(2nd LD) S. Korea calls for N. Korea’s cooperation in nuclear verification
Written by Chang on Sunday, October 12th, 2008
(2nd LD) S. Korea calls for N. Korea’s cooperation in nuclear verification
By Lee Chi-dong
SEOUL (Yonhap) — South Korea’s top nuclear envoy said Sunday that North Korea holds the key to the implementation of a new deal on how to verify its nuclear claims, which could prove to be a lengthy and difficult process.
“With regard to difficulties down the road, it is totally up to North Korea’s cooperation,” Kim Sook told a press briefing.
His comments reflect concerns about the future of the three-page verification protocol, which outlines ways of checking the authenticity of Pyongyang’s June declaration of its nuclear program.
Under the compromise, North Korea will allow outside inspectors to take samples and conduct scientific surveys at all of its declared sites, while inspections at undeclared sites will be based on mutual consent.
In return, the outgoing Bush administration removed Pyongyang from a U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism.
Kim said that the agreement put the six-way talks on the nuclear crisis back on a normal track and provided a steppingstone for the North to abandon its nuclear program. North Korea’s dialogue partners in the often-troubled negotiations are the U.S., South Korea, China, Russia, and Japan.
Kim pointed out that all five countries will partake in the verification process with the help of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
He also acknowledged the limits of the planned verification scheme which differs from the U.N. agency’s own special inspection regimen.
“As shown in various international inspections either by the IAEA or not, the level of cooperation by a country to be inspected is very important,” he said.
Kim’s statements point to the likelihood that the U.S. and the other nations will have to undergo tough negotiations to seek Pyongyang’s consent before inspection of each undeclared site.
The envoy said, meanwhile, that six-way talks will be reconvened at an early date to formally endorse the verification protocol and discuss details, including when to begin the verification process.
China, which hosts the talks, is expected to propose a date soon, he added.
South Korea’s presidential office on Sunday hailed the U.S. delisting of North Korea from its terrorism blacklist as a step forward towards the North’s denuclearization.
“The U.S. move has paved the way for the international community to advance to the next stage of North Korea’s denuclearization,” a Cheong Wa Dae official said on condition of anonymity. “We hope the verification process will go without a hitch.”
South Korean Prime Minister Han Seung-soo also said the U.S. decision to take North Korea off its list of terror-sponsoring nations will help resolve the North Korean nuclear issue.
“It is hoped that the U.S. announcement will serve as the initiator for defusing the North Korean nuclear crisis,” Han said at a sports event hosted by people who fled to the South during the 1950-53 Korean War and their descendants. “It may also help Pyongyang achieve autarky at an early date.” lcd@yna.co.kr
