U.S. brushes aside N.K. demands for new reactors

U.S. brushes aside N.K. demands for new reactors

WASHINGTON, July 23 (Yonhap) -- The top U.S. nuclear envoy on Monday brushed aside North Korea's demand for a set of new reactors as a price for its denuclearization, reiterating Washington's conditions that the communist nation must first prove it will "play by the rules."
Christopher Hill, who returned from the six-party talks last week in Beijing, said he still believes Pyongyang intends to abide by a Feb. 13 agreement under which it agreed to eventually give up its nuclear programs.
혻혻 The press communique from the talks "said very clearly that (North Korea) is committed" to the deal, he said.
혻 혻 But his North Korean counterpart, Kim Kye-gwan, rehashed the old demand that his country must receive a set of light-water reactors in order to denuclearize. The reactors were a key part of an earlier deal struck between Pyongyang and Washington in 1994. That agreement collapsed eight years later when the U.S. accused the North of running a uranium enrichment program, another way of making atomic bombs.
혻혻 A six-party agreement in September 2005 said the issue can be discussed "at an appropriate time."
Hill said this means North Korea must give up its weapons of mass destruction, return to the nuclear nonproliferation treaty, and "show an interest in playing by the rules that everyone else plays by."
The envoy also stood by U.S. conditions on providing humanitarian aid, including being able to verify that the assistance is reaching the targeted population.
혻혻 But the U.S. is "certainly prepared to look at the request and assess the needs of the DPRK," he said, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
혻혻 South and North Korea, the U.S., China, Russia and Japan are members of the six-party process that aims to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula. Top delegates held three days of negotiations in the Chinese capital last week but could not pinpoint a deadline by when Pyongyang has to declare the components of its nuclear programs.
혻혻 The declaration, along with the disablement of main atomic installations, is a key second-phase focus of the Feb. 13 agreement. In return, the five other parties would provide 950,000 tons of heavy fuel oil or its equivalent.
혻혻 Five working groups established by the February deal would all meet next month to settle technical details on sequencing North Korea's actions with those by other governments.
혻혻 North Korea's limited ability in accepting the heavy fuel oil was creating time constraints for other countries that want the second phase completed by end of this calendar year.
혻 혻 Hill acknowledged potential problems, since Pyongyang was not expected to start the disablement until there is an agreement on the sequencing.
혻혻 If heavy fuel oil or its equivalent cannot be delivered to the North, "does that affect how quickly the North Koreans are prepared to disable?" Hill said. "All of those things are a problem."
"I think the real question we have is, when we take all of these elements...and try to put that together in a sequencing plan, I suspect we are going to have some 11th-hour negotiations."
The third phase involves replacing the Korean armistice with a formal peace treaty and starting a Northeast Asian security mechanism, which he said is targeted for next year.
혻혻 The 2008 goal is also to get North Korea to address its already-produced fissile material, plus explosive devices, the envoy said.
혻혻 ldm@yna.co.kr