Anyone following this whole N. Korea thang?? I thought I was annoyed with them before, but I'm really peeved now!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050920...j2CscEA;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl
SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea demanded Tuesday that the United States give it a light water nuclear reactor before it rejoins the international Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and ends its weapons program.
The North's Foreign Ministry made the demand a day after it agreed at six-nation talks in Beijing to give up its arms efforts, rejoin the treaty, and accept inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
"We will return to the NPT and sign the safeguards agreement with the IAEA and comply with it immediately upon the U.S. provision of LWRs, a basis of confidence-building to us," the ministry said in the statement, carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency.
During the talks, North Korea had demanded that it be given the light water reactor โ a type less easily diverted for weapons use โ but Washington had said it and other participating countries wouldn't meet that request.
A joint statement issued at the Beijing talks' conclusion indicated that question was being put aside for the time being: "The other parties expressed their respect and agreed to discuss at an appropriate time the subject of the provision of light-water reactor" to North Korea.
The joint statement said the North "committed to abandoning all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs and returning at an early date" to the treaty.
"The six parties unanimously reaffirmed that the goal of the six-party talks is the verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in a peaceful manner," it said.
However, the North appeared to take a markedly different interpretation of that agreement, saying in its Tuesday statement said that its most serious differences with the U.S. was the North's "right to nuclear activity for a peaceful purpose, to be specific, the issue of the U.S. provision of light water reactors (LWR) to the former."
The envoys โ from China, Japan, Russia, the United States and the two Koreas โ agreed to return in early November to begin hashing out details of how to implement the broad principles outlined in Monday's agreement.
Besides North Korea and the United States, China, Japan, Russia and South Korea participated in the talks. Their statement was the first breakthrough since the negotiations began in August 2003.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050920...j2CscEA;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl
SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea demanded Tuesday that the United States give it a light water nuclear reactor before it rejoins the international Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and ends its weapons program.
The North's Foreign Ministry made the demand a day after it agreed at six-nation talks in Beijing to give up its arms efforts, rejoin the treaty, and accept inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
"We will return to the NPT and sign the safeguards agreement with the IAEA and comply with it immediately upon the U.S. provision of LWRs, a basis of confidence-building to us," the ministry said in the statement, carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency.
During the talks, North Korea had demanded that it be given the light water reactor โ a type less easily diverted for weapons use โ but Washington had said it and other participating countries wouldn't meet that request.
A joint statement issued at the Beijing talks' conclusion indicated that question was being put aside for the time being: "The other parties expressed their respect and agreed to discuss at an appropriate time the subject of the provision of light-water reactor" to North Korea.
The joint statement said the North "committed to abandoning all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs and returning at an early date" to the treaty.
"The six parties unanimously reaffirmed that the goal of the six-party talks is the verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in a peaceful manner," it said.
However, the North appeared to take a markedly different interpretation of that agreement, saying in its Tuesday statement said that its most serious differences with the U.S. was the North's "right to nuclear activity for a peaceful purpose, to be specific, the issue of the U.S. provision of light water reactors (LWR) to the former."
The envoys โ from China, Japan, Russia, the United States and the two Koreas โ agreed to return in early November to begin hashing out details of how to implement the broad principles outlined in Monday's agreement.
Besides North Korea and the United States, China, Japan, Russia and South Korea participated in the talks. Their statement was the first breakthrough since the negotiations began in August 2003.
