[USFK Forums] North Korea reactor plan may hurt disarmament talks: Seoul {Reuters]

[C. Y. Lee]

Uploaded by C. Y. Lee on Thursday, December 22, 2005

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North Korea reactor plan may hurt disarmament talks: Seoul

Reuters, Wed Dec 21, 8:41 AM ET

North Korea's plan to build light-water atomic reactors and develop other reactors capable of producing fissile material could harm a nuclear disarmament deal signed by Pyongyang, South Korea's foreign minister said on Wednesday.

"It runs counter to the spirit of the agreement reached on September 19 for North Korea to boost peaceful nuclear activity," Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon told reporters at a briefing.

He was referring to a deal reached at six-party talks under which North Korea agreed to scrap its nuclear weapons programs in exchange for economic aid, security assurances and greater diplomatic recognition.

The North announced on Tuesday its intention to build the light-water reactors and threatened to resume work on two graphite-moderated reactors, which could produce large amounts of material for atomic bombs.

"North Korea should fulfil necessary measures to stop its nuclear activity and abandon its nuclear weapon program for denuclearization, based on the sprit of the agreement," Ban said.

In Washington, the U.S. State Department has made clear that any reactor construction would break commitments North Korea made at the talks among the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States.

Nuclear experts say North Korea, which operates one small nuclear reactor built with technology from the 1960s and 1970s, lacks the technology or money to build light-water reactors any time soon.

The North's comments on the reactors could further complicate an already difficult negotiating process, diplomats said.

The next round of the six-party talks is likely to take place in January, according to sources familiar with the discussions. But there is doubt about whether North Korea will participate, partly because of Pyongyang's anger over a U.N. vote to condemn it for human rights abuses and a U.S. crackdown on its finances.

North Korea almost scuttled an outline statement agreed in September among the parties by demanding the United States build it a light-water reactor before it even started to consider scrapping its nuclear weapons programs.