Japan Proposes ‘Another Document’ on North Korea’s Nuclear Report Promise

Text of report by Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun website on 20 June

[Unattributed report: "The Foreign Minister Indicates an Intention To Approve of Postponing North Korea's 'Nuclear Notification' 26 The Idea of Drawing Up Another Document Comes Up"]

Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura hinted that even if nuclear weapons-related information is not included in a “nuclear programme declaration” that North Korea will present to China, the chair of the six-party talks, to provide such materials as the total amount of plutonium it has already extracted, Japan intends to approve it from the viewpoint of promoting denuclearization. Komura made the suggestion at a news conference on 20 June.

It is expected that the declaration will be presented in the near future. Japan, the United States, and South Korea are considering having North Korea submit a document on its promise to report its nuclear weapons programme in the future, separately from the [nuclear programme] declaration [in question].

The foreign minister said, “There is also the view that it is better to have [North Korea] (report its nuclear weapons development) in the next stage in order to achieve the goal of denuclearization, even if it means easing (the requirements for declaration).” It is believed that by making this comment, the foreign minister indicated Japan’s intention to flexibly deal with the issue, in response to the fact that the United States, South Korea, and others have softened their attitudes from the position of giving priority to progress in the six-party talks and have said that North Korea’s “nuclear weapons dismantling process can come after its declaration on the nuclear programme.”

In this regard, it has been revealed that at the meeting of the Japanese, US, and South Korean chief delegates to the six-party talks on 19 June, Japan proposed that North Korea “should draw up another document to promise to report and dismantle its nuclear weapons after the six-party talks enter the next stage towards a complete dismantlement of nuclear weapons” and that the United States and South Korea also indicated their intentions to consider the proposal.

North Korea’s nuclear programme declaration is expected to include 1) records of operations of nuclear reactors; and 2) nuclear- related materials, facilities, and programmes – in addition to the amount of extracted plutonium.

Originally published by Yomiuri Shimbun website, Tokyo, in Japanese 20 Jun 08.

(c) 2008 BBC Monitoring Asia Pacific. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.