hankyoreh

Sung Kim, director of the Korea Desk in the State Department of the United States is to head the delegation that will inspect the Yongbyon nuclear facilities in North Korea and participate in discussions necessary for their disablement.

The delegation, composed of engineers from the United States, China and Russia, is scheduled to visit North Korea from Sept. 11-15 and will inspect core facilities, including a 5-megawatt nuclear reactor which was shut down by North Korea last month.

In addition to holding inspections, the team is expected to discuss the degree and methods for disablement, while discussions of costs and other details are likely to be discussed during the sixth round of six-party talks, slated for Sept. 17. The invitation, which was extended by the North last week, has been hailed as a significant step forward for the six parties involved in ongoing negotiations aimed at denuclearizing the North and normalizing diplomatic relations.

The U.S. delegation, consisting of Kim and officials from the Department of State, Department of Energy and National Security Council, will arrive in Seoul on Sept. 10 for talks with South Korea’s deputy nuclear negotiator Lim Sung-nam. The following day, the U.S. delegates plan to travel to Pyongyang via Panmunjeom, the truce village located on the heavily fortified border of the demilitarized zone. The Chinese and Russian delegations will go to Pyongyang through Beijing.

Regarding the fact that a U.S. diplomat is leading the delegation of professionals from the three nations, a South Korean government official said that the United States is expected to take the lead in matters related to the North’s nuclear disablement from now on.

Kim accompanied U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill when he visited North Korea from June 21-22. Kim has also had contact with Kim Myong-gil, North Korea’s deputy chief of mission to the United Nations, as a member of the U.S. delegation to the six-party talks.

Efforts to denuclearize North Korea largely fall under an agreement reached in February and signed by the six nations of North and South Korea, the United States, China, Japan and Russia. Under the agreement, the North agreed to dismantle and provide full declaration of its nuclear programs in exchange for political and economic benefits.

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