Chief nuclear envoys from the two Koreas met in New York, where
North Korea showed a commitment to implementing its recent
agreement to start dismantling its nuclear weapons program, news
reports in South Korea said Sunday.
"Without a doubt, the North is committed to taking initial
steps" for disarmament as agreed on last month at international
nuclear talks, South Korea 's chief nuclear negotiator Chun
Yung-woo told reporters after a meeting with his North Korean
counterpart, Kim Kye-gwan, the South's Yonhap news agency
reported.
North Korea "has a will to do its part" in implementing the
nuclear deal, Chun was quoted as saying.
Kim arrived in New York on Friday for talks on establishing
diplomatic relations with the United States, one of the agreements
reached under the disarmament accord.
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The bilateral talks were set to be held today and tomorrow, with
the top American negotiator at the six-party talks, Christopher Hill, representing
the US and Kim representing North Korea.
At the US-North Korean talks, "it will be important to create
political conditions," Chun said, but declined to comment further,
according to Yonhap.
In outlining the first phase of Pyongyang's disarmament process,
the February 13 deal calls on North Korea to shut down its main
nuclear reactor and allow UN inspectors back into the country
within 60 days.
In return, it would receive aid equal to 50,000 tons of heavy
fuel oil from the other countries participating in the nuclear
talks - the United States, South Korea, Russia, China and
Japan.
(China Daily via agencies March 5, 2007)
