North Korea Set to Receive More Fuel Aid

North Korea could receive 50,000 tons of fuel oil from China this month during the second phase of denuclearization set by a February deal at the six-party talks Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, Aug. 2).

The matter is expected to be discussed when diplomats meet this week for working-level talks on energy assistance, a diplomatic source told the Yonhap News Agency.

North Korea received 50,000 tons of fuel from South Korea while it carried out the first phase of the agreement — halting operations at its Yongbyon nuclear complex under monitoring by the International Atomic Energy Agency.  The second phase of the deal calls for Pyongyang to fully declare and disable its nuclear program.

“We understand China will begin providing 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil to the North in mid-August,” the source said.  “A working group dealing with the energy and economic aid slated for Aug. 7-8 … will decide on detailed measures on the provision.”

Nations participating in the six-party process ultimately could supply North Korea with a total of 1 million tons of oil and related aid for fully shuttering its nuclear program (Agence France-Presse/The Times of India, Aug. 5).

South Korean negotiator Chun Young-woo said today that officials at this week’s meeting in the truce village of Panmunjom would “discuss … how to give energy aid to the North,” the Associated Press reported.  He would not say what he expected to come out of the session (Associated Press I/Yahoo!News, Aug. 6).

Four days of visits to military bases last week by North Korean leader Kim Jong Il could indicate he is preparing to make a decision on his country’s nuclear program, AP reported Saturday.

The number of trips in a limited time span is unusual, according to AP.

While the Chosun Ilbo newspaper indicated the trips could indicate further movement on the nuclear issue, one South Korean expert offered another explanation.

“I think the main purpose is to boost the morale of soldiers during vacation season and ahead of” a U.S.-South Korean military exercise scheduled from Aug. 20 to 21, said Koh Yu-hwan of Dongguk University in Seoul.  Pyongyang on Friday called the exercise an “unacceptable provocation” (Associated Press/Yahoo!News, Aug. 4).

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