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Seoul National University professor Yoon Young-kwan, the first foreign minister in the Roh Moo-hyun administration, on Tuesday speculated North Korea is hoping to delay its declaration of nuclear programs and stockpiles until a new U.S. administration takes office. The North missed a Dec. 31 deadline to hand over the declaration as agreed in six-nation talks. ˇ°I suspect that North Korea will attempt to strike a deal with the new U.S. administration that will be inaugurated next year. In that case, it seems likely that there will be no progress in the North Korean nuclear issue until summer next year, Yoon said.
Yoon made the remarks in a breakfast meeting hosted by the Korea Logistics Forum. He said the new government in Seoul should lay out a detailed roadmap for the North Korean denuclearization issue ˇ°to persuade Pyongyang to be more cooperative."
"The principles of the Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun administrations' North Korea policies should not be scrapped but upgraded,ˇ± he said. "The Lee administration has little choice" given that the participating nations in the six-party talks agreed to engage North Korea following the Feb. 13, 2007 deal on the disablement and declaration of North Korea's nuclear facilities, programs and stockpiles.
ˇ°I feel that North Korea is making a careful calculation whether to make an accurate declaration of all its nuclear materials and facilities,ˇ± he said. ˇ°If time just passes despite the six-party talks, the Lee administration will have problems implementing inter-Korean economic cooperation projects."
Yoon warned against ˇ°recklessˇ± pressure on North Korea to improve its human rights situation. "We should not recklessly put pressure on North Korea by hurting it. We are better off seeking gradual improvements on this issue."
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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