The “last work” on securing North Korea’s declaration of its nuclear activities is under way and six-nation talks could resume next month, South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan said yesterday.
Yu was speaking a day after a team of US experts met the top North Korean nuclear envoy Kim Kye-gwan in Pyongyang to discuss the declaration.
The group was led by Sung Kim, the director of the Korean Affairs office at the US State Department. It was due to return today to South Korea after crossing the heavily fortified border.
MOVING FORWARD
“North Korea’s nuclear declaration has been long delayed, but the US team is conducting the last work in Pyongyang,” the minister said in a speech. “If work is done as scheduled, I expect six-party talks to be held again within May so that the momentum can be maintained.”
Yu later told YTN TV news: “We don’t have much time left. I hope that progress will be made as early as possible in order for the six-party talks to maintain momentum.”
DETAILED LIST
Yonhap news agency said the US team would present a detailed list of data and other materials that North Korea needs to present for verification of its plutonium stockpile.
“North Korea is expected to submit a declaration before the end of this month if the US team’s activity goes well,” a government source told the agency.
Under a six-party deal last year North Korea was to receive energy aid and major diplomatic and security benefits in return for full denuclearization.
But the negotiations have been stalled for months by a dispute over the North’s declaration of all nuclear activities, which it promised to deliver by the end of last year.
Washington says Pyongyang should not only account for its plutonium program but also clear up suspicions about an alleged uranium enrichment program and suspected proliferation — claims denied by North Korea.
‘FACE-SAVING’
The North, in a face-saving gesture, reportedly will only “acknowledge” US concerns about the two issues in a confidential document to Washington.
The official declaration would deal with the plutonium program that fueled its nuclear test in October 2006.
The negotiations group the US, the two Koreas, China, Japan and Russia.
Hungarian authorities temporarily detained seven Ukrainian citizens and seized two armored cars carrying tens of millions of euros in cash across Hungary on suspicion of money laundering, officials said on Friday. The Ukrainians were released on Friday, following their detention on Thursday, but Hungarian officials held onto the cash, prompting Ukraine to accuse Hungary’s Russia-friendly government of illegally seizing the money. “We will not tolerate this state banditism,” Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha said. The seven detained Ukrainians were employees of the Ukrainian state-owned Oschadbank, who were traveling in the two armored cars that were carrying the money between Austria and
Kosovar President Vjosa Osmani on Friday after dissolving the Kosovar parliament said a snap election should be held as soon as possible to avoid another prolonged political crisis in the Balkan country at a time of global turmoil. Osmani said it is important for Kosovo to wrap up the upcoming election process and form functional institutions for political stability as the war rages in the Middle East. “Precisely because the geopolitical situation is that complex, it is important to finish this electoral process which is coming up,” she said. “It is very hard now to imagine what will happen next.” Kosovo, which declared
Australians were downloading virtual private networks (VPNs) in droves, while one of the world’s largest porn distributors said it was blocking users from its platforms as the country yesterday rolled out sweeping online age restriction. Australia in December became the first country to impose a nationwide ban on teenagers using social media. A separate law now requires artificial intelligence (AI)-powered chatbot services to keep certain content — including pornography, extreme violence and self-harm and eating disorder material — from minors or face fines of up to A$49.5 million (US$34.6 million). The country also joined Britain, France and dozens of US states requiring
MORE BANS: Australia last year required sites to remove accounts held by under-16s, with a few countries pushing for similar action at an EU level and India considering its own ban Indonesia on Friday said it would ban social media access for children under 16, citing threats from online pornography, cyberbullying, online fraud and Internet addiction. “Accounts belonging to children under 16 on high-risk platforms will start to be deactivated, beginning with YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live and Roblox,” Indonesian Minister of Communications and Digital Meutya Hafid said. “The government is stepping in so that parents no longer have to fight alone against the giants of the algorithm. Implementation will begin on March 28, 2026,” she said. The social media ban would be introduced in stages “until all platforms fulfill their
RSS