ID :
32030
Mon, 11/24/2008 - 22:07
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/32030
The shortlink copeid
S. Korea prepares to send steel pipes to N. Korea
By Lee Chi-dong
SEOUL, Nov. 24 (Yonhap) -- South Korea prepared Monday to send 3,000 tons of steel pipes to North Korea as agreed upon in last year's multilateral aid-for-denuclearization deal, Seoul's Foreign Ministry said.
The move follows reports that the six-way talks on Pyongyang's nuclear program
will resume on Dec. 8.
South Korea suspended delivery of the steel pipes last month, but the materials
have been in storage at a port located in Pyeongtaek, 70 km south of Seoul, amid
Pyongyang's refusal to return to the dialogue table.
"The government plans to provide North Korea with the steel pipes as soon as the
necessary administrative procedures are completed," ministry spokesman Moon
Tae-young said at a press briefing. "The shipment is expected to be made soon,
with a schedule for the resumption of the six-party talks set to be announced."
He added that Seoul has accepted host Beijing's proposal that a new round of
six-way talks be held on Dec. 8. The other participants are the U.S., Russia, and
Japan.
Another senior ministry official struck an upbeat note on the prospects of the
upcoming negotiations.
"Substantial consultations on a date for a new round of six-way talks get
underway when there is a common outlook that positive results can be produced,"
the official said in a background briefing for reporters. "But it does not mean
success is guaranteed."
He emphasized the need to hammer out a written agreement among the six parties on
ways of verifying the North's recent nuclear claims. In October, North Korea and
the U.S. reached an ambiguous verbal deal on the issue.
"The bottom line in our stance is that the verification protocol should include
sample-taking and other scientific methods," he said.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said earlier that the talks will
restart on Dec. 8. Under its deal with South Korea, the U.S., China, Russia, and
Japan, North Korea has been disabling its main nuclear reactor in Yongbyon.
In return, it was promised half a million tons of heavy fuel oil and the
equivalent amount of energy-related materials. The last round of six-way talks
was held in July.
The North, meanwhile, reaffirmed later in the day that it will not allow
inspectors to take samples to confirm the communist country's past nuclear
activities, which Washington claims is necessary.
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), monitored in Seoul, also said that the key
to progress at the scheduled talks will be centered on economic compensation.
It stressed that there is no written agreement between the U.S. and North Korea
on taking samples, and to demand such measures would constitute a violation of
the North's sovereignty.
The KCNA report then said that any push to take samples can only be construed as
an effort by those opposed to the negotiations to lay blame on North Korea, while
the real reason for the deadlock is the other parties' failure to provide
economic support.
SEOUL, Nov. 24 (Yonhap) -- South Korea prepared Monday to send 3,000 tons of steel pipes to North Korea as agreed upon in last year's multilateral aid-for-denuclearization deal, Seoul's Foreign Ministry said.
The move follows reports that the six-way talks on Pyongyang's nuclear program
will resume on Dec. 8.
South Korea suspended delivery of the steel pipes last month, but the materials
have been in storage at a port located in Pyeongtaek, 70 km south of Seoul, amid
Pyongyang's refusal to return to the dialogue table.
"The government plans to provide North Korea with the steel pipes as soon as the
necessary administrative procedures are completed," ministry spokesman Moon
Tae-young said at a press briefing. "The shipment is expected to be made soon,
with a schedule for the resumption of the six-party talks set to be announced."
He added that Seoul has accepted host Beijing's proposal that a new round of
six-way talks be held on Dec. 8. The other participants are the U.S., Russia, and
Japan.
Another senior ministry official struck an upbeat note on the prospects of the
upcoming negotiations.
"Substantial consultations on a date for a new round of six-way talks get
underway when there is a common outlook that positive results can be produced,"
the official said in a background briefing for reporters. "But it does not mean
success is guaranteed."
He emphasized the need to hammer out a written agreement among the six parties on
ways of verifying the North's recent nuclear claims. In October, North Korea and
the U.S. reached an ambiguous verbal deal on the issue.
"The bottom line in our stance is that the verification protocol should include
sample-taking and other scientific methods," he said.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said earlier that the talks will
restart on Dec. 8. Under its deal with South Korea, the U.S., China, Russia, and
Japan, North Korea has been disabling its main nuclear reactor in Yongbyon.
In return, it was promised half a million tons of heavy fuel oil and the
equivalent amount of energy-related materials. The last round of six-way talks
was held in July.
The North, meanwhile, reaffirmed later in the day that it will not allow
inspectors to take samples to confirm the communist country's past nuclear
activities, which Washington claims is necessary.
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), monitored in Seoul, also said that the key
to progress at the scheduled talks will be centered on economic compensation.
It stressed that there is no written agreement between the U.S. and North Korea
on taking samples, and to demand such measures would constitute a violation of
the North's sovereignty.
The KCNA report then said that any push to take samples can only be construed as
an effort by those opposed to the negotiations to lay blame on North Korea, while
the real reason for the deadlock is the other parties' failure to provide
economic support.
