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KEDO Will Make Nuclear Reactor Suspension Official Next Week
The Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization will officially announce next week the suspension of construction of two nuclear power plants in North Korea, the Korea Times reported today (see GSN, Nov. 12). The decision — made by KEDO members South Korea, the United States, Japan and the European Union — will take effect early next year. Chang Sun-sup, chairman of the KEDO executive board, denied reports that the suspension is actually the end of the project. The United States has said that it wants to end the project in response to North Korean nuclear weapons development. “Suspension doesn’t mean termination. It means we are bound to restart the project sometime,” said Chang, who is also the South Korean representative to the board. He said he expects work to resume after the nuclear standoff is defused. “Even if we suspend the project, it doesn’t mean work stops 100 percent,” Chang said. Dozens of workers are expected to remain at the site to maintain the site, according to the Times. KEDO Executive Director Charles Kartman is scheduled to travel to Pyongyang Saturday to explain the board’s decision to North Korea (Korea Times, Nov. 13). Six-nation talks on the nuclear crisis are expected to resume in mid-December, according to a senior Bush administration official. The official said that Washington expects an announcement after Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi meets with North Korean leaders. Wang was in Washington for meetings last week (Barry Schweid, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, Nov. 12). Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo met with Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Yukio Takeuchi in Tokyo today to discuss the next round of nuclear talks. Dai also met with Japanese Senior Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Ichiro Aisawa yesterday and told him that North Korea was ready to dismantle its nuclear weapons programs. “North Korea has the intention of abandoning nuclear (programs) and is pushing with economic reforms,” Dai said (Agence France-Presse, Nov. 13).
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