The U.S. accused North Korea in late 2002 of seeking to secretly enrich uranium in violation of an earlier nuclear disarmament deal, an accusation that sparked the latest nuclear standoff. The North has consistently denied it has such a program, which it would need to include in the nuclear declaration.

“The North maintains its previous stance over (the uranium enrichment program),” the Foreign Ministry official said after a Friday meeting in Seoul with Sung Kim, the U.S. State Department’s top Korea expert who visited North Korea last week. The official asked not to be identified, citing policy.

North Korea has pledged to declare all its nuclear programs by year’s end under an international disarmament agreement. In exchange, Washington and regional partners promised Pyongyang energy aid and political concessions, including its removal from a U.S. terrorism blacklist.

U.S. and South Korean officials have indicated North Korea will probably not meet the year-end deadline for a complete declaration of its nuclear programs.

Complicating the process was a recent news report quoting U.S. scientists who said they found uranium traces on aluminum tubes in North Korea — materials that could be used in the process of converting hot uranium gas into fuel for nuclear weapons. The North said the tubes were not for use in uranium enrichment — a claim the Washington Post report decries.

In Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice would not comment on the news report.

The South Korean Foreign Ministry said Sunday working-level officials from the two Koreas and China would meet in Pyongyang for three days beginning Tuesday to discuss the issue of energy-related equipment aid under the international disarmament deal.

Subscribe to The China Post and save.  Click hereSharePrintEmail

Write a Comment

Enter your comments - 800 characters max

Receive China Post promos

Respond to this email