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Temporary suspension of operations?

P. S. Suryanarayana

SINGAPORE: North Korea's state news agency has described the shutdown of the Yongbyon nuclear complex, the centrepiece of the six-party accord, as "a temporary suspension of the operation." However, there was no immediate statement on these lines from the Foreign Ministry.

The closure over a 60-day timeline and the extension of conventional energy aid to Pyongyang form the core of the accord reached in Beijing on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Tokyo on Wednesday said, "There is no split at all between Japan and the U.S." over the accord.

Clarification

The clarification follows Japan's refusal to go along with its long-standing ally, the U.S., in extending energy supplies to North Korea.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Tomohiko Taniguchi told The Hindu on Wednesday that North Korea's willingness to shutdown Yongbyon was "a very minor and small step." Japan did, nonetheless, feel "encouraged" by the accord, he said.

Japan, he said, was giving itself "a 30-day window" to assess the situation.

According to the accord, the two nations are expected to start talks on normalising ties.

The working group will cover Tokyo's insistence on tangible progress on North Korea's acknowledged abduction of Japanese nationals during the Cold War period. Japan demands the repatriation of all the surviving kidnap-victims and a full explanation of the entire episode.

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