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U.S. Opposes North Korean Demand for Civil-Use Nuclear Reactor

Ambassador Hill says proposed draft still a good basis for final agreement

The United States continues to oppose North Korea's demands for a light-water nuclear reactor to generate electricity, and believes that North Korea should focus on abandoning its nuclear weapons programs before striving for civil-use nuclear power, says Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill.

The "most urgent task," Hill told reporters in Beijing September 14, is "to get the DPRK [Democratic People's Republic of Korea] out of the nuclear weapons business."

Hill is the top U.S. negotiator at the fourth round of Six-Party Talks, which have resumed after a hiatus of more than four weeks. The United States, South Korea, Japan, China and Russia are seeking a satisfactory end to North Korea's decades-old nuclear weapons programs.

Acknowledging that the United States had "some minor issues" with the current draft proposal, which was put together by China, Hill said it is nonetheless an excellent draft and the basis for an agreement. "I think there is a strong willingness to work with the fourth draft," he said.

"I don't detect among any of the parties a willingness to construct a light-water reactor [for North Korea]," Hill said, noting the expense and time involved in such a project.

Although North Korea does have a severe shortage of electricity, South Korea has offered to provide "a very significant conventional energy program" that could be up and running in just a few years if North Korea agrees to denuclearize, Hill pointed out.

"If it's electricity that they want, the draft certainly provides electricity. And, there are many other elements in that agreement that I think are very, very important for the DPRK," Hill said.

"The key element is denuclearization of the Korean peninsula," Hill said.

Talks will continue September 15. No deadline has been set for an agreement.

See also: U.S. Aims for Statement of Agreed Principles on North Korea

Source: U.S. Department of State

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