US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill traveled to North Korea yesterday in a bid to rescue a faltering nuclear disarmament deal and prevent Pyongyang from rebuilding a plant that made weapons-grade plutonium.
Hill’s visit, at the invitation of the North Koreans, comes days after the North threatened to break away from the disarmament-for-aid package and try to start separating plutonium at its nuclear plant that was being taken apart under the deal.
Hill arrived by car in Pyongyang in the afternoon, the North’s KCNA news agency said.
A senior US official has described Hill’s visit as a “last-ditch effort to get things on track.”
Analysts have said the North might be trying to pressure the outgoing US President George W. Bush looks for diplomatic successes to bolster its legacy. The North might also be thinking it can seek a better deal under a new US president.
Hill told reporters in Seoul on Tuesday he would press Pyongyang to accept a system to verify statements it made about its nuclear program and answer US suspicions of a secret project to enrich uranium for weapons.
“What they have been doing, obviously, goes against the spirit of what we have been trying to accomplish,” Hill said on Tuesday.
He did not say when he planned to return.
Minor activity has been spotted at the site of the North’s 2006 nuclear test, on the east coast and away from Yongbyon, indicating the North may be working to restore the test site, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency quoted a government source as saying.
Smoke was seen rising from the site, probably from workers burning clothing and equipment, the source was quoted as saying, but there was no indication that heavy equipment was being moved. The South’s spy agency could not confirm the report.
Seoul and Pyongyang have also agreed to hold military talks today, the South Korean defense ministry said yesterday.
The meeting is to be held at the truce village of Panmunjom in the demilitarized zone dividing the Korean Peninsula, the ministry said.
The North proposed last week to resume working-level military talks in a rare overture to the South.
It has suspended all government-to-government contacts with Seoul since conservative South Korean President Lee Myung-bak took office in February with promises of a tougher North Korea policy.
Ties soured further after North Korean soldiers in July shot dead a Seoul tourist who strayed into a restricted zone at a North Korean resort.
The North has blamed the South for the incident and refused to let it send an investigation team. Seoul canceled tours to the resort and withdrew staff.
In related news, South Korea showcased guided missiles and other new weaponry in a parade marking the 60th anniversary of its armed forces yesterday.
The parade through Seoul involved 86 new weapons — developed locally or introduced from abroad — such as tanks, armored vehicles, anti-aircraft guns and guided missiles, organizers said.
About 2,500 soldiers and hundreds of veterans from South Korea and other countries took part in the first street parade in five years.
On display were SLAM-ER air-to-ground missiles with a range of 278km displayed on a truck. Ground-to-ground Hyun Moo missiles with a maximum range of 180km were also on show.
Two Patriot missiles were also on display for the first time locally.
South Korea has agreed to buy 48 second-hand Patriot missiles from Germany to build its defenses against the North.
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