S. Korea believes N. Korea has uranium-enriching program

Posted on : 2007-02-21 14:45 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST

South Korea's intelligence agency said Tuesday it believes North Korea is running a clandestine uranium-enriching program, an allegation that has been surfacing as a key source of contention on a nuclear disarmament deal reached last week.

"We believe (the program) exists," Kim Man-bok, head of the National Intelligence Service, told a parliamentary committee, according to lawmakers who participated in the closed-door meeting.

Kim was answering a question about whether the North is operating a highly-enriched uranium (HEU) program, the lawmakers said, on condition of anonymity.

At the six-party talks in Beijing last week, North Korea agreed on initial steps for dismantling its nuclear program in return for energy and economic aid and improved ties with the United States.

Critics, however, raised questions over the pact, saying it failed to address several key issues, such as the North's alleged uranium-enriching program and existing plutonium-based weapons.

North Korea has denied it has a uranium-enrichment program.

Under the new deal, North Korea has promised to shut down and seal its main nuclear reactor in Yongbyon and allow international inspectors back into the communist country within 60 days in return for aid equivalent to 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil from the other participants in the talks--the United States, South Korea, China, Russia and Japan.

The North will get an additional 950,000 tons of fuel oil if it completely disarms its nuclear-related facilities.


Seoul, Feb. 20 (Yonhap News)

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