North Korea disarmament deadline slips

[maddezmom]

Source: Associated Press

North Korea disarmament deadline slips By CHARLES HUTZLER, Associated Press Writer
37 minutes ago



BEIJING - The deadline for North Korea to shut down it main nuclear reactor passed Saturday with no action taken by the communist country, leaving the top U.S. nuclear negotiator to surmise that the momentum had escaped disarmament talks.

Saturday's missed deadline marked the latest setback for an agreement that when reached in February offered the prospect of disarming the world's newest declared nuclear power. North Korea successfully exploded a nuclear bomb in October.

"We don't have a lot of momentum right now. That is for sure," U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill told reporters before meeting his Chinese counterpart, Wu Dawei.

The disarmament plan, reached after nearly four years of arduous negotiations, laid out a timetable for North Korea to dismantle its nuclear programs. The plan was unexpectedly disrupted by a dispute over frozen North Korean funds in a Macau bank that Washington said this past week was finally resolved.



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070414/ap_on_re_as/koreas_nuclear

[bananas]

1. Slip Slidin' Away

http://www.radioparadise.com/content.php?name=songinfo&song_id=2240

She said a good day
Ain't got no rain
She said a bad day's when I lie in bed
And think of things that might have been

[Eugene]

2. China urges patience on North Korea deadline D-day

Source: Reuters

China urges patience on North Korea deadline D-day

By Lindsay Beck and Ben Blanchard
Sat Apr 14, 7:09 AM ET

BEIJING (Reuters) - China urged the United States on Saturday to show
a bit more patience as North Korea appeared likely to miss a deadline
to shut down a nuclear reactor.

Under a multilateral deal struck on Feb, 13, Pyongyang agreed to shut
down its Soviet-era Yongbyon plant within 60 days, but it seems it has
not made good on that pledge because of millions of dollars frozen in
North Korean accounts at a Macau bank.

-snip-

"The Chinese wanted us to show some patience for a couple of more
days. There's a sense that the communication lines are open and the
North Koreans understand the fact that these accounts are accessible
to them."

-snip-

Hill said there had been a big diplomatic push to end the crisis. "We'd
like to see a similar level of effort from the DPRK -- a level of effort
that, frankly, we haven't been seeing," Hill said, referring to North
Korea by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
-snip-

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070414/wl_nm/korea_north_dc

[Eugene]

3. N.Korea must immediately invite IAEA inspectors: US

Source: Reuters

N.Korea must immediately invite IAEA inspectors: US

48 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - North Korea must immediately invite back
international nuclear inspectors and begin shutting down its Soviet-
era Yongbyon nuclear reactor to get promised energy aid, the U.S.
State Department said on Saturday.

"It remains for the DPRK (North Korea) to realize fully its commitments
... by inviting back the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency)
immediately to begin shutting and sealing the Yongbyon nuclear
facility," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in a
statement, saying this would allow other nations to provide it with
50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil.


Link: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070414/wl_nm/korea_north_usa_dc_1