North Korea’s Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Ri Yong Ho claimed yesterday that North Korea will soon allow inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency to return to the country.
Ri, the North’s chief envoy to the Six-Party Talks, was asked about the issue before departing for Pyongyang from New York, a question to which he replied, “I think it will be on a date in the near future,” before adding, “concrete measures are continuously being taken to implement the agreement between the U.S. and North Korea from this February.”
He also repeatedly expressed the position that the June 15th and October 4th statements must be implemented, but that South Korea appears unwilling to do so.
“Our basic position is that the standard is whether South Korea is ready or not to implement the June 15th and October 4th declarations, the important first agreements reached at the highest levels in inter-Korean history. Were the South to be ready to respect and implement these declarations then we would be willing to go forward with them, but it doesn’t seem as if they have the will yet”.
Ri also rejected a report carried by Yomiuri Shimbun claiming that North Korea had proposed the opening of liaison offices in each other’s capitals. Yomiuri said that Ri put forward the idea at a closed-doors seminar in New York on Saturday.
However, Ri rejected the claim, explaining, “We made no specific suggestions; we just stated our principled original position. The fundamental issue is to end hostile relations between North Korea and the U.S.”
He added, “If the U.S. hopes to improve relations then we stand ready to accept their position.”
