Compromise Possible on North Korean Nuclear Verification Document, Japan Says

Japan yesterday indicated its willingness to compromise on a document setting out requirements for verifying North Korea’s nuclear operations, Kyodo News reported (see GSN, Nov. 4).

Approval and enactment of the verification protocol would be the next step in the denuclearization of North Korea.  It is likely to include measures such as inspections of declared and possibly undeclared nuclear sites and collection of samples.

Nations participating in the six-party talks are expected to address the document at their next full meeting, which has not yet been scheduled.

Tokyo does not plan to press for requiring the document to cover suspected North Korean uranium enrichment and nuclear proliferation operations.  A previous report suggested that the U.S.-drafted document might relegate those issues to a less-binding annex, focusing instead on Pyongyang’s known plutonium operations.

The Japanese government believes it is “inevitable to take a flexible approach” in order to ensure progress in the diplomatic effort, according to a high-level Foreign Ministry official.  It would sign off on a document “of any form if it will lead to verification.”

However, North Korean plutonium operations must be made open to verification, the official said.  A written agreement is also needed on sampling to determine the amount of plutonium that has been collected from the Stalinist state’s nuclear plants, the official added.

Tokyo’s lead envoy to the talks, Akitaka Saiki, is scheduled to travel soon to China for meetings on North Korea’s nuclear program, Kyodo reported (Kyodo News, Nov. 4).

Hwang Joon-kook, who leads the South Korean Foreign Ministry’s office on North Korea’s nuclear program, is scheduled to meet this week in New York with Sung Kim, the U.S. State Department’s top official on Korea, Agence France-Presse reported.

The Yonhap News Agency reported that Hwang might also discuss the verification issue with Ri Gun, top American affairs official at the North Korean Foreign Ministry.  Ri is scheduled to meet with U.S. officials while in New York this week.

“The U.S. asked for consultations with us before and after the planned talks with North Korea,” said one official in Seoul (Agence France-Presse/Spacewar.com, Nov. 5).

Meanwhile, North Korea today issued additional photographs depicting leader Kim Jong Il in apparent good health, the Associated Press reported.  The images show Kim in good spirits while visiting two military units.  Korean Central Television did not provide a specific time or location for the trips.

Kim is believed to have suffered a stroke in August and to have undergone brain surgery.  Previous releases of photographs have failed to resolve questions about his health.

Use of still photography makes it hard to determine Kim’s actual status, according to the South Korean Unification Ministry.

“There is a backdrop in the picture, with which we can guess the timing (of when it was taken) and (Kim) also is wearing a parka,” said agency spokesman Kim Ho-nyeon.  “But these are still photos again” (Hyung-Jin Kim, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, Nov. 5).

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