Pyongyang declares nuke plans

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By Jiao Xiaoyang, Li Xiang and Li Xiaokun (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-06-27 07:28

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) submitted a list of its nuclear program to China on Thursday, paving the way for its removal from the US' list of "terror" states.

A satellite image of North Korea's Yongbyon nuclear complex with the reactor's cooling tower (circled) and a view of the tower as seen from the ground (R) are pictured in this undated combination photo released by South Korea's Yonhap news agency in Seoul June 26, 2008. [Agencies]

The DPRK ambassador to China Choe Jin-Su handed over the document to Vice-Foreign Minister Wu Dawei, who is also China's chief negotiator at the Six-Party Talks.

China said the development is "conducive" to the Six-Party Talks' goal of making the Korean Peninsula nuclear free.

The declaration is a step forward for the DPRK to get economic and energy aid from the five other countries in the Six-Party Talks - China, the US, the Republic of Korea (ROK), Japan and Russia.

Wu said the six countries had agreed that the declaration would have to be verified and that there was consensus among them on a set of principles to guide the establishment of a verification regime.

"The talks have made positive progress in the second-phase implementation of the joint statement because of the concerted efforts of all the parties," Wu said.

"We believe the developments will be conducive to implementing the second phase in a comprehensive and balanced manner, and the final realization of all the goals of the September 19, 2005, joint statement," he said.

The US responded with a statement welcoming the declaration but stressed that it needed to be verified.

"The US will respond to the DPRK's actions by lifting the provisions of the Trading with the Enemy Act, as well, as announcing our intent to rescind the DPRK's designation as a State Sponsor of Terror in 45 days. During this period, the US will carefully assess the DPRK's actions particularly with regard to verification," White House press secretary Dana Perino said.

The DPRK is likely to demolish the nuclear cooling tower in Yongbyon this afternoon. The demolition will be broadcast live, for which TV crews from China, Japan, Russia, the US and the ROK reached Pyongyang yesterday.

The DPRK missed the deadline to submit the papers at the end of last year, leading to months of haggling with the US over what they should include.

There are still some uncertainties in the denuclearization process, Chinese analysts said, and building of trust between Pyongyang and Washington is crucial.

"The DPRK has misgivings about engaging with the outside world, said Jin Canrong, senior professor of international relations with Renmin University of China.

"There is Japan's concern over the abduction and the Bush administration faces criticism at home for being 'too lenient' with Pyongyang so the process is still complicated," Jin said.

U.S. President George W. Bush delivers a statement on North Korea at the White House in Washington June 26, 2008. [Xinhua]

Piao Jianyi, a senior researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the US' promise of security guarantee would be vital to the DPRK's determination to give up its nuclear program.

International response to the DPRK's declaration was largely positive.

"We welcome this," ROK Foreign Minister Yu Myung-Hwan said. Pyongyang's planned demolition of the Yongbyon cooling tower is a "crucial starting point" for complete disarmament.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said Japan would continue to cooperate with the US in its talks with the DPRK, including those on resolving the abduction issue.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, now in Tokyo, said Paris will consider elevating its ties with Pyongyang "up to the point of establishing diplomatic relations" if verification of its declaration is positive.