Two UN nuclear inspectors expelled by North Korea arrived in China yesterday, leaving behind a hidden nuclear program the international community fears will be used to build plutonium-based weapons.
The inspectors -- a Lebanese man and a Chinese woman -- emerged from the arrival hall at Beijing's Capital Airport after flying from Pyongyang shortly after 10am. They refused to discuss the North Korean situation, saying they were on their way to the International Atomic Energy Agency's headquarters in Vienna.
"We cannot comment on anything at this stage," the man said, mobbed by reporters.
North Korea ordered the expulsion of the two UN monitors on Friday. With their departure, satellites are the only available tools to monitor the isolated communist nation's nuclear program, a South Korea Foreign Ministry official said yesterday.
The expulsions crippled efforts to monitor whether the reclusive nation is making atomic weapons, an IAEA spokeswoman said.
"We were the eyes of the world," said Melissa Fleming. "Now we virtually have no possibility to monitor North Korea's nuclear activities, nor to provide any assurances to the international community that they are not producing a nuclear weapon."
Pyongyang said over the weekend that it might withdraw from the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons, a move that would deepen the crisis over its decision to restart its nuclear facilities.
Yesterday, North Korea's ambassador to Russia said that Pyongyang could not make good on its commitments under the treaty because of US pressure, Russian news agencies reported.
Washington has threatened North Korea "with a pre-emptive nuclear strike" and its decision to end fuel oil supplies to North Korea, Ambassador Pak Ui-chun was quoted as saying.
Russia, North Korea's longtime ally, has urged it not to take that step. Moscow's warning appeared to be a blow to Pyongyang's efforts to cast the nuclear issue as a dispute strictly with the US.
South Korea expressed alarm at signs its rival was preparing to leave the treaty, which seeks to confine nuclear weapons to the US, Russia, Britain, France and China. Still, Seoul insisted dialogue was the only way to resolve the problem peacefully.
South Korean president-elect Roh Moo-hyun requested that the US consult South Korea, a close ally, before formulating a new approach in its North Korea policy.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS