DPRK snubs ROK, says no to talks offer

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By Xiao Yang (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-07-14 06:35

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK) has agreed to dismantle its Yongbyon nuclear facility by October in exchange for international aid but rejected the proposal of the Republic of Korea (ROK) to resume their stalled reconciliation talks.

The DPRK yesterday said the ROK president's offer is a "deceitful" tactic to avoid taking responsibility for the deterioration in bilateral ties.

The DPRK's main state newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, said in a commentary that Lee Myung-bak's proposal was not even worth considering. In a speech on Friday, Lee had offered to resume government-level talks with Pyongyang, which were suspended after his conservative government took office in February.

Lee said his administration was willing to discuss how to implement the previous accords with Pyongyang, which his liberal predecessors had reached with DPRK leader Kim Jong-il at the 2000 and 2007 summits.

"Why are more talks necessary?" the DPRK newspaper said. "Lee's anti-unification, confrontational charter was clearly revealed" in his speech, it said.

Of late, Lee has softened his stance on the DPRK amid concern that the ROK could be left with little say in international issues at a time when progress in the Six-Party Talks is bringing Pyongyang and Washington closer.

Nuclear Deal Reached

On Saturday, the six countries attending the talks in Beijing agreed to help the DPRK with economic aid, including heavy fuel oil (HFO), if it disables its Yongbyon nuclear facility completely.

The DPRK will allow international experts to visit its nuclear facilities, review its documents and interview technical personnel, says a communiqu issued by China's chief negotiator Wu Dawei at the end of the three-day talks.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is also welcomed to provide consultations and assistance for verification if and when necessary.

The meeting drew a timetable for economic and energy aid to the DPRK. But the aid and nuclear disablement have to run concurrently, said Wu, who is also the vice-foreign minister.

The US and Russia will provide the HFO by October, while China and the ROK will sign binding agreements with the DPRK by August for non-HFO aid.

Tokyo has stayed away from contributing to the aid package because of Japanese nationals' abductions in the 1970s and 1980s. But on Saturday, it agreed to pitch in too "as soon as the environment is conducive".

The six countries also agreed to set up a monitoring mechanism. It would comprise their top negotiators and ensure all the sides fulfill their commitments toward non-proliferation and assistance to the DPRK, Wu said.

At his meeting with the six chief negotiators on Saturday, Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said: "I hope the six parties continue working for the implementation of the second-phase action in a comprehensive and balanced way."

The six chief negotiators were satisfied with the results of the talks. US chief negotiator and Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said: "We would like first of all the protocol to be reached in 45 days, and second, to actually begin verification in 45 days. We are just anticipating that and we don't see any obstacles to that."

Xinhua, agencies contributed to the story