April 11, 2007
Pyongyang to Close Reactor
on Receipt of Frozen Funds
Seoul
North Korea has assured a US delegation that it will honour its
agreement to close its contentious Yongbyon nuclear reactor
immediately after funds from previously frozen bank accounts in
Macau are accessed, officials said Wednesday.
"The North Korean government told us with that issue resolved, it
would move promptly within a day after receiving the funds,"
Democratic governor Bill Richardson said in Seoul following a
four-day visit to North Korea.
Pyongyang would then invite inspectors from the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA) "to draw up the terms for shutting down the
Yongbyon reactor," Richardson said.
The US lawmaker added that it would take "extraordinary effort" to
meet the Saturday deadline for shutting down the reactor, agreed in
February in talks with the United States, China, South Korea, Japan
and Russia in return for energy and other aid and talks on
normalization of ties with Washington and Tokyo.
Richardson's comments follow earlier reports quoting a North Korean
official in which it was indicated that Pyongyang would require an
extension of at least 30 days.
Kim Kye Gwan, North Korea's top nuclear negotiator, made the
announcement to the delegation in Pyongyang, the US television
network NBC reported.
Implementation of the February agreement had been delayed over a
dispute involving 50 frozen North Korean accounts at the Macau-based
Banco Delta Asia bank.
Pyongyang refused to shut down the reactor until the money was
released, and on Tuesday, the US government announced that the Banco
Delta Asia was ready to free the accounts, which were frozen after
being linked to illicit financial activities, such as
counterfeiting, drug trafficking and money laundering.
Christopher Hill, the chief US negotiator in the nuclear talks, had
earlier Wednesday pressed Pyongyang to start dismantling its nuclear
weapons programme, saying the dispute over the frozen funds had been
resolved.
"It's our hope that the DPRK will understand the need to move ahead
with denuclearisation," Hill said, referring to North Korea by the
acronym of its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of
Korea.
The US delegation in North Korea discussed the frozen accounts with
Kim during Wednesday's meeting. The Americans had travelled to
Pyongyang to recover the remains of US soldiers killed during the
1950-1953 Korean War.
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