14 May 2008
North Korean Nuclear Documents a Step Forward, United States Says
Materials may mean forward progress for Six-Party Talks
Washington -- As translators and analysts review 18,882 pages of newly released North Korean nuclear documents, a top U.S. diplomat says the materials may represent “an important first step” toward a long-delayed declaration of Pyongyang’s nuclear activities.
“The North Koreans acknowledged the requirement for verification and indeed agreed to cooperate fully with verification activities,” Sung Kim, director of the State Department’s Office of Korean Affairs, said in a May 13 Washington briefing.
Kim showed journalists samples of the materials he brought back from his May 8 visit to North Korea -- 314 volumes of operating records for the Yongbyon nuclear complex, dating back to 1986, filling seven boxes. By reviewing the materials, experts hope to find out how much weapons-grade plutonium North Korea produced at the site.
Under the Six-Party Talks with negotiators from China, Japan, South Korea, Russia and the United States, North Korea will receive a package of economic and diplomatic incentives in exchange for a full declaration of past nuclear activities and the disabling of its nuclear infrastructure.
Although North Koreans have completed eight of 11 steps toward disabling Yongbyon, the process has been delayed since December 31, 2007, when North Korea missed a Six-Party Talks deadline to deliver its declaration of past nuclear activities to negotiators.
Kim said two recent rounds of meetings in North Korea have yielded “detailed, substantive discussions” on the declaration, which he said were likely to continue through Pyongyang’s representatives at the United Nations in New York. But Kim acknowledged that it was “too early to tell whether it would be ready any time soon.”
Once the Yongbyon documents are verified and processed, they will be one of several items used to verify North Korea’s declaration when it is completed and delivered to China, which chairs the multilateral process.
The declaration also will be expected to address concerns about a suspected uranium enrichment program, as well as North Korean cooperation with other countries seeking nuclear technologies.
“Obviously, the documents themselves are not enough,” Kim said. “We will need to conduct a very full verification, including access to their facilities, sampling and interviews with personnel involved in their programs.”
Since returning from North Korea, Kim has spoken with his South Korean, Japanese and Chinese counterparts about the visit. In the coming weeks, he said, U.S. envoy to the talks Christopher Hill will be continuing the conversation.
“This certainly was another step forward for us, though this is a long road,” said State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey. “We intend to follow it to the extent possible.”
