North Korea's insistence on a light-water nuclear reactor was
identified as a key sticking point in the six-party
talks on the Korean Peninsular nuclear issue by both South
Korean and US delegations yesterday.
"At present, the demand of North Korea for a light-water reactor
and the scope of dismantlement of nuclear programs remain the
crucial differences," said South Korean delegation chief Song
Min-soon.
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Chief US negotiator Christopher Hill described a bilateral meeting
with North Korea as "lengthy" and fruitless because of the demand,
offered in exchange for scrapping all nuclear weapons
programs.
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"Neither the United States nor any other participants in the
six-party process is prepared to fund a light-water reactor," he
said, and that Pyongyang could get conventional energy, security
guarantees and economic assistance under the fourth draft of a
common document circulated by China.
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China, Japan, North Korea, Russia, South Korea and the US reopened
the second phase of the fourth round of talks in Beijing on Tuesday
after a five-week recess.
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"Since the resumption of the talks, all parties have held a series
of one-to-one meetings to be acquainted with each other's
position," Song told a news briefing. "In the next step, the
parties will continue to hold bilateral consultations according to
their needs."
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"There is little possibility for North Korea to make concessions on
its right to civilian nuclear programs from both political and
economic perspectives," said Piao Jianyi, a professor at the
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Asia-Pacific Institute.
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North Korea is demanding the right to have a civilian nuclear
program while the US wants full dismantlement of all of its nuclear
programs.
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Hill said North Korea's demand for a light-water reactor has gone
beyond the fourth draft. "We consider the fourth draft to be an
excellent basis for reaching the goals of principles that will
guide us to the eventual agreement," he said.
Song said the talks have not yet entered the stage of
formulating an agreement, adding that China is collecting and
sorting out opinions from all the parties in verbal or written
forms.
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The first three rounds of six-party talks ended inconclusively. The
fourth round began in late July.
(Xinhua News Agency September 15, 2005)