North Korea

NKorea stops disabling nuclear program

Article published on the 2008-08-26 Latest update 2008-08-26 16:11 TU

An outpost on the border between North and South Korea.
(Photo : AFP)

North Korea announced Tuesday that it has stopped dismantling its nuclear plants and is considering restoring them to working order because the US has not removed the country from its terrorist blacklist.

A foreign ministry spokesperson accused the US of violating the six-nation nuclear disarmament deal, by not taking North Korea off its list of countries that support terrorism. Its presence on the list prevents the country from receiving US foreign aid.

The US responded by saying that North Korea must adhere to a strict verification that its nuclear plants have been disabled before it will be removed from the list.

“The US is gravely mistaken if it thinks that it can make a house search in the DPRK as it pleases, just as it did in Iraq,” the spokesman’s statement read.

This means that the six-nation talks to exchange aid for a promise of nuclear abstinence have been derailed for the time being. The talks, which include the US, China, Russia, Japan as well as the two Koreas, have been taking place, on and off, since North Korea pulled out of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 2003.

North Korea tested an atomic weapon in October 2006, but returned to the table shortly afterwards. After a deal reached last year, it began disabling nuclear plants under US supervision.

It claims 80 per cent of the work was finished when it was halted on 14 August.