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NKorea says it won't recognise Japan at nuclear talks
2008-12-06
SEOUL (AFP) - North Korea said on Saturday it would not recognise Japan as a member of upcoming six-nation nuclear disarmament talks because it refuses to provide its share of energy aid promised to Pyongyang. It was unclear what effect the latest announcement would have on the next round of talks, which are set to resume in Beijing on Monday. "We will neither treat Japan as a party to the talks nor deal with it even if it impudently appears in the conference room, lost to shame," North Korea's foreign ministry said in a statement. The nuclear-armed North has frequently called for Japan to be excluded from the forum, which began meeting in August 2003 and has frequently come close to breakdown. But US chief negotiator Christopher Hill, who arrived late Saturday in South Korea and urged the North to improve ties with Japan, had predicted difficult discussions even before the latest statement from Pyongyang. Hill held two days of preparatory talks in Singapore this week with his North Korean counterpart Kim Kye-Gwan, focusing on ways in which outside inspectors can verify the North's declaration of its nuclear activities. He told reporters the issue would be the priority in Beijing. Hill said he also urged the North during the Singapore talks "to reach out and have better relations with its neighbours" including Japan, and to address Tokyo's concerns. "I think it would behoove them to issue fewer statements and do a little more work in terms of developing plans and ways for their country to progress," he said. Under a 2007 pact involving the two Koreas, Japan, China, the United States and Russia, the North agreed to disable facilities at its plutonium-producing Yongbyon nuclear complex and deliver a declaration of its nuclear activities. In return it was to get one million tons of fuel oil or energy aid of equivalent value. About half has so far been delivered. But Japan says it will not provide its 200,000 tons until the North accounts fully for Japanese nationals kidnapped by Pyongyang during the Cold War era. The North has admitted it seized Japanese to train its spies and in 2002 let five of them return. It says the others are dead but Japan believes they are still alive. The North's statement complained that Japan "persistently and impertinently insists on its participation in the talks though it is refusing to fulfil its commitment." Tokyo wants to block de-nuclearisation to give it a pretext to boost its military power, said the statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency. "Such country has neither justification nor qualification to participate in the talks," it said, noting that other countries are wiling to provide Japan's share of the aid. Australia, New Zealand and European Union member states have been approached to contribute, according to South Korea's foreign ministry. The US in October removed the North from a terrorism blacklist after announcing they had reached agreement on ways to check the nuclear declaration delivered last June. But the North now says it never agreed to let inspectors take samples of nuclear material out of the country for examination. The US says it did consent to the procedure, seen as crucial to assessing how much bomb-making plutonium has been produced. The country tested a nuclear weapon in October 2006. The US and its negotiating partners will press for a written agreement on verification procedures. "We need a situation where when we begin the verification there are no surprises," Hill said. The forum will also discuss a schedule for delivering the remaining energy aid and for completion of the disablement work. "I am sure the negotiations will be as usual: they will be difficult," Hill said Friday. He was to meet his South Korean counterpart Kim Sook before leaving Sunday for Beijing. Hill said he would have a meeting Sunday in the Chinese capital with South Korean and Japanese negotiators, and would also consult with the Russians and Chinese.
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