N. Korea, U.N. to develop plan to dismantle nukes

Bob Drogin, LA Times Staff Writer

VIENNA, Austria -- In a fresh sign of easing tensions, North Korean officials on Friday invited the chief of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog agency to come to their capital, Pyongyang, next month to develop plans aimed at dismantling the nation's nuclear weapons program, officials said here.

Mohamed ElBaradei, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said that he hopes to discuss the "shut-down and eventual abandonment" of the plutonium-producing reactor facility at Yongbyon, ending its ability to produce fuel for additional nuclear weapons.

North Korea, which tested its first nuclear device in October, pledged earlier this month to stop, seal and ultimately disable operations at Yongbyon. It also agreed to let IAEA inspectors return to examine its bombs, nuclear fuel stores and other nuclear facilities. Inspectors were ordered out in December 2002 when the reclusive regime withdrew from the Nonproliferation Treaty.

Pyongyang did not promise to relinquish its current arsenal, believed to be up to six bombs or the fissionable material to make them, but agreed to further negotiations in the future.

"I see this as a step toward the denuclearization of the North Korean Peninsula," ElBaradei told reporters in a joint briefing with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who is visiting Vienna. A spokeswoman said ElBaradei probably will visit in the second week of March.

The White House, which is eager to see North Korea disarm, applauded the invitation as a sign of progress. "It's a positive sign," said White House spokesman Tony Fratto. "It shows that we're beginning to execute the terms of the agreement."

The breakthrough came a day after ElBaradei reported that Iran had defied a U.N. Security Council order to suspend its nuclear enrichment program. The report said Iran instead steadily has expanded low-grade enrichment of uranium, has installed further equipment used for enrichment, and continued construction of related facilities. The report cited numerous cases where Tehran has ignored IAEA requests for additional access or information.

In an interview Friday, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran's representative to the IAEA, claimed that the report supported Iran because IAEA experts "found no evidence," he said, of diverted nuclear material that could be used for weapons. "It is a clean bill of health," he said.

The report, however, states that the IAEA "is unable to verify the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities" unless Tehran provides additional cooperation to solve a series of outstanding concerns. Inspectors are restricted in their travel in Iran, and may visit only sites that Iran has declared formally.

Soltanieh said that the IAEA report disproved concerns in Washington, D.C., that Iran secretly is planning to use a civilian nuclear fuel program to build nuclear arms.

"All these allegations have been proved by Mr. ElBaradei to be baseless," he said. "The report proves that all activities of Iran are for peaceful purposes."

Soltanieh repeated Iran's offer to start negotiations if Washington and its allies drop U.N. sanctions and their demands for an immediate freeze of nuclear activities as a precondition to talks. "We are a great nation and preconditions are a humiliation," he said.

Bush administration officials will meet other Security Council members in London on Monday to draft further U.N. sanctions proposals. The talks are expected to focus on European export guarantees that help prop up Iran's economy.

Ban, the new U.N. chief, urged Iran to follow North Korea's example and return to talks with the international community.

"I very much hope that the Iranian authorities learn from the case of the North Korean nuclear example," he said. "It should emphasize the better future of the nuclear issue through dialogue."

North Korea agreed Feb. 13 to freeze its production of plutonium at its five-megawatt facility at Yongbyon and to allow inspectors to monitor and verify its compliance. In return, the United States, China, South Korea and Russia agreed to provide about $400 million in food and fuel aid, plus security guarantees.

The United States also agreed to start the process of removing North Korea from its designation as a state that sponsors terrorism, and to discuss terms for normalizing relations and ending economic sanctions.

The pact defers several more difficult issues, including denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, a complete declaration of North Korea's nuclear activities. Some of President Bush's supporters have criticized the arrangement, saying the White House had rewarded Kim Jong-ll's government for testing a bomb.