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S. Korea, Japan Hopeful for Nuke Talks after Suspending Reactor Construction
South Korea and Japan expressed hope Saturday that suspending construction of two nuclear power plants in North Korea wonât frustrate efforts to persuade the North to dismantle its suspected nuclear weapons programs.Undoubtedly the NKors will have a measured, carefully-considered response. A U.S.-led consortium - which includes both South Korea and Japan, along with the European Union - said Friday it would halt the construction of the light-water reactors for a year. The decision came amid efforts to set up a second round of six-nation talks aimed at persuading North Korea to abandon its nuclear ambitions in return for security guarantees. North Korea did not immediately react to the one-year suspension, which takes effect Dec. 1. Spittle! 12-oâclock high! Japanese Foreign Ministry spokesman Jiro Okuyama said he hoped the suspension would prompt North Korea to ``dismantle its nuclear weapons development program in an irreversible, complete, and verifiable manner.ââ At the least, a senior South Korean government official involved in the reactor project said, it is hoped the suspension will not adversely affect the talks. NKors seem almost Arab-like in understanding cause-and-effect. In a separate development Saturday, Japanese newspapers reported that Tokyo is drafting legislation that would let it to slap economic sanctions on North Korea to pressure it to abandon its suspected nuclear weapons program. Yet another turn of the screw. The proposed bill comes as Japan hopes to take advantage of the next round of nuclear talks to question North Korea over the kidnapping of its citizens decades ago. North Korea, however, has warned that Japanâs pursuit of the issue could derail the fragile nuclear negotiations. Love the Japanese response on this — quiet continued pressing of the issue. State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said Thursday ``thereâs no futureââ for the project. But South Korea, Japan and the EU have favored using the prospect of reviving the $4.6 billion project to persuade North Korea to give up its plans to develop nuclear weapons. Carrot hasnât worked, letâs try another application of the Clue Bat. The light-water reactors are the biggest construction project in the North, coveted by the communist state. They are for power-generation, and itâs extremely difficult to use them for weapons purposes. Guess the lights wonât be on in North Korea at night. Not that theyâre ever on. Posted by: Steve White 2003-11-23 |
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