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204695
Thu, 09/01/2011 - 12:53
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https://oananews.org//node/204695
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NORTH KOREA NEWSLETTER NO. 173 (September 1, 2011)
*** TOPIC OF THE WEEK (Part 1)
N. Korea, Russia Agree on Six-party Talks and Economic Cooperation
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- Leaders of North Korea and Russia have called for a quick resumption of the long-stalled talks on ending Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programs, North Korea's state-run news agency said on Aug. 25.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il met with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev at a military base on the outskirts of the eastern Siberian city of Ulan-Ude on Aug. 24. Kim began his visit to Russia on Aug. 20 in an attempt to gain Moscow's support for the resumption of the long-stalled regional nuclear disarmament talks and economic assistance.
"At the talks they shared the view that the six-party talks should be resumed without any preconditions soon," the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said in a dispatch from Pyongyang.
The dispatch, however, did not mention Kim's reported promise to impose a moratorium on nuclear tests if the disarmament-for-aid talks are resumed.
News outlets reported that the North Korean leader Kim expressed his intent to return to the six-way talks on ending Pyongyang's nuclear programs without preconditions and impose a moratorium on tests of weapons of mass destruction.
Before the KCNA's report, Kim was quoted by Medvedev's spokeswoman Natalya Timakova as saying that in the course of the nuclear talks, his country will be ready to address imposing a moratorium on the tests and production of nuclear weapons, according to the ITAR-Tass news agency.
Hours after the summit, the KCNA reported the two leaders "shared the view that the six-party talks should be resumed soon without any preconditions to implement the Sept. 19 joint statement on the principle of simultaneous action and thus accelerate the denuclearization of the whole Korean Peninsula."
The KCNA also reported "the talks discussed a series of agenda items on boosting economic and cooperative relations in various fields, including the issue of energy such as gas and also linking railways, and the two sides reached a common understanding on them."
Russian reports said the two countries also agreed to set up a commission for gas transit to South Korea via North Korea, a lucrative project that could help ease tensions on the divided Korean Peninsula.
The development concerning Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions represents the latest progress in a flurry of diplomatic efforts to coax the North to give up its nuclear weapons program in return for aid and diplomatic concessions.
The moratorium, if put in place, means that the North would not carry out any further nuclear and missile tests, which have long been a cause for concern in the region.
The North quit the six-party talks in 2009, though it has since repeatedly expressed its desire to return to the forum that includes South Korea, the United States, China, Russia and Japan.
But the tangible results of Kim's trip remain to be seen as Seoul and Washington appear cautious about fully accepting Kim's promise. South Korea, still trying to overcome hard feelings toward its northern rival for last year's deadly attacks, has been downplaying Kim's promise as "vague" and "somewhat ceremonial."
Seoul and Washington have pressed Pyongyang to first demonstrate its denuclearization commitment before they will return to the negotiating table.
"If in fact they are now willing to refrain from nuclear tests and missile launches, this would be welcome, but it would be insufficient," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters in Washington.
She said the North's uranium enrichment program remains a serious concern as it could give the communist country a second path to develop its nuclear arsenal.
"As you know, their disclosure last November of uranium enrichment facilities remains a matter of serious concern to us, and these activities are a clear violation of their obligations under U.N. Security Council Resolutions 1718, 1874 and contrary to the commitments that they made in 2005," Nuland said.
In the 2005 deal reached at the six-party talks, the North agreed to abandon its entire nuclear program in exchange for political and economic incentives.
Nuland said Russia, as a member of the six-party negotiations, has the same goal as the U.S. -- to denuclearize the North. "I think their end-goal is the same," she said.
The North conducted two plutonium-based weapons tests in 2006 and again in 2009. After years of denial, the North disclosed its uranium enrichment facilities last November. North Korea is believed to have enough weaponized plutonium for at least six atomic bombs.
Pyongyang has a track record of alternately using provocations and dialogue with South Korea, the United States and other regional powers to try to wrest concessions before backtracking on agreements and quitting the nuclear talks.
Meanwhile, South Korea's chief nuclear envoy, Wi Sung-lac traveled to Beijing for a one-day meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wu Dawei on how to move the nuclear talks forward.
A government official in Seoul said that Beijing continues to advocate nuclear talks between South and North Korea.
South Korea said it wants another round of negotiations with the North following the talks held on July 22 in Bali, Indonesia.
At the Bali talks, Wi met North Korea's chief negotiator Ri Yong-ho and agreed to hold the six-party talks as soon as possible. The two sides also reaffirmed their willingness to implement the 2005 statement in which Pyongyang pledged to give up its nuclear programs.
Meanwhile, North Korea and Russia signed a protocol on Aug. 26 calling for economic cooperation between the two countries, the North's state-run media said.
A Russian economic delegation, led by Minister of Regional Development Viktor Basargin, was in North Korea to sign "a protocol of the 5th Meeting of the DPRK (North Korea)-Russia Intergovernmental Committee for Cooperation in Trade, Economy, Science and Technology," the North's official KCNA said.
Trade Minister Ri Ryong-nam inked the protocol on behalf of North Korea, said the KCNA report, monitored in Seoul. The report did not give any details of the protocol.
Also, the North's premier, Choe Yong-rim, met with the Russian economic delegation at the Mansudae Assembly Hall in Pyongyang, the KCNA said in a separate report.
On Aug. 26, a Russian news agency reported that North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has expressed support for a Russian project to pipe Siberian natural gas to South Korea through his country's territory.
The gas pipeline project was a major topic when Kim held a summit with Russian President Medvedev in Ulan-Ude. The two countries said after the summit that they have agreed to set up a joint committee to push the project.
In a meeting with reporters in Khabarovsk after the summit, Viktor Ishaev, Russia's presidential envoy to the Far East Federal District, quoted Kim as telling him separately that North Korea will permit the pipeline to go through its territory if Russia and South Korean sign a contract on the project, according to the Interfax news agency.
Ishaev said he had a chat with Kim as he was assigned to escort Kim throughout his train journey for the summit with Medvedev, the agency said in a report. During the trip, Kim commented on the pipeline project, Interfax quoted Ishaev as saying.
According to the report, Kim ruled out the possibility that North Korea would participate in any consortium for the pipeline project, indicating that the country would only be interested in collecting transit handling fees.
The proposed pipeline would stretch more than 1,700 kilometers and could transport volumes of up to 10 billion cubic meters per year. South Korea also supports the plan.
Once the rare inter-Korean deal is finalized, Pyongyang, which has relied heavily on outside aid to feed its population of 24 million since the late 1990s, could earn up to $100 million each year, according to Seoul's estimation.
Kim Jong-il's Russian tour came at a sensitive time as his impoverished country is struggling to secure more outside assistance ahead of the 100th birthday of its late founder Kim Il-sung, the father of the incumbent leader Kim.
The socialist regime has promised its starving people that a "powerful and prosperous" nation will be built by the centennial of the birth of its founder Kim Il-sung, a goal it is determined to achieve ahead of a power transfer to Kim Jong-il's heir-apparent, his son Kim Jong-un.
N. Korea, Russia Agree on Six-party Talks and Economic Cooperation
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- Leaders of North Korea and Russia have called for a quick resumption of the long-stalled talks on ending Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programs, North Korea's state-run news agency said on Aug. 25.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il met with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev at a military base on the outskirts of the eastern Siberian city of Ulan-Ude on Aug. 24. Kim began his visit to Russia on Aug. 20 in an attempt to gain Moscow's support for the resumption of the long-stalled regional nuclear disarmament talks and economic assistance.
"At the talks they shared the view that the six-party talks should be resumed without any preconditions soon," the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said in a dispatch from Pyongyang.
The dispatch, however, did not mention Kim's reported promise to impose a moratorium on nuclear tests if the disarmament-for-aid talks are resumed.
News outlets reported that the North Korean leader Kim expressed his intent to return to the six-way talks on ending Pyongyang's nuclear programs without preconditions and impose a moratorium on tests of weapons of mass destruction.
Before the KCNA's report, Kim was quoted by Medvedev's spokeswoman Natalya Timakova as saying that in the course of the nuclear talks, his country will be ready to address imposing a moratorium on the tests and production of nuclear weapons, according to the ITAR-Tass news agency.
Hours after the summit, the KCNA reported the two leaders "shared the view that the six-party talks should be resumed soon without any preconditions to implement the Sept. 19 joint statement on the principle of simultaneous action and thus accelerate the denuclearization of the whole Korean Peninsula."
The KCNA also reported "the talks discussed a series of agenda items on boosting economic and cooperative relations in various fields, including the issue of energy such as gas and also linking railways, and the two sides reached a common understanding on them."
Russian reports said the two countries also agreed to set up a commission for gas transit to South Korea via North Korea, a lucrative project that could help ease tensions on the divided Korean Peninsula.
The development concerning Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions represents the latest progress in a flurry of diplomatic efforts to coax the North to give up its nuclear weapons program in return for aid and diplomatic concessions.
The moratorium, if put in place, means that the North would not carry out any further nuclear and missile tests, which have long been a cause for concern in the region.
The North quit the six-party talks in 2009, though it has since repeatedly expressed its desire to return to the forum that includes South Korea, the United States, China, Russia and Japan.
But the tangible results of Kim's trip remain to be seen as Seoul and Washington appear cautious about fully accepting Kim's promise. South Korea, still trying to overcome hard feelings toward its northern rival for last year's deadly attacks, has been downplaying Kim's promise as "vague" and "somewhat ceremonial."
Seoul and Washington have pressed Pyongyang to first demonstrate its denuclearization commitment before they will return to the negotiating table.
"If in fact they are now willing to refrain from nuclear tests and missile launches, this would be welcome, but it would be insufficient," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters in Washington.
She said the North's uranium enrichment program remains a serious concern as it could give the communist country a second path to develop its nuclear arsenal.
"As you know, their disclosure last November of uranium enrichment facilities remains a matter of serious concern to us, and these activities are a clear violation of their obligations under U.N. Security Council Resolutions 1718, 1874 and contrary to the commitments that they made in 2005," Nuland said.
In the 2005 deal reached at the six-party talks, the North agreed to abandon its entire nuclear program in exchange for political and economic incentives.
Nuland said Russia, as a member of the six-party negotiations, has the same goal as the U.S. -- to denuclearize the North. "I think their end-goal is the same," she said.
The North conducted two plutonium-based weapons tests in 2006 and again in 2009. After years of denial, the North disclosed its uranium enrichment facilities last November. North Korea is believed to have enough weaponized plutonium for at least six atomic bombs.
Pyongyang has a track record of alternately using provocations and dialogue with South Korea, the United States and other regional powers to try to wrest concessions before backtracking on agreements and quitting the nuclear talks.
Meanwhile, South Korea's chief nuclear envoy, Wi Sung-lac traveled to Beijing for a one-day meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wu Dawei on how to move the nuclear talks forward.
A government official in Seoul said that Beijing continues to advocate nuclear talks between South and North Korea.
South Korea said it wants another round of negotiations with the North following the talks held on July 22 in Bali, Indonesia.
At the Bali talks, Wi met North Korea's chief negotiator Ri Yong-ho and agreed to hold the six-party talks as soon as possible. The two sides also reaffirmed their willingness to implement the 2005 statement in which Pyongyang pledged to give up its nuclear programs.
Meanwhile, North Korea and Russia signed a protocol on Aug. 26 calling for economic cooperation between the two countries, the North's state-run media said.
A Russian economic delegation, led by Minister of Regional Development Viktor Basargin, was in North Korea to sign "a protocol of the 5th Meeting of the DPRK (North Korea)-Russia Intergovernmental Committee for Cooperation in Trade, Economy, Science and Technology," the North's official KCNA said.
Trade Minister Ri Ryong-nam inked the protocol on behalf of North Korea, said the KCNA report, monitored in Seoul. The report did not give any details of the protocol.
Also, the North's premier, Choe Yong-rim, met with the Russian economic delegation at the Mansudae Assembly Hall in Pyongyang, the KCNA said in a separate report.
On Aug. 26, a Russian news agency reported that North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has expressed support for a Russian project to pipe Siberian natural gas to South Korea through his country's territory.
The gas pipeline project was a major topic when Kim held a summit with Russian President Medvedev in Ulan-Ude. The two countries said after the summit that they have agreed to set up a joint committee to push the project.
In a meeting with reporters in Khabarovsk after the summit, Viktor Ishaev, Russia's presidential envoy to the Far East Federal District, quoted Kim as telling him separately that North Korea will permit the pipeline to go through its territory if Russia and South Korean sign a contract on the project, according to the Interfax news agency.
Ishaev said he had a chat with Kim as he was assigned to escort Kim throughout his train journey for the summit with Medvedev, the agency said in a report. During the trip, Kim commented on the pipeline project, Interfax quoted Ishaev as saying.
According to the report, Kim ruled out the possibility that North Korea would participate in any consortium for the pipeline project, indicating that the country would only be interested in collecting transit handling fees.
The proposed pipeline would stretch more than 1,700 kilometers and could transport volumes of up to 10 billion cubic meters per year. South Korea also supports the plan.
Once the rare inter-Korean deal is finalized, Pyongyang, which has relied heavily on outside aid to feed its population of 24 million since the late 1990s, could earn up to $100 million each year, according to Seoul's estimation.
Kim Jong-il's Russian tour came at a sensitive time as his impoverished country is struggling to secure more outside assistance ahead of the 100th birthday of its late founder Kim Il-sung, the father of the incumbent leader Kim.
The socialist regime has promised its starving people that a "powerful and prosperous" nation will be built by the centennial of the birth of its founder Kim Il-sung, a goal it is determined to achieve ahead of a power transfer to Kim Jong-il's heir-apparent, his son Kim Jong-un.
