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US concessions could speed up N Korea process

North Korea has proposed speeding up the process of dismantling and destroying its nuclear facilities and weapons in exchange for US concessions, a former South Korean lawmaker said yesterday.

Under a Feb. 13 deal reached at six-nation talks in Beijing, the North and the US and their four regional partners -- South Korea, China, Russia and Japan -- would take steps toward disarming North Korea in a phased manner.

By April 14, the North must shut down its main nuclear reactor and allow UN inspectors back to the country to verify the closure in exchange for 45,359 tonnes of heavy fuel oil. The energy-starved country would ultimately receive another 861,825 tonnes of heavy fuel and a move toward diplomatic relations with the US if it completely abandons all its nuclear programs.

The North, however, has recently indicated it wants to expedite the process of normalizing relations with the US after decades of animosity by fast-tracking its end of the deal.

"What can the US do for us if we get rid of nuclear facilities, nuclear programs and nuclear weapons through [safe and controlled] explosions at the same time," the North's nuclear envoy Kim Kye-gwan asked his US counterpart in New York earlier this month, according to former South Korean lawmaker Jang Sung-min.

Jang, an aide to former South Korean president Kim Dae-jung who spearheaded an engagement policy with the North, said he was informed of the North's overture by a diplomatic official in Beijing who is well-versed in North Korean affairs. Jang declined to identify the official, citing the sensitivity of the issue.

During the New York meeting, one of five working group sessions established under the Feb. 13 agreement, the chief US nuclear negotiator Christopher Hill was caught off guard by Kim Kye-gwan's offer and could not give him an answer, Jang said.

Kim Kye-gwan then asked Hill to be ready with an answer tomorrow, when a full session of the six-nation talks resumes in Beijing.

The North's bold overture was made possible as Kim Kye-gwan was given "all diplomatic authority" by North Korea's leader Kim Jong-il, an unprecedented event in the North's diplomacy where Pyongyang officials usually repeat only what their government tells them to say, said Jang.

Kim Jong-il also allowed Kim Kye-gwan to "judge by yourself if it helps our country," Jang said.

The rare approach is seen as the North's attempt to make the most of its nuclear card to speed up eventual normalization of relations with the US, which it has long accused of preparing to attack it.

The North has also completed preparations for a possible trip by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Jang said citing the diplomat in Beijing. If the trip goes ahead, Rice would be the highest-level US official to visit Pyongyang since 2000.

"There won't be any big difficulty" in realizing the trip, Jang quoted the official as saying.
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