North Korea threatened to slow down disablement of its main nuclear facility yesterday after Washington said energy aid to the reclusive state had been suspended because of failed talks on verifying the North’s operations.
US State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack said all five countries negotiating with North Korea — Japan, Russia, China, the US and South Korea — had agreed that fuel shipments would not go forward until there was progress on a so-called verification protocol with Pyongyang.
“This is an action-for-action process,” McCormack told reporters in Washington. “Future fuel shipments aren’t going to move forward absent a verification regime ... they [the North Koreans] understand that.”
North Korean nuclear envoy Kim Kye-gwan was quoted by Kyodo news agency as telling reporters in Beijing that Pyongyang would “probably adjust the pace of disablement at nuclear facilities if [the aid] is suspended.”
The US negotiator with North Korea, Christopher Hill, returned to Washington after the failed Beijing talks and briefed US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Friday, said McCormack, adding that Hill would continue trying to get a deal.
“There’s the opportunity for North Korea to sign on to this verification protocol,” he said. “That still exists. We’ll see. The ball is in their court.”
Under an agreement last year, up to 1 million tonnes of heavy fuel aid was promised to North Korea as a reward for progress on denuclearization. Countries outside the five-nation group also have volunteered to supply North Korea with energy as a reward.
By the middle of last month, North Korea had received about half of the amount promised, the State Department said.
An unspecified amount of fuel was delivered this month by Russia and will finish being offloaded in North Korea next week, State Department spokesman Robert McInturff told reporters.
But McCormack said Russia made it clear in this week’s talks in Beijing that any future shipments would not be made until North Korea agreed to the verification protocol.
On the sidelines of talks with China and Japan and Beijing yesterday, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said he expected nuclear talks to restart after US president-elect Barack Obama takes office.
“Once the United States has the Obama administration, full-fledged discussions are expected,” Lee told reporters. “The North Korean nuclear issue turned out to be 10 years of disappointment, but it is also true that we have progressed little by little.”
ANNOUNCEMENT: People who do not comply with the ban after a spoken warning would be reported to the police, the airport company said on Friday Taoyuan International Airport Corp on Friday announced that riding on vehicles, including scooter-suitcases (also known as “scootcases”), bicycles, scooters and skateboards, is prohibited in the airport’s terminals. Those using such vehicles should manually pull them or place them on luggage trolleys, the company said in a Facebook post. The ban intends to maintain order and protect travelers’ safety, as the airport often sees large crowds of people, it said, adding that it has stepped up publicity for the regulation, and those who do not comply after a spoken warning would be reported to the police. The company yesterday said that
NEW YEAR’S ADDRESS: ‘No matter what threats and challenges Taiwan faces, democracy is the only path,’ William Lai said, urging progress ‘without looking back’ President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday urged parties across the political divide to democratically resolve conflicts that have plagued domestic politics within Taiwan’s constitutional system. In his first New Year’s Day address since becoming president on May 20 last year, Lai touched on several issues, including economic and security challenges, but a key emphasis was on the partisan wrangling that has characterized his first seven months in office. Taiwan has transformed from authoritarianism into today’s democracy and that democracy is the future, Lai said. “No matter what threats and challenges Taiwan faces, democracy is the only path for Taiwan,” he said. “The only choice
CORRUPTION: Twelve other people were convicted on charges related to giving illegal benefits, forgery and money laundering, with sentences ranging from one to five years The Yilan District Court yesterday found Yilan County Commissioner Lin Zi-miao (林姿妙) guilty of corruption, sentencing her to 12 years and six months in prison. The Yilan District Prosecutors’ Office in 2022 indicted 10 government officials and five private individuals, including Lin, her daughter and a landowner. Lin was accused of giving illegal favors estimated to be worth NT$2.4 million (US$73,213) in exchange for using a property to conduct activities linked to the 2020 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential and legislative election campaigns. Those favors included exempting some property and construction firms from land taxes and building code contraventions that would have required
TECH CORRIDOR: Technology centers and science parks in the south would be linked, bolstering the AI, semiconductor, biotech, drone, space and smart agriculture industries The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a “Southern Silicon Valley” project to promote the development of an artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductor industry in Chiayi County, Tainan, Pingtung County and Kaohsiung. The plan would build an integrated “S-shaped semiconductor industry corridor” that links technology centers and science parks in the south, Executive Yuan spokesperson Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said yesterday after a Cabinet meeting. The project would bolster the AI, semiconductor, biotech, drone, space and smart agriculture industries, she said. The proposed tech corridor would be supported by government efforts to furnish computing power, workforce, supply chains and policy measures that encourage application and integration
RSS