ID :
29181
Sat, 11/08/2008 - 22:34
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/29181
The shortlink copeid
N. Korea slows nuclear disablement to snail`s pace
BEIJING, Nov. 8 Kyodo -
North Korea has slowed disablement work at its key nuclear reactor to a snail's pace, complaining about the delay in delivery of energy aid it is supposed to receive as compensation, diplomatic sources said Saturday.
The number of nuclear fuel rods that are pulled from the reactor and put into
an adjacent water pond at the Yongbyon nuclear complex has gone down to 15 a
day from last month's 30 a day, the sources said.
North Korea made the changes at the complex, about 90 kilometers from capital
Pyongyang, about a week ago, according to the sources.
The discharging of the reactor's 8,000 fuel rods is an important part of the
disablement activities Pyongyang agreed to undertake in exchange for energy
assistance in a six-way denuclearization deal reached last year.
Nuclear fuel rods are irradiated in a reactor and reprocessed to produce
plutonium, an ingredient for nuclear bombs.
The slowdown came less than three weeks after North Korea resumed the pulling
of the fuel rods, which it had stopped in mid-August to protest the
postponement of the country's removal from Washington's blacklist of terrorism
sponsors.
Work resumed only after the United States took North Korea off the list on Oct.
11.
Removal of the fuel rods at Yongbyon began late last year. While North Korea
can safely remove 80 fuel rods a day, it has been doing so at about 30 a day
since earlier this year, saying it is matching the pace of work with energy aid
deliveries.
More than 60 percent of the 8,000 fuel rods has been pulled so far, falling
short of a goal North and South Korea, the United States, China, Japan and
Russia set in July to try to finish the task by the end of October.
North Korea has said it dropped the pace to 15 a day recently because shipments
of energy aid were slow in coming, according to the diplomatic sources.
A separate source close to the six-party talks said North Korea is likely to
speed up work once countries clarify the schedule for the energy assistance on
paper at the next denuclearization talks, expected to be held some time in the
near future.
That would be in addition to ways to verify North Korea's nuclear information,
which also need to be put in writing during the next six-way meeting.
Under the terms of the six-party deal, North Korea is to receive energy aid
worth a total of 1 million tons of heavy fuel oil for disabling the Yongbyon
nuclear complex and providing information about the country's nuclear programs.
The United States and Russia have been sending North Korea heavy fuel oil,
while China and South Korea have been shipping equipment that is translated
into part of the 1 million tons of oil.
Japan is refusing to join in the assistance, saying progress must first be made
toward resolving kidnapping cases of Japanese nationals by North Korean agents
in the 1970s and 1980s.
That leaves the question of who should shoulder Japan's share of the aid, and a
plan is being considered to have countries that are not participants of the
six-way talks, such as Australia and New Zealand, to send oil instead.
==Kyodo
North Korea has slowed disablement work at its key nuclear reactor to a snail's pace, complaining about the delay in delivery of energy aid it is supposed to receive as compensation, diplomatic sources said Saturday.
The number of nuclear fuel rods that are pulled from the reactor and put into
an adjacent water pond at the Yongbyon nuclear complex has gone down to 15 a
day from last month's 30 a day, the sources said.
North Korea made the changes at the complex, about 90 kilometers from capital
Pyongyang, about a week ago, according to the sources.
The discharging of the reactor's 8,000 fuel rods is an important part of the
disablement activities Pyongyang agreed to undertake in exchange for energy
assistance in a six-way denuclearization deal reached last year.
Nuclear fuel rods are irradiated in a reactor and reprocessed to produce
plutonium, an ingredient for nuclear bombs.
The slowdown came less than three weeks after North Korea resumed the pulling
of the fuel rods, which it had stopped in mid-August to protest the
postponement of the country's removal from Washington's blacklist of terrorism
sponsors.
Work resumed only after the United States took North Korea off the list on Oct.
11.
Removal of the fuel rods at Yongbyon began late last year. While North Korea
can safely remove 80 fuel rods a day, it has been doing so at about 30 a day
since earlier this year, saying it is matching the pace of work with energy aid
deliveries.
More than 60 percent of the 8,000 fuel rods has been pulled so far, falling
short of a goal North and South Korea, the United States, China, Japan and
Russia set in July to try to finish the task by the end of October.
North Korea has said it dropped the pace to 15 a day recently because shipments
of energy aid were slow in coming, according to the diplomatic sources.
A separate source close to the six-party talks said North Korea is likely to
speed up work once countries clarify the schedule for the energy assistance on
paper at the next denuclearization talks, expected to be held some time in the
near future.
That would be in addition to ways to verify North Korea's nuclear information,
which also need to be put in writing during the next six-way meeting.
Under the terms of the six-party deal, North Korea is to receive energy aid
worth a total of 1 million tons of heavy fuel oil for disabling the Yongbyon
nuclear complex and providing information about the country's nuclear programs.
The United States and Russia have been sending North Korea heavy fuel oil,
while China and South Korea have been shipping equipment that is translated
into part of the 1 million tons of oil.
Japan is refusing to join in the assistance, saying progress must first be made
toward resolving kidnapping cases of Japanese nationals by North Korean agents
in the 1970s and 1980s.
That leaves the question of who should shoulder Japan's share of the aid, and a
plan is being considered to have countries that are not participants of the
six-way talks, such as Australia and New Zealand, to send oil instead.
==Kyodo
