DPRK nuclear disablement proceeds smoothly

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Source: CCTV.com | 11-28-2007 13:26

L-R: Hyon Hak Bong, DPRK's Deputy Director-General for Foreign Ministry, Lim Sung-Nam, South Korea's ambassador for North Korean nuclear issues, and Chen Naiqing, China's ambassador for Korean Peninsula Issues, pose after the third Economic and Energy Cooperation Working Group Meeting at the truce village of Panmunjom, in the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas.(AFP/Jung Yeon-Je)

A team of delegates have arrived in Pyongyang to observe the ongoing disabling process at the main nuclear reactor in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

The 10-member group includes diplomatic representatives and nuclear experts from China, South Korea, Russia, Japan, and the United States.

The delegates were scheduled to visit the Yongbyon facilities on Wednesday. They plan to return to Pyongyang on the same day, and then leave the city the day after.

China's ambassador for Korean Peninsula issues, Chen Naiqing is joining the delegation. Before leaving for the DPRK, he said the disablement process in Yongbyon has been proceeding smoothly. A delegate from South Korea says the team will check on progress.

Lim Sung Nam, South Korean Envoy, said, "According to the agreement reached on October 3, we are going to check the three main facilities in Yongbyon, which the DPRK agrees to disable. We will evaluate the status of the disablement."

Lim says the disablement process has been going smoothly so far... and could be finished by the end of the year. US nuclear experts have been in the DPRK since early this month, disabling the reactor and two other key facilities at the Yongbyon complex.

South Korean Foreign Minister Song Min-soon speaks during his weekly news briefing at the headquarters of the Foreign Ministry in Seoul November 27, 2007. REUTERS/Han Jae-Ho (SOUTH KOREA)

Song Min-Soon, South Korean FM, said, "We reached a point where the DPRK should completely abandon its nuclear program. And related countries should demonstrate their commitment to honor promises towards the DPRK by action."

Sources in the South Korean government say that in exchange for disabling the reactor and plutonium production facilities the US will move toward taking the DPRK off a U.S. terrorism blacklist. And also end a hostile trading law against the country.

Editor:Zhang Pengfei