DPRK offers to halt nuke facilities

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, January 06, 2004

DPRK offers to halt nuke facilities

The DPRK offered Tuesday to refrain from producing nuclear weapons as a "bold concession" to rekindle talks over its arms programs.

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The DPRK offered Tuesday to refrain from producing nuclear weapons as a "bold concession" to rekindle talks over its arms programs.

The move comes as the United States, China, Russia, Japan and the two Koreas scramble to arrange a new round of negotiations, with South Korea and Russian saying they are unlikely this month.

DPRK has said before it is willing to freeze its "nuclear activities" in exchange for U.S. aid and being delisted from Washington's roster of terrorism sponsoring nations.

Tuesday's developments come as a delegation of U.S. congressional aides heads to DPRK to possibly tour the communist country's disputed nuclear plant at Yongbyon. A South Korean Foreign Ministry official said on condition of anonymity that they were to stay in the DPRK from Tuesday to Saturday.

The Yongbyon complex is at the heart of the standoff, and there has been no outside access to the facility since DPRK expelled U.N. nuclear inspectors at the end of 2002.

On Tuesday, DPRK said it was "set to refrain from the testing and production of nuclear weapons and stop even operating nuclear power industry for a peaceful purpose as first-phase measures of the package solution."

In a commentary carried by the official KCNA news agency, DPRK called the offer "one more bold concession."

Washington has said it wants NDPRK to verifiably begin dismantling its nuclear weapons programs before it delivers any concessions.

DPRK said its first-step proposal should be the focus of preparations for new talks.

"If the United States keeps ignoring our efforts and continues to pressurize the DPRK to scrap its nuclear weapons program first while shelving the issue of making a switchover in its policy toward the DPRK, the basis of dialogue will be demolished and a shadow will be cast over the prospects of talks," KCNA said.

Source: Agencies

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