South Korean Minister Expects North Nuclear Dismantlement Steps
Text of report in English by South Korean news agency Yonhap
SEOUL, July 12 (Yonhap) – South Korea on Thursday sent its first shipment of heavy fuel oil to North Korea as part of a six-party deal calling for the communist state to denuclearize in exchange for economic and other benefits, officials said.
A 6,750-tonne tanker loaded with 6,200 tonnes of heavy fuel oil left the southeastern port of Ulsan for North Korea’s Sonbong.
“We expect North Korea to take initial steps (towards its nuclear dismantlement) as its Foreign Ministry mentioned on July 6,” Unification Minister Lee Jae-jeong [Yi Chae-cho'ng] said in a press briefing.
Delivery of fuel was one of the commitments that had to be fulfilled before Pyongyang would take steps to denuclearize and shut down its main nuclear reactor, which produces weapons-grade plutonium.
South Korea is to deliver 50,000 metric tons of heavy fuel oil within 20 days. North Korea will receive 1 million tons of heavy fuel oil in exchange for taking steps to shut down and disable its key nuclear facilities. South Korea is responsible for the first shipment of 50,000 tons.
Last week, North Korea said it is ready to shut down its nuclear reactor once it receives the first shipment of fuel oil that will be used to operate its electric power plants.
The vessel is expected to arrive in the North Korean port Saturday after a 36-hour voyage. It is scheduled to return to South Korea on Monday or Tuesday.
On Monday, South Korea signed a contract with SK Energy to provide 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil to North Korea valued at 22.2 billion won (US$22 million).
The date of delivery, originally set for July 14, has been advanced as North Korea is moving to shut down its main nuclear reactor under the Feb. 13 agreement.
With the earlier-than-expected oil delivery, South Korea expects that North Korea will accelerate shutting down its nuclear reactor at Yongbyon, about 90 kilometres north of Pyongyang.
The cost of the aid is to be shouldered equally by five of the nations in the six-party talks. But Japan has vowed not to provide any assistance to the North until the decades-old issue of Japanese citizens abducted by Pyongyang is resolved.
Implementation of the February deal had been delayed because of a banking dispute over US$25 million of the North’s funds that were frozen in a Macau bank because of US pressure. The issue was resolved in June after the money was transferred to Pyongyang with the help of the US and Russian central banks.
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