N Korea to destroy nuclear facility
Pyongyang set to destroy Yongbyon cooling tower one day after handing over long-delayed report.
Al Jazeera’s Melissa Chan, reporting from Beijing where Pyongyang handed over its nuclear programme declaration on Thursday, said the North Koreans appeared keen to have the image of the tower’s destruction seen worldwide.
The normally reclusive state had invited foreign media into the country to witness the event, capitalising on its public relations potential, our correspondent said.
The event, which was to have taken place at 02:00 GMT on Friday, had been delayed by a few hours for unspecified reasons, our correspondent reported.
Shortly after Beijing confirmed receiving the declaration of North Korea’s nuclear programme on Thursday, George Bush, the US president, said Washington would start the process of taking Pyongyang off its list of state sponsors of terrorism.
“North Korea has begun describing its plutonium-related activities … It has promised access to the reactor core and waste facilities at Yongbyon, as well as personnel related to its nuclear programme,” Bush said at the White House in Washington.
“The United States is responding to North Korea’s actions with two actions of its own. I’m issuing a proclamation that lifts the provisions of the Trading With The Enemy Act … secondly, I am notifying congress of my intent to rescind North Korea’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism in 45 days.
“During this period, the United States will carefully observe North Korea’s actions, and act accordingly.”
Bush’s remarks came despite close ally Japan expressing its unease over Pyongyang being taken off the US blacklist before the issue of its citizens being kidnapped by North Korea is resolved.
‘End these activities’
The removal of North Korea from the US terrorist-sponsor list could ease international trade and financial restrictions, as well as improving ties between Pyongyang and Washington.
|
“North Korea must dismantle all of its nuclear facilities, give up its separated plutonium, resolve outstanding questions on its highly enriched uranium and proliferation activities, and end these activities in a way that we can fully verify” George Bush, |
The US actions would depend on verification of continued North Korean moves towards its nuclear disarmament, Bush said.
“The two actions the United States is taking will have little impact on North Korea’s financial and diplomatic isolation … All United Nations Security Council sanctions will stay in place as well,” he said.
“North Korea must dismantle all of its nuclear facilities, give up its separated plutonium, resolve outstanding questions on its highly enriched uranium and proliferation activities, and end these activities in a way that we can fully verify.”
The North Korean report delivered to Chinese officials is a truncated version of a declaration originally sought by Washington.
Al Jazeera’s correspondent said the report does not appear to answer any questions about the North Koreans’ nuclear enrichment programme and does not specifically say how many nuclear warheads they have.
Some critics say the report is not a full disclosure of what the North Koreans have been up to in the past few years but others say any sort of development of this kind should be welcomed as a positive move.