Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
Navigation
Primary Navigation
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Top Stories
Most Popular
Secondary Navigation
Australia
China
India
Indonesia
Japan
Malaysia
Philippines
Thailand
Vietnam
Search
Search:
US says no more fuel shipments to NKorea until nuke verification
AFP - Saturday, December 13
WASHINGTON (AFP) - - The United States said Friday that there would be no more fuel aid shipments to energy-strapped North Korea until Pyongyang agrees to a written plan to verify its nuclear disarmament.
The United States had warned that it would "rethink" its approach to North Korean nuclear disarmament after the latest round of six-country negotiations collapsed in Beijing on Thursday.
"The North Koreans have not come through and signed on to the verification protocol, which all other parties have agreed to," said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack.
"Future fuel shipments will not go forward absent a verification regime," McCormack told reporters after what he called an "understanding" among the United States, South Korea, Japan, China and Russia.
McCormack said one fuel shipment from Russia to North Korea was apparently already en route, but would be the last if Pyongyang did not accept nuclear disarmament verification procedures agreed earlier in the six-party talks.
"I think it's very difficult to turn off," he told the daily news briefing.
The six parties struck a landmark deal in February 2007 that promised diplomatic and economic incentives -- including energy aid -- to North Korea in return for giving up the nuclear programs it spent decades developing.
McCormack said the impasse has also put in limbo discussions to find an alternative supplier to Japan to ship fuel to North Korea as Tokyo insists that Pyongyang first clear up the cases of Japanese abducted during the Cold War.
"There were efforts to perhaps solicit donations of fuel oil from other parties not involved in the six-party talks ... And I don't see those going forward without agreement on a verification protocol," he added.
The failure of the talks in Beijing all but dashed the hopes of US President George W. Bush's administration to make progress on North Korean disarmament before Barack Obama moves into the White House.
The Bush administration had made solving the North Korean nuclear impasse a key foreign policy priority.
McCormack said that US negotiator Christopher Hill had returned from Beijing to give Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice "a more full briefing" about his discussions with the other parties.
Hill, the assistant secretary for East Asia and Pacific Affairs, will continue consultations with his counterparts from South Korea, Japan, Russia and China who have all returned to their capitals, he added.
McCormack did not rule out the risk that North Korea would resume steps it took months ago to restart its nuclear plants as it pressed demands to be taken off a US terrorism blacklist.
"Throughout (the negotiations) there have been stops and starts and various kinds of fits," McCormack said when asked about such a risk.
The negotiations that began in 2003 have been mired in countless setbacks, and did not prevent Pyongyang from testing its first atomic bomb in 2006.
And although the North made its declaration of its atomic activities in June, the next step in the process was working out a way to determine if it had been telling the truth.
In October, the United States struck North Korea from a blacklist of countries supporting terrorism after saying Pyongyang agreed to steps to verify its nuclear disarmament and pledged to resume disabling its atomic plants.
But the five other parties were unable in Beijing this week to get North Korea to commit all of those steps to paper.
McCormack said "this is an absolute matter of principle" for North Korea to sign up to a verification protocol because it is an "action-for-action negotiation."
He added: "The ball is in the North Koreans' court."
Email Story
IM Story
Printable View
Blog This
Recommend this article
Average (0 votes)
Sign in to recommend this article »
Most Recommended Stories »
Related Articles: Asia Pacific
Asian powers seek action on economy, NKoreaAFP - 25 minutes ago
Taiwan media urge fair trial for indicted ex-presidentAFP - 59 minutes ago
Sri Lanka says 10 rebels killed in fightingAP - 1 hour 6 minutes ago
Voters head to polls in Indian KashmirAP - 1 hour 34 minutes ago
Japan, SKorean leaders regret NKorean talks failureAFP - 1 hour 43 minutes ago
Enlarge Photo
US says no more fuel shipments to NKorea until nuke verification
Most Popular – Asia Pacific
Viewed
US carmakers mull options as White House vows aid
US Senate fails to reach deal on auto bailout
Autism, other disorders linked to post-natal factors: study
Muslim pilgrims stone Satan at the hajj
Sarcasm finds medical use in dementia detection
View Complete List »
Search:
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Top Stories
Most Popular