Nuclear project in DPRK halted for one year, but maintenance continues

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, November 22, 2003

Nuclear project in DPRK halted for one year, but maintenance continues

The US-led consortium in charge of building two nuclear power plants in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) said Friday that it was halting the project for one year.

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The US-led consortium in charge of building two nuclear power plants in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) said Friday that it was halting the project for one year.

The Korean Peninsular Energy Development Organization (KEDO) said that as the DPRK had failed to meet necessary conditions of continuing the project, it had decided to suspend it for a year, beginning Dec. 1.

"The executive board of KEDO, given that the conditions necessary for continuing the light water reactor project have not been met by the DPRK, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, has decided to suspend the lightwater reactor project in the DPRK for one year, beginning December 1 2003," said KEDO spokesman Roland Tricot.

The multi-billion-dollar plan to build two 1,000 megawatt lightwater nuclear reactors for DPRK deemed unsuitable for production of weapons grade plutonium was part of a 1994 deal between the United States and the DPRK.

But the United States accused the DPRK of launching a prohibited program to enrich uranium for weapons production, and said the deal broken.

The decision to suspend the project, which had been expected, was made earlier this month at a meeting of KEDO's executive board, which groups the United States, the European Union, South Korea and Japan.

Reading a written KEDO statement, Tricot said the future of the project would be assessed and decided before the one-year suspension expired.

According to Tricot, the nuclear plant project in DPRK would require preservation and maintenance despite the suspension.

"The suspension process will require preservation and maintenance both on-site and off-site. KEDO continues to consult with the DPRK in this process," said KEDO's statement.

"Suspension implies that KEDO and the DPRK will continue to observe the applicable provisions of the agreements and protocols concluded between them," the statement said.

Hardliners in the Bush administration have been pushing for a complete cancellation of the project, but Washington appears to have compromised its position with South Korea, which had been pushing for a less final outcome.

The suspension of the project comes amid intensified diplomatic efforts to convene a new round of multilateral talks to resolve the nuclear crisis following initial six-way talks in Beijing in August.

Construction work on the plants began in 1998 and is only one-third finished. Experts said it would take at least five more years to complete the project, which is designed to generate badly needed electricity for the DPRK.

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