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Codifying an agreement with North Korea to allow inspectors to take samples at its nuclear facilities is expected to be the key issue in the upcoming six-party talks. Samples could reveal the history of the North's nuclear program including the amount of plutonium produced so far.
South Korea, the U.S. and Japan held a trilateral meeting Wednesday agreeing on the necessity of putting the right to take samples in writing.
Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan said, "The six parties must come to a common understanding that what was agreed between the United States and North Korea on a scientific procedure for verification was sampling. And if the parties agree on this, the stance of South Korea, the U.S. and Japan is that this has to be put in writing. How this will be expressed in a document, rests on the negotiations." He added that China and Russia also feel the need to get rid of misunderstandings on the sampling issue but to a lesser degree.
Yu says he expects the talks to be held as planned next Monday as all the members of the multilateral dialogue have agreed on the date, which might pressure North Korea to go along as well. Another factor for Pyongyang to cooperate might be the incoming U.S. administration. "Because the Obama administration is also supporting the six-party talks, I believe there is a great political burden not to let the negotiations fail," Yu said. The minister added that North Korea has made the wrong bet if it had planned to delay negotiations. He stressed an agreement had to be reached on the completion of the second disablement phase of the North's denuclearization so the six-party talks do not lose momentum for the Obama administration.
Chief U.S. nuclear envoy Christopher Hill is in Singapore for last-minute negotiations with his North Korean counterpart Kim Kye-gwan. Hill is expected to arrive in Seoul on Saturday to discuss the outcome of the negotiations with officials here before heading to Beijing.
Arirang News
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