will also deliver promised energy aid to North Korea within that time frame, according to the document.
North Korea submitted a long-delayed list of its nuclear programs late last month, ending a stalemate in the denuclearization process stemming from a dispute over what should be included in the document.
The contents of the declaration -- including how many kilograms of weapons-grade plutonium Pyongyang has produced -- have 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 list of state sponsors of terrorism and was lifting application of the Trading with the Enemy Act, both long-standing North Korean desires.
Hill, U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, said he hopes the verification scheme can be set up before Aug. 11, or the end of the 45 days needed before the U.S. administration can cross Pyongyang off its terrorism list.
''We would like, first of all, for protocol to be reached within the 45 days and secondly to actually begin the verification within the 45 days,'' Hill said.
''We don't see any obstacles to getting that done,'' he said.
The verification scheme was first discussed in Beijing by the chief delegates of the six parties, who later tasked a working group that includes nuclear experts to figure out questions such as who will visit sites and what they will be able to bring.
''Unfortunately, we could not reach an agreement on the specifics,'' said Akitaka Saiki, Japan's chief delegate to the six-party talks. ''There is no accord over basic ideas,'' he added.
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei also said earlier in the day at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, where the talks were held, that verification remained the most complicated problem.
''We have agreed to establish a verification system,'' said Wu, the chair of the multilateral negotiations. ''While we must agree on specific measures of verification, an agreement has yet to be reached.''Diplomats said they will try to meet again as soon as possible. Hill said additional talks among the six parties may be held in an informal capacity later this month when they gather in Singapore for a regional meeting.
