North Korea makes new demands over nuclear weapons
North Korea said today it would not dismantle its nuclear weapons programme until the US first gives it a nuclear reactor for generating power, casting doubt on its commitment to a breakthrough agreement reached at international arms talks.
The North had insisted since arms talks began last week in Beijing that it be given a light-water reactor, a type less easily diverted for weapons use, in exchange for abandoning nuclear weapons.
The agreement reached at the conclusion of the talks on Monday – the first since the negotiations began in August 2003 – said the six countries in the negotiations would discuss the reactor issue “at an appropriate time.”
But the North said today it wanted a reactor first.
“The US should not even dream of the issue of (North Korea’s) dismantlement of its nuclear deterrent before providing (light-water reactors), a physical guarantee for confidence-building,” the North’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
“This is our just and consistent stand as solid as a deeply rooted rock,” the ministry said.
Other countries at the talks made clear that the reactor could only be discussed after the North rejoins the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and accepts inspections from the International Atomic Energy Agency – which North Korea pledged to do in Monday’s agreement.
The North’s position is likely to be a major sticking point in talks slated to begin in early November on implementing the agreement.
The North had demanded during the six-nation talks in Beijing – which include China, Japan, Russia, the United States and the two Koreas – that it be allowed to keep a civilian nuclear programme for power generation after it disarms.
But the US strongly opposed the demand, and the agreement only acknowledged that the North had “stated” its claim to that right.
The agreement had drawn praise around the world and raised hopes of a resolution of the North Korea nuclear standoff, which has sparked concerns about an arms race in north east Asia and instability.
The chief UN nuclear inspector called for a quick return to the North – which expelled his agency in early 2003.
“The earlier we go back the better,” said Mohamed Elbaradei, head of the Vienna-based IAEA.
The main American nuclear negotiator had urged the North to shut down the nuclear reactor at Yongbyon, its main nuclear facility, after the talks.
“What is the purpose of operating it at this point?” said US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill. ”The time to turn it off would be about now.”
But the North said today it would still “wait and see how the US will move” and warned there would be “very serious and complicated” consequences if Washington demanded the dismantlement of the communist nation’s nuclear programmes before providing a light-water reactor.
“If the US opts for reneging on its promise, we will go ahead without an inch of deflection along the road indicated by the Songun line, our faith and signpost,” the North said, referring to leader Kim Jong Il’s policy emphasising the military’s primary role in society.
