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N. Korea demands nuke reactor from U.S.
(AP)
Updated: 2005-09-20 18:59
North Korea insisted Tuesday it won't dismantle its nuclear weapons program
until the U.S. gives it civilian nuclear reactors, casting doubt on a
disarmament agreement reached a day earlier during international talks, the
Associated Press reported.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher
Hill, left, shakes hands with North Korean chief negotiator Kim Gye Gwan
as South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Song Min-soon, center, looks on at
the close of talks over North Korea's nuclear crisis at the Diaoyutai
state guest house in Beijing, China, Monday, Sept. 19, 2005. Diplomats
from six nations issued a joint statement at the end of the latest round
of talks. [AP] |
Washington reiterated its rejection of the reactor demand and joined China in
urging North Korea to stick to the agreement announced Monday in which it
pledged to abandon all its nuclear programs in exchange for economic aid and
security assurances.
North Korea's new demands underlined its unpredictable nature and deflated
some optimism from the Beijing agreement, the first since negotiations began in
August 2003 among the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia.
"The U.S. should not even dream of the issue of (North Korea's) dismantlement
of its nuclear deterrent before providing (light-water reactors), a physical
guarantee for confidence-building," the North's Foreign Ministry said in a
statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.
U.S. officials dismissed the demand.
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 | | | North Korea to drop nuclear weapons development | | |  | | | Clinton Global Initiative Summit | | |  | | | Schwarzenegger seeks re-election in 2006 | | |
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