Seoul to ship steel to N.K. after nuke verification agreement

SEOUL, Oct. 31 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will likely postpone steel shipments to North Korea until agreement is reached at upcoming six-party nuclear disarmament talks on a protocol to verify the communist state's nuclear declaration, government sources said Friday.

The South had planned to ship a total of 3,000 tons of steel pipe by the end of
this month as pledged to the North.
North Korea had been promised 1 million tons of heavy fuel oil or its equivalent
by five negotiating partners -- the U.S., China, Japan, Russia and South Korea --
in return for its disablement of key nuclear facilities.
"The government is contemplating ways to ship 3,000 tons of steel pipe promised
to North Korea as part of the six-party deal after a verification protocol is
formally adopted in the soon to be held nuclear talks," one of the sources said.
Seoul also plans to approve the protocol only if it contains crucial elements for
nuclear inspections of North Korea, the sources said.
"The government would welcome it if the protocol to be adopted in the six-party
talks includes all the contents of the deal between Pyongyang and Washington," a
source said. "But if not, our position can be changed."
Inter-Korean ties have been chilly since conservative South Korean President Lee
Myung-bak took office in February and vowed to link inter-Korean cooperation
programs to denuclearization.
The U.S. State Department announced on Oct. 11 that the North agreed to
verification of all of its nuclear activities, including an alleged covert highly
enriched uranium program and suspected proliferation.
However, visits to sites not included in the North's nuclear declaration will
require "mutual consent," it said.
sshim@yna.co.kr
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