By RIA Novosti,
Toyako : Talks with North Korea on its nuclear program are set to restart on July 10 in Beijing, Seoul’s chief nuclear negotiator said on Tuesday.
“The top envoys’ meeting will begin in the afternoon of July 10,” Kim Sook said.
The six-party negotiations, which include Russia, the United States, China, Japan and the two Koreas, stalled late last year when Pyongyang missed a deadline to hand over nuclear data as part of a deal under which the North was promised economic aid and diplomatic incentives.
North Korea eventually handed over detailed data on its nuclear activities in late June. It also demolished on June 27 the cooling tower at its main Yongbyon nuclear complex, about 100 km (62 miles) north of Pyongyang, a move perceived as the communist regime’s willingness to terminate its nuclear program. The disabling of facilities at the plant is being monitored by U.S. specialists.
According to the South Korean news agency, Yonhap, the six-nation consultations in the Chinese capital will focus on an appraisal of the data handed over by North Korea, the elaboration of a method of the verification of the nuclear data, and a date for a meeting of the foreign ministers from the six nations.
After the North submitted its nuclear declaration, the U.S. announced it would lift unilateral trade sanctions against the country and remove it from a terrorism blacklist.
However, U.S. President George Bush said Washington continues to be concerned over North Korea’s uranium enrichment activities and suspected sales of nuclear technology to other countries.
According to various estimates, Pyongyang has secretly produced about 35-50 kg of weapons-grade plutonium.