South Korea, US to wait for North Korea's nuclear shutdown
Apr 17, 2007 - 7:43:52 PM
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However, North Korea refused to honour its commitments until its accounts with BDA in Macao were unfrozen. Although information emerged last week that access to the accounts was provided, Pyongyang said it would make sure before stopping the reactor.
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By Xinhua,
[RxPG] Seoul, April 17 - South Korea and the US Tuesday agreed to wait a few more days for Pyongyang to shut down its nuclear facilities, the South Korean Foreign Ministry said.
South Korean Foreign Minister Song Min-soon and his US counterpart Condoleeza Rice held a telephonic conversation, said a foreign ministry press release.
'The two ministers reaffirmed that the door to the solution of the BDA - issue is clearly open to the North -, and agreed to continue working with the involved nations to resolve the issue,' the ministry said.
The decision came after Pyongyang missed a Saturday deadline, which is an agreement adopted by the six parties during their latest six-party talks on February 13, to shut down its nuclear facilities at Yongbyon.
Under the February agreement, South Korea was supposed to shut down and seal the Yongbyon facilities within 60 days in exchange for 50,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil or equivalent aid.
However, North Korea refused to honour its commitments until its accounts with BDA in Macao were unfrozen. Although information emerged last week that access to the accounts was provided, Pyongyang said it would make sure before stopping the reactor.
According to the ministry, Song and Rice 'expressed strong expectations that North Korea will take the denuclearisation steps under the agreement at an early date.'
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