North Korea stops its nuclear disarmament
Washington, 26 August (IranVNC)—North Korea announced today that it would stop disabling its nuclear reactor and is considering restarting its plutonium enrichment in response to the US failure to remove the country from its blacklist of terror sponsors, AP reports.
By: IranVNC
Published: Tuesday, August 26, 2008
17:31GMT—1:31PM/EST
NORTH KOREA – NUCLEAR – US – TERROR LIST
Washington, 26 August (IranVNC)—North Korea announced today that it would stop disabling its nuclear reactor and is considering restarting its plutonium enrichment in response to the US failure to remove the country from its blacklist of terror sponsors, AP reports.
“The U.S. postponed the process of delisting the (North) as a ‘state sponsor of terrorism,’” said a statement released by Pyongyang’s Foreign Ministry. “Now that the U.S. breached the agreed points, the (North) is compelled to take [countermeasures],” reports AP quoting the official Korean Central News Agency.
The move is expected to cause considerable tension between North Korea and the countries involved in the nuclear negotiations, China, Japan, South Korea, the U.S., and Russia. The talks finally came to a head in late June, when Pyongyang agreed to disarm its nuclear program.
Removal from the US list of terror sponsors was a major incentive for North Korea to accept the major powers’ demand that it disable its nuclear activities.
White House spokesperson Tony Fratto said that the U.S. told North Korea that Washington would “take action to rescind [Pyongyang’s] designation [as a state sponsor of terrorism] when it fulfills its commitment regarding verification.”
South Korea expressed regret over the major setback in the negotiations, Reuters reports.
“We urge North Korea to resume disablement measures at an early date,” said South Korea’s Foreign Ministry in a statement.
Japan has also expressed concern and promised to work with the other countries involved to restore the original disarmament plan.
Sources: Associated Press, Reuters
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