Thailand hails 6-party pact on North Korean nuclear programme

BANGKOK, Feb 14 (TNA) - The Thai government has extended its congratulations to all six nations negotiating the North Korean nuclear agreement reached Tuesday in Beijing, according to foreign ministry spokesman Kitti Wasinondh.

Thailand, as an Asian country that has closely followed the negotiations, congratulates all the parties on the progress they achieved in the meeting held February 8-13, the spokesman said Wednesday.

According to the agreement reached by North Korea, South Korea, China, Japan, Russia and the United States, Pyongyang will shut down its nuclear power plant at Yongbon within 60 days, allowing United Nations' inspectors to monitor the shutdown. North Korea will receive 50,000 tonnes of heavy fuel, as energy aid, in return.

"We (Thailand) praise the nations involved in the negotiation for their attempts to mend their differences and eventually reach an initial agreement and we hope the agreement will be translated into the concrete results by March 19, when the signatories agreed to hold another round of six-party talks," the senior Thai diplomat said.

He noted that the agreement is a pivotal step that will lead to resolving problems surrounding nuclear arms ambitions on the Korean Peninsula.

Thailand and other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) fully support any peaceful attempts to make the region free from nuclear and are ready to cooperate with all sides with
such attempts.

TNA

EDITORIAL

Right message sent to Pyongyang

Getting N Korea to abandon its nuclear aspirations for aid a positive step towards reducing arms race

For an isolated country like North Korea, any agreement that brought in oil and food in abundance would be considered a success, especially in the winter. United Nations-imposed sanctions last November have seriously harmed the country's wellbeing and tarnished the credibility of those in its top echelons, including the "dear leader" Kim Jong-il. Somehow this time round, through its diplomatic finesse, North Korea has once again shown that it can be a pariah state and still gain international acceptance and get funding too.

China, the North's powerful neighbour, has also contributed to the six-party talks; it was an area in which Beijing could really assist Washington. For the Americans any quick agreement that would on the surface remove North Korea's nuclear capacity would be welcome, especially now.

To complete this deal, the US had to bypass its usually thick layer of bureaucrats who are no friends of North Korea. It's no wonder then that conservatives have criticised the deal and said it will collapse even before it is implemented. It was historic then that North Korea agreed to eventually end its nuclear-weapons programme after years and years of countries trying to get it to do just that. It would be a leap of faith to believe that every step of the agreement will be implemented.

Four months ago, Pyongyang's test of a nuclear bomb sent shock waves throughout the region. It was North Korea's attempt to gain attention from the world community, especially China, Japan and South Korea, and it worked. Under the latest deal, the North will receive 50,000 tonnes of oil for shutting down and sealing its nuclear reactor and related facilities at Yongbyon within two months. The International Atomic Agency will be called in to confirm this. If all goes well, after all nuclear programmes are shut down, an additional 950,000 tonnes of oil will be shipped to North Korea, which has a shortage of fuel.

Obviously this is good news for Asian countries. A nuclear North Korea would be a highly dangerous presence in the region. It could push other countries, such as Japan, to go nuclear in the interests of self-defence. The resumption of the six-party talks, which had been delayed, will also create a positive atmosphere for July's Asean Regional Forum in Manila. Since Pyongyang joined the ARF, its annual participation has become problematic because it does not trust any other member, despite the fact that the ARF is the best venue in which to address nuclear issues in Asia, as the world's major nuclear powers are members, including the US, China, Russia, India and Pakistan.

However, this latest agreement will create an atmosphere conducive to further confidence-building measures on the Korean Peninsula, though for some countries more needs to be done before normalisation of relations can take place.

Japan has insisted that Pyongyang resolve the long-standing issue of a Japanese citizen kidnapped by North Korean agents in the 1970s.

One hopes that there will be progress on this front. Otherwise it will be difficult for Japan under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to mend fences with the North as he has cited progress in the kidnapping case as the main prerequisite for such a move.

For Thailand, a clear answer from Pyongyang regarding the alleged kidnapping of Anocha Panjoy, a young Thai woman believed to have been kidnapped by Pyongyang's secret agents in Macau in 1979, would be welcome. When the story surfaced last November, former foreign minister Kantathi Suphamongkhon repeatedly took the issue up at North Korea's highest levels, but without any positive results. The current government should follow up on the case.

A non-nuclear North Korea will reduce the nuclear arms race. Of late, Burma, and many other countries with nuclear aspirations have followed in North Korea's footsteps, because this has brought them international attention and, ironically, aid. The agreement sends the right signal to them that abiding by international norms and values will better ensure their own survival and wellbeing.

The Nation