| |
SEOUL - North Korea called Friday for military talks with the United States, as UN atomic inspectors prepared to return to Pyongyang to supervise the shutdown of its nuclear programme.
But with inspectors on the eve of returning to check on North Korea's nuclear facilities for the first time in five years, the North also warned that a landmark disarmament deal could still be undone by US "threats".
The secretive regime, which tested an atomic bomb for the first time last year, has repeatedly said it needs nuclear weapons to fend off a US attack -- and ahead of the pending UN visit called for talks with its long-time foe.
"The Korean People's Army side proposes having talks between the DPRK (North Korea) and US militaries to be attended by a UN representative," the North's armed forces said in a statement on the official KCNA news agency.
The topic, it said, would be "issues related to ensuring the peace and security on the Korean peninsula."
The six-nation deal reached in February, under which the North would scrap its nuclear weapons programmes, envisages talks on a treaty formally ending the 1950-53 Korean war.
The first step in the deal -- the closure of Yongbyon reactor, which produces raw material for bomb-making plutonium -- is expected within days.
An International Atomic Energy Agency monitoring team, which arrived Friday in Beijing en route to Pyongyang on Saturday, was optimistic it would take place.
"With the kind of help we have got from the DPRK in the last few weeks, we think we will do our job in a successful way," said team leader Adel Tolba.
The Soviet-era reactor is at the heart of the North's nuclear programme, which culminated in its first atomic weapons test last October.
The North has said it will consider closing Yongbyon as soon as it receives a first shipment of fuel oil -- compensation for the shutdown under the February pact -- from South Korea. A tanker was due to arrive early Saturday.
The two Koreas, the United States, China, Russia and Japan will resume talks Wednesday to discuss steps towards full denuclearisation after Yongbyon is shut down.
US chief negotiator Christopher Hill said the US was ready to discuss "broader issues" with North Korea but the nuclear issue came foremost.
"Obviously we are interested in resolving not only the energy issues on the Korean peninsula, not only the nuclear issues, but also the broader issues as well of peace and security," said Hill as he arrived in Japan ahead of Wednesday's talks.
He declined to comment directly on the military statement, but said the two sides should initially get through the first phase of the agreement.
"I want to emphasise that we're not going to have any peace arrangement on the peninsula ahead of denuclearisation. But at the same time we don't want to wait for complete denuclearisation in order to start it," he said of the next phase of talks with North Korea.
Analysts said the military's statement, which included typically harsh language about the United States and the warning that the deal could be scuppered, would not affect the six-nations talks and was aimed instead at gaining the upper hand in future negotiations on a peace pact.
"This proposal is aimed at taking the initiative in starting talks on the issue of replacing the armistice with a peace system, which should come in parallel with progress in efforts to resolve the nuclear issue," said Kim Keun-Sik, of Seoul's University of North Korean Studies.
Baek Seung-Joo of the Korea Institute for Defence Analyses told AFP the North was "seeking to gain the upper hand" in future talks on establishing a peace system on the Korean peninsula.
"But this proposal will have no serious impact on the six-party process."
Under the pact, the energy-starved North will receive one million tons of fuel oil or equivalent aid, plus major diplomatic benefits and security guarantees, if it declares and dismantles all nuclear programmes.
Yongbyon's shutdown is to be rewarded with an initial 50,000 tons of oil from South Korea.
Negotiations on a "permanent peace regime" are part of the wider package. - AFP/ir
|
