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KEDO Postpones Decision on North Korea Reactor Project; China Prepares for Pyongyang Visitor
The Executive Board of the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO) decided yesterday to wait until late November to decide whether to maintain the suspension of a project to build two light-water nuclear reactors in North Korea, the Kyodo news agency reported (see GSN, Oct. 14). Meeting in New York, the board agreed to hold another meeting next month before the existing freeze expires at the end of November, diplomatic sources said. Comprised of Japan, South Korea, the United States and the European Union, KEDO is likely to agree to a one-year extension of the freeze at the next meeting, according to organization officials and diplomatic sources. The organization is responsible for implementing the 1994 Agreed Framework in which North Korea promised to freeze and dismantle its nuclear program in exchange for two one-megawatt light-water nuclear reactors for electricity. KEDO voted to freeze the project last November for one year, accusing Pyongyang of failing to keep its commitment (Kyodo/Yahoo!News, Oct. 15). Meanwhile, some Chinese analysts said Beijing is likely to pressure North Korean parliament chief Kim Yong Nam to rejoin six-party talks on Pyongyang’s nuclear work during his anticipated visit from Oct. 18-20. “The continuous refusal to talk probably will force Pyongyang into a corner,” Zhu Feng, head of the international security program at Peking University, told Reuters. “China really has to persuade Pyongyang of the danger of enduring refusal to talk. China now is trying to launch a new campaign of shuttle diplomacy,” (John Ruwitch, Reuters, Oct. 15).
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