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DPRK may blast cooling tower at Yongbyon reactor Friday

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-06-26 20:34

PYONGYANG  -- The cooling tower at Yongbyon, the nuclear center of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), may be destroyed Friday afternoon, a DPRK official said Thursday.

The official, on condition of anonymity, asked the correspondents planning to cover the destruction to gather at 1:00 pm local time (0400 GMT) Friday, saying the explosion may come at 4:00 pm or 5:00 pm local time (0700 GMT or 0800 GMT).

TV crews from the five countries in nuclear talks with the DPRK -- China, the United States, South Korea, Japan and Russia -- arrived at Pyongyang Sunan international airport Thursday afternoon.

The DPRK submitted its nuclear declaration to China, the chair of the six-party talks, Thursday afternoon.

Prior to the submission, Wu Dawei, China's top negotiator on the Korean Peninsular nuclear issue, said the United States will implement its obligations to remove the designation of the DPRK as a state sponsor of terrorism and to terminate application of the Trading with the Enemy Acts.

Under an agreement reached at the six-party talks in Beijing in October  last year, the DPRK agreed to abandon all nuclear weapons and programs and declare all its nuclear programs and facilities by the end of 2007, in exchange for diplomatic and economic incentives.

However, the DPRK missed the deadline despite reported progress in its nuclear disablement and declaration.

The United States has urged the DPRK to fully declare its nuclear programs and activities.

DPRK submits declaration to chair of six-party talks

BEIJING  -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) submitted its nuclear declaration to the chair of the six-party talks here Thursday afternoon.

According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, the DPRK ambassador to China Choe Jin Su  submitted the declaration to Wu Dawei, China's top negotiator on Korean Peninsular nuclear issue.

Prior to the submission, Wu held a press conference, reading a statement by the chair of the six-party talks, in which he said the United States will implement its obligations to remove the designation of the DPRK as a state sponsor of terrorism and to terminate application of the Trading with the Enemy Acts.

Wu confirmed the parties, also including the Republic of Korea, Japan and Russia, agreed that the declaration will be subject to verification and there is agreement within the parties on a set of principles to guide the establishment of a verification regime.

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