All sides participating in the six-party talks reached an agreement Tuesday
with North Korea to disable its nuclear facilities in exchange for
energy assistance, said a South Korean official.
North Korea agreed to begin disabling the facilities in exchange
for energy assistance from other related parties, said Lim
Sung-nam, South Korea's representative at a working-group talk in
the village of Panmunjom.
"We had very productive and specific technical discussions," Lim
said. "The sides reached an unofficial understanding that the
promised energy assistance equivalent to 950,000 tons of heavy fuel
oil will be provided in the form of 450,000 tons of heavy oil and
other assistance equivalent to 500,000 tons of heavy oil," Lim
explained.
Representatives from China, South and North Korea, the US,
Russia, and Japan launched the two-day working-group talks at
Panmunjom Monday.
North Korea sparked world alarm in October 2006 by testing its
first nuclear weapon; however, leaders agreed in February to
declare and disable its nuclear programs in return for 1 million
tons of heavy fuel oil or equivalent energy aid.
After North Korea shut down its nuclear reactor and other plants
in July, South Korea sent an initial 50,000 tons of oil.
(Xinhua News Agency October 31, 2007)
