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North Korean Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Choi Su-hon addresses the 62nd United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York on Tuesday./REUTERS
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China, the host country of six-nation talks on the North Korean nuclear problem, on Wednesday confirmed a joint statement agreed on in Sunday¡¯s latest round of the denuclearization talks but left for the governments to endorse. It requires North Korea to disclose all its nuclear programs and disable its nuclear facilities by the end of the year.
The statement says that the U.S. will keep its promise to strike North Korea from its list of terror-sponsoring states in parallel with North Korean denuclearization steps, based on a consensus achieved in working talks last month. That suggests that if Pyongyang fulfills all denuclearization requirements by late this year, the U.S. will strike the North from the list at around the same time.
Meanwhile, North Korea's Vice Foreign Minister Choi Su-hon said his government halted the operation of nuclear facilities in Yongbyon in accordance with a Feb. 13 six-nation agreement, calling it a ¡°courageous decision¡± to achieve a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula. Choi took the podium at the 62nd UN General Assembly on Tuesday, saying the North ¡°sincerely adhered¡± to the February disarmament agreement by shutting down the Yongbyon nuclear facilities and allowing inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Choi said that shutting down and ultimately dismantling the nuclear facilities in Yongbyon, which have cost a huge amount of physical and human resources, was a ¡°very courageous¡± political decision. He said the North would keep an eye on Japan and the U.S. to see what rewards they will provide in return. ¡°History proves that sanctions and pressure are not helpful in resolving problems,¡± Choi said. ¡°Denuclearization doesn¡¯t mean unilateral disarmament of North Korea and should be a step to end hostile relations between the U.S. and North Korea¡± and to remove ¡°all nuclear threats¡± on and around the Korean Peninsula.
The vice minister told reporters at North Korea¡¯s mission to the UN the ongoing inter-Korean summit was the result of dialogue the two Koreas have had for several years. He said that there was no need for the UN as a go-between in inter-Korean affairs, as inter-Korean dialogue is ¡°going well.¡±
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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