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South Korea begins fuel shipment to North

P. S. Suryanarayana

SINGAPORE: South Korea on Thursday kick-started the implementation of the six-party accord on the “initial steps” towards North Korea’s nuclear disarmament by shipping 6,200 tonnes of heavy fuel oil for electricity generation.

It was stalled over a financial dispute between North Korea and the U.S., which was resolved recently.

China, which hosts the six-party talks, announced that the parleys would resume with the heads of delegations meeting in Beijing on July 18 and 19 to “discuss the implementation of initial actions and the arrangement of follow-up actions.”

However, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Mohamed El Baradeicautioned that “it will take time to have a comprehensive solution,” for, it “has been the problem for over 15 years.”

South Korea advanced by a few days the scheduled first shipment of heavy fuel oil following Pyongyang’s announcement on July 6 expressing its willingness to begin the implementation of “initial actions.”

Seoul would supply 50,000 tonnes, while others would later send about one million tonne. Japan was, however, hesitant to participate due to its special concerns regarding North Korea.

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