Bush authorizes $25 million oil aid for North Korea

WASHINGTON: US President George W. Bush has authorized 25 million dollars in energy aid to North Korea in response to Pyongyang's progress in complying with its denuclearization agreement.   

The move came Friday as negotiators in Beijing continued their talks on a timetable for the secretive communist regime to disable all of its nuclear programs this year.   

Chief US negotiator Christopher Hill said he expected the morning talks on Saturday to centre on fuel aid. But he also made a surprise announcement that the talks could wind up in the afternoon, a day ahead of schedule.   

White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said the US aid promise was in accordance with the principle of 'action for action' under the six-party talks and 'demonstrates the US commitment to the denuclearization of the DPRK (North Korea).'    

Johndroe said the 25 million dollars was for 50,000 metric tonnes of heavy fuel oil for the impoverished state.   

The aid was in response to North Korea's progress on reporting and disabling its nuclear facilities as required in a February 'Initial Actions' agreement aimed at halting Pyongyang's drive for nuclear weapons, he said.   

On February 13, Pyongyang committed to open up its nuclear program to inspectors and begin shutting its nuclear operations, particularly the key Yongbyon nuclear plant, in an agreement with the United States, China, South Korea, Japan and Russia under the six-party talks framework.   

The deal aims at having Pyongyang, which tested an atomic bomb in October 2006, declare all its nuclear programs and disable all existing nuclear facilities by December 31, 2007.   

The other countries agreed in turn to provide specific amounts of aid, including a total of one million tonnes of fuel oil or its equivalent.   

The first shipment of 50,000 tonnes was provided by South Korea in July after Pyongyang closed the Yongbyon facility.   

China shipped another 50,000 tonnes of fuel oil to its neighbor this month - North Korea cannot store any more than that - and the US donation will be the third tranche.   

Russia will also be providing energy assistance, though not Japan, which is holding back as it seeks to settle the issue of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea years ago.    

Meanwhile, the pro-North newspaper Korean Chosun Sinbo published in Tokyo suggested in its Internet edition Saturday that for the six-party talks to succeed, Washington must remove the designation of North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism and cancel sanctions applied under the US Trading with the Enemy Act.   

Washington, uneasy about whether Pyongyang will stick to its commitment, emphasized that each action by the international community will only follow concrete action by the North Koreans.   

"The DPRK has met its commitments to date with respect to shutting down the Yongbyon facilities and allowing IAEA monitoring and verification," said Johndroe, referring to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN nuclear watchdog.   

IAEA inspectors returned to North Korea in July for the first time since they were expelled in December 2002.   

"The United States is now pressing for rapid implementation of the next phase of the Initial Actions agreement, in which the DPRK agreed to provide a complete declaration of all its nuclear programs and disablement of all existing nuclear facilities," Johndroe said.   

The White House announcement of the oil aid stood out as well amid accusations that North Korea had supplied nuclear know-how to an alleged Syrian nuclear operation that was bombed by Israel on September 6.   

The White House last week rejected accusations that it was being gullible if it believed Pyongyang had genuinely curtailed its nuclear activities.   

"We're clear-eyed about the situation and the dangers," spokeswoman Dana Perino said, a day after Bush himself warned that proliferation by North Korea would endanger the six-country talks.