Asia-Pacific

US, S.Korea press N.Korea on nuke issue

(AP)
Updated: 2007-04-12 16:58

SEOUL, South Korea - The US and South Korea urged North Korea to move toward dismantling its nuclear weapons programs now that its frozen bank accounts have been freed, pressing the North to meet a Saturday deadline to shut down its nuclear reactor.

North Korean soldiers look at the south side as a South Korean soldier (L) stands guard at the truce village of Panmunjom, 04 April 2007, in the demilitarized zone dividing South and North Korea. [AP]

"We certainly have confirmed that the bank accounts are open. So we have truly fulfilled our role in this and now it's up to" North Korea, US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said in Seoul.

Hill said he had yet to hear a response from North Korea to the release of $25 million held in a Macau bank. Macau authorities said earlier this week the money is available for account holders to access, but it remained unclear when North Korea might do so.

"This is about (North Korea's) willingness with respect to denuclearization," Hill said.

Although time is running short before a Saturday deadline set in a February agreement in which North Korea pledged to take initial steps to disarm, Hill maintained it was "possible to get going on this process in the next two days."

South Korean nuclear envoy Chun Young-woo called for patience Thursday and said other countries should wait "another few days" until North Korea responds, noting it typically does not respond quickly.

Meanwhile, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson met South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun on Thursday to share the results of his trip to North Korea earlier this week.

During the meeting, Roh "assessed that the US is showing strong will to resolve the North Korea nuclear issue" through six-nation disarmament talks, Roh's office said in a statement.

Richardson, a Democratic presidential candidate, returned Wednesday from a four-day mission to North Korea to bring back six sets of remains believed to be of American soldiers from the Korean War. His delegation included the top White House adviser on Korea, Victor Cha.

On Wednesday, Richardson said North Korea had pledged to welcome UN nuclear inspectors within a day of receiving its funds, but had wanted to extend a Saturday deadline for shutting down its main nuclear reactor by 30 days - which the US delegation rejected.

Cha told reporters Thursday that any extension of the deadline would have to be agreed upon by all countries in the six-nation arms talks: China, Japan, Russia, the United States and the two Koreas.

Diplomacy has intensified ahead of the Saturday deadline for the reactor shutdown, which would be the first move by North Korea to scale back its nuclear development since the current nuclear standoff began in late 2002 and it expelled UN inspectors. The move came after the US accused North Korea of embarking on a secret uranium enrichment program in violation of a 1994 deal to stop making nuclear weapons.

Hill said Thursday he would fly to Beijing on Friday to meet Chinese officials and also would be willing to see chief North Korean nuclear envoy Kim Kye Gwan there, but no plans have been set.

The financial issue has been an obstacle to the nuclear talks, leading North Korea to boycott the negotiations for more than a year during which it exploded its first nuclear device in October. The US blacklisted Macau's Banco Delta Asia in 2005 for alleged complicity in counterfeiting and money laundering by North Korea. BDA has denied any wrongdoing.

The North later agreed to return to negotiations and pledged in February to shut down its main nuclear reactor by a Saturday deadline in exchange for a US promise to resolve the financial standoff. North Korea also is to receive energy aid and political concessions for eventually dismantling its nuclear programs.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Wednesday the United States had "gone the extra mile" to resolve the bank issue. He repeated the United States' expectation that North Korea will meet the shutdown deadline, and refused to speculate on consequences for the North if it fails to do so.

"We'll see where we are on Saturday," McCormack said.