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Seoul could delay shipment of 400,000 tons of rice to Pyongyang unless North Korea shuts down its nuclear facilities this week. The South promised the rice aid in inter-Korean ministerial talks in March. On Saturday, North Korea missed a deadline to shut down its nuclear reactor in Yongbyon under a Feb. 13 six-nation agreement.
The government discussed the matter among other joint-Korean affairs like an upcoming meeting of the Inter-Korean Economic Cooperation Committee in a gathering that included Foreign Minister Song Min-soon, Unification Minister Lee Jae-jeong, National Intelligence Service Director Kim Man-bok and presidential chief secretary for foreign policy Baek Jong-chun on Sunday.
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Fertilizer aid for North Korea is loaded onto the Vietnamese ship Long Bien at Nakpo port in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province, on March 27 this year. The vessel left for Nampo, North Korea, in the afternoon of that day, carrying 6,500 tons of fertilizer. The South promised to ship a total of 300,000 tons of fertilizer to the North this year.
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They decided the IKEC will meet in Pyongyang as scheduled but Seoul may delay rice aid unless the North shuts down the Yongbyon nuclear reactor by next Saturday, when the inter-Korean meeting ends. The government also confirmed that it will not send the agreed 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil before Pyongyang takes steps to shut down nuclear facilities and allows the return of inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency under the Feb. 13 accord. A government official urged the North to start implementing the agreement immediately to speed up the denuclearization process.
Meanwhile, the Unification Ministry decided to cancel contracts to buy 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil from GS Caltex and rent an oil tanker from a Chinese firm it had signed in expectation of North Korea meeting the deadline. The ministry will make fresh arrangements when North Korea takes concrete measures. The cost of borrowing the tanker and other expenses have meant a loss of some W3.6 billion (US$1=W929). Seoul is wasting W100 million a day due to expenses incurred from the pre-purchase of the oil and the hasty lease of the tanker.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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