|
The U.S. will ask North Korea for evidence that it is serious about dismantling its nuclear weapons program, including shutting down a reactor in Yongbyon and admitting IAEA inspectors, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday.
Rice made the comments in an interview with the New York Times about North Korea¡¯s decision to return to the six-party talks on its nuclear program. ¡°The core of this is denuclearization, and we have to have concrete evidence,¡± she said.
Rice emphasized Washington and other participants in the six-party talks will try to force the North to produce concrete evidence, including dismantling the 5 megawatt reactor in Yongybyon.
 |
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, center, talks with Deputy National Security Advisor, Dr. Jack D. Crouch II, left, after meetings at the White House in Washington on Wednesday./AP
|
 |
|
One U.S. official at the negotiations said, ¡°The dismantling should begin with a facility like North Korea¡¯s 5-megawatt reactor, which is continuing to produce nuclear fuel, or its plutonium reprocessing center, where spent reactor fuel can be turned into material for weapons.¡±
The U.S. has been insisting on concrete steps including a full and detailed report on all of North Korea¡¯s weapons programs to fulfill the promise Pyongyang made in a statement of principles in the six-party talks in September last year.
The U.S. chief negotiator in the talks Christopher Hill, after the North agreed to return, told reporters he expected substantial progress but added, ¡°We are a long way from our goal still. I have not broken out the cigars and Champagne quite yet.¡± Hill also said a working group within the six-nation framework will look at financial sanctions the U.S. imposed on the North over its illegal activities but made no promises about what those discussions might yield.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
|
