ID :
16148
Sun, 08/17/2008 - 01:24
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/16148
The shortlink copeid
Hill urges N. Korea to give verification plan backed by int'l standards
NEW YORK, Aug. 15 Kyodo - Top U.S. nuclear envoy Christopher Hill said Friday North Korea should provide a complete verification plan that complies with ''international standards'' if it is to be removed from Washington's list of state sponsors of terrorism.
''I just want to stress that we are prepared to delist as soon as we get a verification protocol that is consistent with the international standards that everyone in the six-party understands,'' Hill said after meeting with his SouthKorean counterpart, Kim Sook, in New York.
The two met for about two hours to deal with the second stage of Pyongyang's denuclearization under a six-party accord struck last year, which has hit asnag over verifying the North's nuclear declaration.
In the second stage of the accord, North Korea is to disable its key nuclear facility in Yongbyon and disclose its nuclear programs in exchange for energyassistance and diplomatic benefits.
Hill said the verification protocol should comply with ''standard internationalpractices'' that apply to all countries.
''We are not doing anything differently with DPRK as we do elsewhere in the world so it might mean that they just need to take a little more time and I think we all ought to try to be patient with the understanding that we need to get this done,'' said Hill, assistant secretary of state for East Asian andPacific affairs.
DPRK stands for Democratic People's Republic of Korea, North Korea's officialname.
A State Department official said earlier this week the United States would not remove Pyongyang from its list of sponsors of terrorism as it lacked a completeverification plan.
''I think what is important is for the North Koreans to come back and agree that we need something that has international standing, internationalcredibility,'' Hill said.
''We need to have the verification process in place in a way that can guarantee the completeness and correctness of the declaration, that is our common understanding,'' said Kim, special representative for Korean Peninsula peaceand security affairs for the Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry.
''I just want to stress that we are prepared to delist as soon as we get a verification protocol that is consistent with the international standards that everyone in the six-party understands,'' Hill said after meeting with his SouthKorean counterpart, Kim Sook, in New York.
The two met for about two hours to deal with the second stage of Pyongyang's denuclearization under a six-party accord struck last year, which has hit asnag over verifying the North's nuclear declaration.
In the second stage of the accord, North Korea is to disable its key nuclear facility in Yongbyon and disclose its nuclear programs in exchange for energyassistance and diplomatic benefits.
Hill said the verification protocol should comply with ''standard internationalpractices'' that apply to all countries.
''We are not doing anything differently with DPRK as we do elsewhere in the world so it might mean that they just need to take a little more time and I think we all ought to try to be patient with the understanding that we need to get this done,'' said Hill, assistant secretary of state for East Asian andPacific affairs.
DPRK stands for Democratic People's Republic of Korea, North Korea's officialname.
A State Department official said earlier this week the United States would not remove Pyongyang from its list of sponsors of terrorism as it lacked a completeverification plan.
''I think what is important is for the North Koreans to come back and agree that we need something that has international standing, internationalcredibility,'' Hill said.
''We need to have the verification process in place in a way that can guarantee the completeness and correctness of the declaration, that is our common understanding,'' said Kim, special representative for Korean Peninsula peaceand security affairs for the Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry.
