ID :
34979
Wed, 12/10/2008 - 22:23
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/34979
The shortlink copeid
6-way talks face hurdle as N. Korea says `no sampling`
BEIJING, Dec. 10 Kyodo - The six-party talks aimed at denuclearizing North Korea hit a major hurdle on Wednesday, with North Korea saying it has no plans to allow inspectors to take
samples from its nuclear facilities as a means of verifying its nuclear information.
The comments came as delegations from North and South Korea, the United States,
China, Japan and Russia met for the third day in Beijing in a bid to document
verification methods as part of North Korea's denuclearization, South Korea's
top nuclear envoy said.
Kim Sook quoted North Korea as saying in the meeting that it will allow only
field visits, checking of documents and interviews with technicians as methods
of verification.
North Korea said it could not accept sampling as it would infringe upon its
sovereignty under the current situation when there is no trust between North
Korea and the United States, according to Kim.
The taking of liquid and swipe samples and their analysis at international
laboratories are considered an essential part of verifying nuclear programs.
The United States has said that as a result of earlier bilateral talks with
North Korea, it has an oral understanding with Pyongyang that the taking of
samples will be part of the verification regime.
But North Korea had issued comments through its official media saying that
sampling was not part of their agreement.
''I felt that there was a difference between the United States and North Korea
on how to interpret issues,'' said Kim, special representative for Korean
Peninsula peace and security affairs of the South Korean Foreign Affairs and
Trade Ministry.
While the bilateral agreement on verification measures had paved the way for
October's removal of North Korea from the U.S. blacklist of terrorist sponsors,
top U.S. nuclear negotiator Christopher Hill did not mention the possibility of
putting Pyongyang back on the list, Kim added.
Other envoys also reported grim results at Wednesday's talks at the Diaoyutai
State Guesthouse.
''We didn't make any progress today,'' Hill told reporters separately.
The assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs said North
Korea did not engage in discussions based on a draft of the verification
protocol circulated by the Chinese on Tuesday.
''Most delegations were prepared to work on the Chinese text,'' Hill said. ''I
think among most of the delegations, there was a consensus on how to go
forward. That consensus was not shared by the DPRK,'' he said.
DPRK is the acronym for North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's
Republic of Korea.
Japan's top negotiator Akitaka Saiki also said major gaps remained.
''Looking at today's discussions, I had the impression that differences in
positions will not be narrowed easily,'' said the head of the Foreign
Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau.
Saiki said the talks, which were initially scheduled to end Wednesday, will be
extended to Thursday.
The current six-party talks could be the last under the administration of U.S.
President George W. Bush. Some observers wondered whether North Korea would be
willing to deal now, rather than wait for President-elect Barack Obama to take
office in January.
On the first day of talks Monday, the negotiators had agreed in principle on
the other task of the meeting, which is to decide on a schedule for completing
the disablement of North Korea's key nuclear complex and the delivery of energy
aid promised in return.
Under the plan, energy assistance will be completed by the end of March.
But the deal would stand only if North Korea finishes disablement work by that
time, and if the six countries can agree on the verification protocol, South
Korea's Kim has said.
Under the denuclearization-for-aid deal, North Korea is currently disabling
facilities at the Yongbyon complex, which are capable of producing
weapons-grade plutonium.
In exchange for the disablement of the complex and the submitting of a list of
its nuclear programs, North Korea has been promised energy aid equivalent to a
total of 1 million tons of heavy fuel oil, the delivery of which has yet to be
completed.
==Kyodo
samples from its nuclear facilities as a means of verifying its nuclear information.
The comments came as delegations from North and South Korea, the United States,
China, Japan and Russia met for the third day in Beijing in a bid to document
verification methods as part of North Korea's denuclearization, South Korea's
top nuclear envoy said.
Kim Sook quoted North Korea as saying in the meeting that it will allow only
field visits, checking of documents and interviews with technicians as methods
of verification.
North Korea said it could not accept sampling as it would infringe upon its
sovereignty under the current situation when there is no trust between North
Korea and the United States, according to Kim.
The taking of liquid and swipe samples and their analysis at international
laboratories are considered an essential part of verifying nuclear programs.
The United States has said that as a result of earlier bilateral talks with
North Korea, it has an oral understanding with Pyongyang that the taking of
samples will be part of the verification regime.
But North Korea had issued comments through its official media saying that
sampling was not part of their agreement.
''I felt that there was a difference between the United States and North Korea
on how to interpret issues,'' said Kim, special representative for Korean
Peninsula peace and security affairs of the South Korean Foreign Affairs and
Trade Ministry.
While the bilateral agreement on verification measures had paved the way for
October's removal of North Korea from the U.S. blacklist of terrorist sponsors,
top U.S. nuclear negotiator Christopher Hill did not mention the possibility of
putting Pyongyang back on the list, Kim added.
Other envoys also reported grim results at Wednesday's talks at the Diaoyutai
State Guesthouse.
''We didn't make any progress today,'' Hill told reporters separately.
The assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs said North
Korea did not engage in discussions based on a draft of the verification
protocol circulated by the Chinese on Tuesday.
''Most delegations were prepared to work on the Chinese text,'' Hill said. ''I
think among most of the delegations, there was a consensus on how to go
forward. That consensus was not shared by the DPRK,'' he said.
DPRK is the acronym for North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's
Republic of Korea.
Japan's top negotiator Akitaka Saiki also said major gaps remained.
''Looking at today's discussions, I had the impression that differences in
positions will not be narrowed easily,'' said the head of the Foreign
Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau.
Saiki said the talks, which were initially scheduled to end Wednesday, will be
extended to Thursday.
The current six-party talks could be the last under the administration of U.S.
President George W. Bush. Some observers wondered whether North Korea would be
willing to deal now, rather than wait for President-elect Barack Obama to take
office in January.
On the first day of talks Monday, the negotiators had agreed in principle on
the other task of the meeting, which is to decide on a schedule for completing
the disablement of North Korea's key nuclear complex and the delivery of energy
aid promised in return.
Under the plan, energy assistance will be completed by the end of March.
But the deal would stand only if North Korea finishes disablement work by that
time, and if the six countries can agree on the verification protocol, South
Korea's Kim has said.
Under the denuclearization-for-aid deal, North Korea is currently disabling
facilities at the Yongbyon complex, which are capable of producing
weapons-grade plutonium.
In exchange for the disablement of the complex and the submitting of a list of
its nuclear programs, North Korea has been promised energy aid equivalent to a
total of 1 million tons of heavy fuel oil, the delivery of which has yet to be
completed.
==Kyodo
