hankyoreh

During International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Mohamed ElBaradei’s visit North Korea on March 13-14, Pyongyang agreed to dismantle and shut down its Yongbyon nuclear reactor and reprocessing facilities under the inspection of IAEA officials, sources close to the matter said. The sources predicted this would be completed by March or early April.

The IAEA plans to hold a special meeting of the Board of Governors late this month or early next month on the Yongbyon dismantlement, and inspectors will visit North Korea after the meeting, the sources said. The plan was agreed upon during ElBaradei’s visit to Pyongyang, said sources.

A senior official close to the six-party talks to end the North’s nuclear program said on March 16 that North Korea and the IAEA will sign a written agreement on the North’s nuclear disarmament in Vienna after ElBaradei returns.

The return of the IAEA represents a step toward realizing the goals set forth in the February 13 statement forged at the last round of six-party talks; IAEA inspectors have not been to North Korea since they were kicked out by Pyongyang in late 2002.

On the same day morning, Christopher Hill, the chief U.S. negotiator in the six-party talks, said that he received briefing from ElBaradei about the North’s nuclear disarmament, including the process of shutdown, calling the briefing very positive in tone. Hill said that he was confident that North Korea would implement the agreement.

Related to this, a South Korean government official familiar with the six-party talks said, "I knew ElBaradei held all the necessary technical consultations in North Korea for the shutdown of the Yongbyon nuclear reactor. To dismantle and shut down, North Korea and the IAEA need a written agreement. If the written agreement is reached, it will be reported at the IAEA’s Board of Governers’ meeting."

In the meantime, negotiators for the six-party talks met at the Russian embassy in Beijing for their first working-group meeting since the February 13 agreement. Seoul’s chief negotiator for the talks said, "All nations agreed on a long-term need to build a peace regime in Northeast Asia."

An official close to the talks said, "North Korea wants to normalize ties with the U.S. and Japan, and hinted that it wants to become a responsible member of international society." "In addition, South Korea proposed that the parties seek common ground by comparing bilateral or multilateral security agreements, and all parties agreed," the official said.

A one-day working-group meeting on the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula was planned for March 17, but host China extended the meeting through March 18. At that meeting, ElBaradei’s visit to North Korea is slated for discussion, as well as the results of a March 15 meeting on economic cooperation with and energy aid to the North.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]