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The U.S. has notified Congress that it is preparing to provide aid to North Korea under the Feb. 13 denuclearization agreement. U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters Thursday that the congressional notification was "done with an eye toward if North Korea does, in fact, follow through on their commitments ... then the other five parties have some commitments." He added, "It prepares us in the case that we do need to fulfill some commitment."
"The United States has made enough headway in talks on ending North Korea's atomic programs to prepare for the possibility of rewarding Pyongyang with $25 million in heavy fuel oil," Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing a document recently submitted by the Bush administration to the U.S. Congress.
"Although these discussions remain ongoing, the (Bush) administration deems the initial progress as sufficient justification to begin preparations for a first shipment by the United States," the document said.
"It is important to establish the flexibility for the United States to expedite (heavy fuel oil) shipments" as North Korea achieves denuclearization milestones, the document said according to Reuters.
According to the document, U.S. President George W. Bush planned to use US$25 million in U.S. funds to provide heavy fuel oil to North Korea. U.S. law requires the president to inform Congress if he plans to waive restrictions on such aid to North Korea, Reuters said.
The Bush administration "probably wanted to show North Korea that the United States would meet its commitments" if North Korea meets its own commitments on denuclearization, Reuters wrote.
With Washington-Pyongyang talks making headway, the White House is likely preparing for the fuel shipments ahead of time so as to prevent any internal procedures in the U.S. from delaying the shipments, an analyst told Reuters.
Under the Feb. 13 denuclearization deal, the participating nations of the six-party nuclear talks promised to give North Korea a first shipment of 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil if it begins the early-phase shut-down of nuclear facilities.
In the second phase of the process, North Korea was promised additional energy aid -- 950,000 tons of heavy fuel oil or its equivalent -- for providing a complete declaration of its nuclear programs and disabling its nuclear facilities.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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