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South Korean Foreign Minister Song Min-soon said Thursday the dismantlement process of North Korea¡¯s nuclear program has reached a junction ¡°between smooth and bumpy roads¡±, with little progress being made at the stage where Pyongyang must declare all its nuclear programs and stockpiles. U.S. nuclear envoy Christopher Hill, just back from North Korea, said there were clear differences in opinion between Washington and Pyongyang over the declaration of nuclear materials. Hill added resuming six-nation talks this year would be difficult.
According to the Feb. 13 six-party agreement and the Geneva Accord signed by Washington and Pyongyang, North Korea has until the end of this year to declare fully how much plutonium it possesses, how much of it has been used and where, and how much is left. North Korea must also declare by that deadline the entire truth behind its alleged uranium enrichment plan. North Korea¡¯s willingness to give up its nuclear weapons program is expected to be proven during the declaration stage. But apparently Pyongyang is getting cold feet.
The Chosun Shinbo newspaper, which is published in Japan and acts as a North Korean mouthpiece, said Thursday that Pyongyang was willing to talk about ¡°no longer producing any nuclear weapons and not selling them to other countries.¡± In other words, it is not willing to declare the nuclear weapons it has already produced. North Korea has acknowledged it has purchased uranium enrichment equipment. The president of Pakistan testified that its uranium enrichment technology had been handed over to North Korea. Yet North Korea reportedly has no intention of properly declaring its uranium enrichment program. The U.S. believes North Korea¡¯s suspected nuclear connection with Syria should also be included in the declaration.
The participants in the six-country talks agreed to provide heavy oil to North Korea as compensation for the shutdown and dismantlement of the rusty Yongbyon nuclear facility. But now the time has come for North Korea to declare its nuclear materials, which would show its true willingness to scrap its nuclear ambitions, the Stalinist country is suddenly having second thoughts. Looking at North Korea¡¯s attitude now, it is questionable whether it will be honest in declaring the total amount of plutonium it has processed. If it does not fully declare everything, all the efforts to resolve the nuclear crisis will have been in vain.
With South Korea swept up in election fever, the Roh Moo-hyun administration, in its final days, appears to believe the North Korean nuclear crisis has been resolved and is lost in its own world, busy pledging all kinds of support to the North. And while this is happening, the North Korean nuclear crisis, which has enormous significance for the fate of South Korea, is starting to flare up again. This is a critical moment for South Korea.
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