Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Washington Times
June 7, 2008
Pg. 2
The State Department said Friday its senior Korea specialist will travel to Pyongyang next week for talks with North Korean officials on disabling their nuclear complex at Yongbyon.
The U.S. diplomat, Sung Kim, will leave Washington on Sunday for Seoul, where he will meet both South Korean and Chinese officials. He travels to Pyongyang on Tuesday, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters.
One topic of discussion would be the possibility of North Korea destroying the cooling tower of its nuclear reactor at Yongbyon, said a U.S. official, speaking on the condition that he not be identified.
Under a 2005 multilateral agreement, North Korea promised to abandon all its nuclear programs in exchange for diplomatic and economic benefits. Under a subsequent accord, it agreed to produce a "complete and correct" declaration of all its nuclear programs and to disable its nuclear facilities as a prelude to their eventually being dismantled.
Out of 11 disablement tasks, the State Department has said three remain unfinished: the discharge of spent fuel from the Yongbyon reactor, the dismantling of its control rod mechanism, and the disabling of the fresh fuel rods.
"He is going to talk to them about those remaining areas and how to finish out the tasks," Mr. McCormack said.
June 7, 2008
Pg. 2
The State Department said Friday its senior Korea specialist will travel to Pyongyang next week for talks with North Korean officials on disabling their nuclear complex at Yongbyon.
The U.S. diplomat, Sung Kim, will leave Washington on Sunday for Seoul, where he will meet both South Korean and Chinese officials. He travels to Pyongyang on Tuesday, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters.
One topic of discussion would be the possibility of North Korea destroying the cooling tower of its nuclear reactor at Yongbyon, said a U.S. official, speaking on the condition that he not be identified.
Under a 2005 multilateral agreement, North Korea promised to abandon all its nuclear programs in exchange for diplomatic and economic benefits. Under a subsequent accord, it agreed to produce a "complete and correct" declaration of all its nuclear programs and to disable its nuclear facilities as a prelude to their eventually being dismantled.
Out of 11 disablement tasks, the State Department has said three remain unfinished: the discharge of spent fuel from the Yongbyon reactor, the dismantling of its control rod mechanism, and the disabling of the fresh fuel rods.
"He is going to talk to them about those remaining areas and how to finish out the tasks," Mr. McCormack said.