Lim Sung-nam, Seoul's negotiator to the six-way North Korea economic and energy working group talks, explains developments in the third round of talks held recently at the truce village of Panmunjeom. /Yonhap.

The third meeting of a working group on energy and economic aid to North Korea under the six-party framework was held at Panmunjom on Tuesday. In the meeting, North Korea reportedly presented a detailed list of some 300 items it wants in return for disabling its nuclear facilities at Yongbyon and reporting all its nuclear programs. The items include iron and steel products needed for the repair of thermal power plants, and materials for the repair of mines.

The meeting was chaired by Lim Sung-nam, the deputy chief of the South Korean delegation to the six-party talks. Emerging from the meeting that day, Lim said, "We reached an agreement that the promised energy assistance equivalent to 950,000 tons of heavy fuel oil” under the Feb. 13 denuclearization deal “will be provided in the form of 450,000 tons of heavy oil and other assistance equivalent to 500,000 tons of heavy oil."

"We agreed to supply 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil on a regular basis every month. As for the equivalent, we worked out a rough list of economic aid items in a discussion based on the list provided by the North," Lim said.

Meanwhile, Tokyo reportedly refused in Tuesday's meeting to join in providing any heavy oil assistance until Pyongyang-Tokyo relations are normalized, which means resolving the longstanding dispute with the North over Japanese citizens abducted decades ago.

A South Korean government official said. "It will be Japan's turn to take responsibility for the December shipment of 50,000 tons of heavy oil to the North.” But under these circumstances, South Korea, the U.S., China and Russia will decide who will replace Japan in December.

(englishnews@chosun.com )