|
The U.S. chief nuclear negotiator Christopher Hill on Saturday said his government "has evidence North Korea purchased equipment to enrich uranium." Hill made the remark in a lecture at the Graduate School of International Studies at Ewha Womans University prior to his departure for North Korea on Monday.
The remarks are apparently intended to persuade the North to make a full declaration of all its nuclear programs, including the alleged uranium enrichment program, when it submits a list under an agreement reached in six-nation talks. During his visit, which ends Wednesday, Hill is to inspect three nuclear facilities at Yongbyon that will be disabled by the end of the year. He will also meet with his North Korean counterpart Kim Kye-gwan and North Korean military leaders to discuss the North's declaration of its nuclear programs.
Meanwhile, the U.S. decided to impose three new conditions if it is to strike North Korea from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun reported on Saturday. When it declares its nuclear programs, the North must reveal the amount of plutonium it has already extracted, the truth about the uranium enrichment program, and any transfer of nuclear technology and materials to other countries, such as Syria.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
|
