N. Korea To Miss Reactor Deadline

But Pyongyang Offers To Invite U.N. Inspectors Back As Soon As Un-Frozen Cash Returned

(CBS/AP)  North Korea has offered to invite U.N. nuclear inspectors to return within a day of receiving previously frozen funds that have been an obstacle in disarmament talks, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson said Wednesday, but Pyongyang will not meet a Saturday deadline to shut down its sole nuclear reactor.

North Korea "would move promptly," Richardson told a news conference in Seoul after a four-day trip to the North.

"Within a day after receiving the funds, and therefore within that day, (North Korea says it will) invite the (International Atomic Energy Agency) to Pyongyang and inspectors to draw up the terms for shutting down the Yongbyon reactor," he said.

Richardson said the North Koreans had asked for a month to complete the reactor shutdown, but that the U.S. delegation had said that was too long.

"We let them know that this was not acceptable and the issue was dropped," he said. Instead, Richardson said the shutdown should only take a "few days."

The comments were the clearest North Korean reaction yet to an announcement that authorities have released North Korea's money held in Banco Delta Asia — a Macau bank blacklisted by Washington — and raised hope for the implementation of a landmark Feb. 13 agreement in which Pyongyang promised to shut its main nuclear reactor by Saturday.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, the main U.S. envoy to the North Korea nuclear talks, said Wednesday he hoped that U.N. inspectors would be able to travel to the North "in a matter of days."

"We see no reason why (North Korea) should hold up anything right now," Hill said in Seoul after meeting South Korean diplomats. "I don't want to get into extending the deadline."

Authorities in the Chinese territory of Macau said Wednesday that North Korea can withdraw the money.

Richardson said the Macau bank is expected to formally notify North Korea later Wednesday or Thursday that the regime can access its funds.

"So the (financial) issue is resolved and now we need to move forward," Richardson said. "Now the ball is in North Korea's court to take the next important steps."

Acknowledging it might be difficult to meet the Saturday reactor shutdown deadline, he called on the North to show goodwill by inviting U.N. inspectors by then "to at least start the process of shutting it down."

The financial issue has brought the nuclear negotiations to a standstill as North Korea insisted it would not talk about disarmament measures until it gets its money back. Pyongyang has claimed that the freeze on its funds shows the United States' hostile intentions toward the isolated communist regime.

The U.S. blacklisted the Macau bank in 2005 for its alleged complicity in counterfeiting and money laundering by North Korea. The move prompted the North to boycott the nuclear talks for more than a year, during which it conducted its first-ever nuclear weapons test in October.

Richardson said the bipartisan U.S. delegation stressed during their visit that Americans were united in seeking an end to Pyongyang's nuclear program.

"We impressed upon the North Koreans that the American people are united in seeking a peaceful and final end to North Korea's nuclear program," Richardson said.

[randalds]

Once again it takes a democrat to successfully use diplomacy to settle an international issue peacefully. Congratulations Bill Richardson! You've shown them how it's supposed to be down! Unlike Bush and his minions you understand that war does not have to be the first option or indeed in most cases any option at all! I'm not sure who is going to be the democratic president in Jan 2009, but if it's not you then whoever it is would be a complete fool not to make you Secretary of State or Ambassador to the UN. In a week you've accomplished more for diplomacy and world peace then the Bush administration has in more then 6 years. In fact they've been dragging us down and backwards, so it's nice to see there are still some sane, non-warmongering people in American politics! Congrats again!

[salazars1]

In the business world, we hire someone based on a resume. Becoming president should not be any different. We need Bill Richardson's experience to run this country...not Barack Obama.

[tbweb]

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson is well liked on both sides. Sometimes you have a rare bird who trancends party politics and puts America first. Bill had to tour the USS PUEBLO and sit through an anti-American video but he came out in one piece, I guess that's the price of admission for Americans going to North Korea. But at this rate of success maybe Bill can even get the North Koreans to give the USS PUEBLO back to the U.S., dispite the North Koreans issues and complaints with the U.S., it's not their ship, that ship belongs to the U.S. Taxpayer and when the N. Koreans finish using it as a trophy at some point we want it back!

[tbweb]

In the business world, we hire someone based on a resume. Becoming president should not be any different. We need Bill Richardson's experience to run this country...not Barack Obama.

Posted by salazars1 at 09:50 AM : Apr 12, 2007

--salazars1

A resume is only one part of the process, the individual still has to sell themselves and their agenda to the American voter and may the best person win.

[zigsocks]

Where was the coverage of this story on the nightly news? Could it have been one of those stories that if you blinked, you missed it? Instead, we got almost an entire edition of the nightly news about a local rape case. Don't get me wrong, those boys deserved national attention after all the national attention your show and others gave it for sooo long, but it played more like an episode of Entertainment Tonight than the evening news. Bill Richardson deserves better treatment by the news networks than the sorry coverage that this story has gotten so far. Could it have something to do with the fact that he's running as a democrat? I'd be willing to bet that if he was a republican, he'd have been the lead story on all the networks! Way to go! You're just another example of why I get my news from NPR, Democracy Now and PBS! Go back to journalism school, Katie!