N.Korea should end its nuclear program before getting reactor - Russia

Category Nation/CIS
Source RIA Novosti

SAN FRANCISCO — Supplies of light-water nuclear reactors to North Korea can only be considered after it dismantles its nuclear program, the Russian foreign minister said Wednesday. Sergei Lavrov said he discussed the issue with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. He said they agreed that the sequence of steps laid down in the Beijing agreements should be observed - supplies of light-water nuclear reactors can only be considered after the nuclear program was dropped.

Speaking at Stanford University (California), Lavrov also said North Korea's latest stance could be purely emotional. It was not the first time that Pyongyang made such emotional statements. It could also be a result of misunderstanding or inaccurate translation, he said.

The latest round of the six-nation talks on the North Korean nuclear program yielded a final statement on September 19 which confirmed North Korea's right to conduct peaceful nuclear research. Pyongyang in turn pledged to give up its nuclear weapons program and to rejoin the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT).

But, after the document was adopted, North Korea said it would end its nuclear program only after the United States built a light-water nuclear reactor in the country, referring to a 1994 agreement with the United States.

The construction of a light-water reactor started under the deal but was suspended when the Bush administration came to power. Washington's argument was that North Korea was not a part of the NPT.

The issue is to be considered at the fifth round of six- nation talks to be held in Beijing in early December.