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Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan on Wednesday said, North Korea's restoration of its nuclear reprocessing facility means that it is returning to the days after its nuclear test in October 2006 and before the Feb. 13, 2007 agreement. ¡°UN Security Council resolution 1718 against the North is still effective."
Meeting reporters at the Korean Embassy in Washington, Yu said, "North Korea continues to restore the disabled nuclear facility at Yongbyon and to offend against the denuclearization process, posing a serious obstacle to six-party talks."
Yu suggested that if North Korea puts the reprocessing plant back into operation, the currently dormant UNSC resolution will apply. The resolution, which was adopted on Oct. 14, 2006 right after North Korea's nuclear test, urges all UN member states to freeze North Korea¡¯s financial assets related to development of weapons of mass destruction, ban exports of products with dual military and civilian use and luxury goods to the North, and ban North Korean officials involved in the development of WMDs.
Yu made it clear that energy aid will be suspended if the reprocessing plant is put into operation. "This is related to the 'action-for-action' principle. North Korea is well aware of how we will react if it goes beyond the current parameters."
Commenting on economic aid directly linked to North Korea's disablement of nuclear facilities in a daily briefing on Thursday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Moon Tae-young said, "No decision has been made yet on the suspension of aid. But it will be made, depending on nuclear developments in the North."
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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