Nuke talks likely to move at slower pace

As the timetable for North Korea`s nuclear shutdown begins to take shape, the envisioned ministerial-level talks among the member countries of the six-party talks are likely to take place later than anticipated, sources said yesterday.

The North last week indicated that it will start shutting down its nuclear facilities in Yongbyon in sync with the arrival of the first batch of heavy fuel oil to be sent by South Korea this Saturday.

It will take about two or three days for the vessel carrying 6,200 tons of oil to reach to a North Korean port.

Following the arrival, North Korea will begin to close down its Yongbyon reactor and facilities, while the International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors will return to the North.

The IAEA inspectors are to take charge of monitoring the shutdown and follow-up surveillance.

It will thus be well into the third week of July when the Feb. 13 agreement on first-step measures is implemented.

It was anticipated that the six parties may be able to arrange the ministerial-level talks later this month.

While the United States and South Korea prefer to complete every step before holding further formal talks, China reportedly favors reopening negotiations at an earlier date. China is host to the six-party talks, which include the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia.

There are also suggestions that the ministers of the six-party talks could meet on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum in August in the Philippines, but it remains unclear whether all relevant ministers will attend the event. For example, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is preoccupied with the Iraq situation.

Gathering the ministers of the six-party talks in one place to discuss North Korea`s nuclear standoff would be considered a symbolically meaningful event that could help add momentum to the political commitment and smooth implementation of North Korea`s denuclearization.

North Korea, in the meantime, continued its verbal barrage against Japan, demanding that Japan ends its hostile policy toward Pyongyang and "actively participates" in the six-party talks process.

Chosun Sinbo, a pro-North Korean newspaper based in Tokyo said on Saturday that Japan should be excluded from the six-party forum if it continues to boycott the energy assistance program.

Japan has so far refused to accept its share of the cost of the heavy fuel oil for the North in return for denuclearization. Complicating the six-party talks, the Tokyo government has steadfastly demanded that the North first address the past abduction of 13 Japanese citizens.

As part of a deal adopted on Feb. 13, North Korea is entitled to 1 million tons of heavy fuel oil in exchange for shutting down and disabling its key weapons-related nuclear facilities. South Korea has volunteered to take sole responsibility for the first shipment of 50,000 tons of the energy aid.

Japan, however, does plan to partially fund the IAEA`s monitoring of North Korea`s denuclearization, according to Kyodo News.

Tokyo is willing to pay part of the estimated $5.3 million for the IAEA to monitor North Korea`s nuclear shutdown, over two years, the Nikkei newspaper said.

Japan and the United States are expected to shoulder the majority of the costs for the IAEA operation in the North, Kyodo News said.

When the six-party talks do resume, gaping differences with North Korea over economic sanctions present serious obstacles, a U.S. expert said in an interview.

The North calls for the complete elimination of sanctions by the United States as a precondition to substantive progress, while U.S. officials want to maintain sanctions, their only leverage in the talks, said John Feffer, a senior official at the International Relations Center, during an interview with Voice of America radio.

It will also be difficult to settle the extent of the required disablement of Pyongyang`s nuclear program, he added.

By Lee Joo-hee

(angiely@heraldm.com)