North Korea and US reach nuclear compensation deal
North Korea announced reaching a compensation deal with US
Wednesday, 09, Apr 2008 03:00
North Korea has announced that it has reached an agreement with the US on a compensation deal in exchange for disclosing its nuclear activities.
A foreign ministry spokesman was quoted by North Korea's state media as claiming the two sides had agreed on "political compensation" from the US during talks in Singapore today.
The issue of compensation had been holding back the six-nation disarmament deal, also involving China, Russia, South Korea and Japan.
In February last year North Korea agreed to hand over its nuclear weapons in return for international aid.
The KCNA news agency quoted the government official as saying: "A consensus was reached on the US measure to make political compensation and the nuclear declaration essential for winding up the implementation of the agreement."
US assistant secretary of state Christopher Hill was slightly more cagey regarding today's agreement.
"We've definitely made progress on [a declaration] but every time I mention a time, I'm always wrong," he said.
"I don't want to suggest there has been any major breakthrough. But as the days go by, we'll be announcing some efforts to try to move ahead."
The current phase of the disarmament deal had required North Korea to disable its main plutonium-producing plants and declare all its nuclear activities.
North Korea claims that it submitted the declaration in November last year, however the US alleged that there exists a uranium enrichment programme that had not been accounted for.