Thursday, February 26, 2004
Russia, China, S Korea offer energy aid to N Korea
Agence France-Presse Beijing, February 26
Russia, China and South Korea have offered energy aid to North Korea in return for the freezing and dismantling of its nuclear weapons programme, South Korea's chief negotiator at six-nation talks said on Thursday.
"Russia and China, together with us, agree to join the energy aid," said Lee Soo-Hyuck. "The United States and Japan expressed their understanding and support for this.
"The energy aid requires a presumption that North Korea freezes its nuclear activity as a beginning step to dismantle all of its nuclear programmes completely, irreversibly and verifiably."
He did not elaborate on what the energy aid would be.
Under a 1994 deal between Washington and Pyongyang, called the Agreed Framework, the United States promised to provide two nuclear power reactors to North Korea deemed unsuitable for weapons production, plus 500,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil a year.
This was in return for a freeze on the Stalinist state's nuclear arms programme. Pyongyang agreed to mothball a nuclear plant and to seal plutonium fuel rods.
The United States though cut fuel shipments in December 2002, after its envoy James Kelly confronted North Korean officials with US intelligence which exposed their programme to enrich uranium and try to build nuclear weapons, which the US said nullified the deal.
South Korea, the European Union and Japan also cut fuel aid to the North. Lee said North Korea has yet to respond formally to the offer. "North Korea has not made any direct comment during formal talks," he said.
© Hindustan Times Ltd. 2004.