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International

Bid to prevent N. Korea's "re-nuclearisation"

P. S. Suryanarayana

SINGAPORE: United States envoy Christopher Hill is now in Pyongyang to try and dissuade North Korea from re-starting its nuclear weapons programme, according to the South Korean authorities in Seoul. No details were made public until nightfall on Thursday.

However, Mr. Hill was "not" offering the North Koreans "any new substance in terms of proposals," according to the U.S. State Department. He was, of course, discussing new ideas about the "choreography" of the "process" of Six-Party Talks (SPT) on North Korea's denuclearisation, it was emphasised. An idea in focus was that China, as the SPT Chair, could once again be asked to play "a special role" in advancing the "choreography" of securing North Korea's assent to a verification protocol.

The latest crisis was triggered by Pyongyang's decision to ask the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to de-seal the reprocessing plant at the Yongbyon nuclear complex. The plant was earlier "disabled" under IAEA supervision and in terms of an SPT accord. The SPT participants are the U.S., North Korea, China, South Korea, Japan, and Russia.

With the IAEA de-sealing the plant and removing surveillance gadgets and withdrawing inspectors from there by September 24, North Korea announced its intention of reactivating the reprocessing facility, an essential step in "re-nuclearisation," in a week's time from then. However, as the dialogue partners expressed concern, Pyongyang invited Mr. Hill for talks.

At the heart of the current dispute is the refusal by North Korea to subject its own "nuclear declaration" to the "standards" of verification that the U.S. proposed. The "declaration" or disclosure about Pyongyang's nuclear programmes and facilities was earlier made under an SPT agreement. And, North Korea remains on the U.S. list of "state-sponsors of terror."

On a different front, inter-Korean military talks were held on Thursday, signalling the first dialogue between the two Koreas since the assumption of office by South Korean President Lee Myung-bak in February. Neither side reported progress; and Pyongyang maintained that its ties with South Korea were now in "a serious situation."

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