This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7474952.stm
The article has changed 22 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 5 | Version 6 |
|---|---|
| N Korea 'hands over nuclear data' | N Korea 'hands over nuclear data' |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| North Korea has handed over a long-awaited account of its nuclear programme to China, South Korea's foreign minister has said. | |
| The declaration, which is six months overdue, is expected to detail North Korea's plutonium enrichment efforts. | The declaration, which is six months overdue, is expected to detail North Korea's plutonium enrichment efforts. |
| But analysts caution it is not expected to mention the North's alleged and separate uranium enrichment programme. | But analysts caution it is not expected to mention the North's alleged and separate uranium enrichment programme. |
| The handover is part of international efforts offering Pyongyang diplomatic and economic incentives to disarm. | The handover is part of international efforts offering Pyongyang diplomatic and economic incentives to disarm. |
| The US has agreed that if the North Korean declaration is complete, it will take measures to remove the country from its list of states sponsoring terrorism. | The US has agreed that if the North Korean declaration is complete, it will take measures to remove the country from its list of states sponsoring terrorism. |
| NORTH KOREA NUCLEAR DEAL 2002: N Korea pulls out of previous deal after US accuses it of having secret uranium programmeOctober 2006: North Korea carries out its first test of a nuclear weaponFebruary 2007: North Korea agrees to end nuclear activities in return for aidJuly 2007: North Korea closes its Yongbyon nuclear reactor and allows IAEA inspectors inDecember 2007: North Korea misses a deadline to hand over a declaration of its nuclear work | NORTH KOREA NUCLEAR DEAL 2002: N Korea pulls out of previous deal after US accuses it of having secret uranium programmeOctober 2006: North Korea carries out its first test of a nuclear weaponFebruary 2007: North Korea agrees to end nuclear activities in return for aidJuly 2007: North Korea closes its Yongbyon nuclear reactor and allows IAEA inspectors inDecember 2007: North Korea misses a deadline to hand over a declaration of its nuclear work |
| News of the handover came in a one-line despatch from the South Korean news agency Yonhap, quoting Seoul's foreign minister Yu Myung-hwan. | |
| Earlier, Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Wu Dawei said North Korea was poised to "submit its nuclear declaration to the chair of the six-party talks and the United States will implement its obligations to remove the designation of [North Korea] as a state sponsor of terrorism". | Earlier, Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Wu Dawei said North Korea was poised to "submit its nuclear declaration to the chair of the six-party talks and the United States will implement its obligations to remove the designation of [North Korea] as a state sponsor of terrorism". |
| In North Korea itself, a senior US diplomat and media have been invited to witness the destruction of a nuclear cooling tower at its Yongbyon reactor on Friday, in an apparent show of commitment to the deal. | In North Korea itself, a senior US diplomat and media have been invited to witness the destruction of a nuclear cooling tower at its Yongbyon reactor on Friday, in an apparent show of commitment to the deal. |
| Since agreeing to end its nuclear activities in February 2007, North Korea has shut down the reactor. | Since agreeing to end its nuclear activities in February 2007, North Korea has shut down the reactor. |
| But reaching agreement on the next stage of the deal - the declaration - has proved a tough task. | But reaching agreement on the next stage of the deal - the declaration - has proved a tough task. |
| Neither is the declaration expected to address the issue of how many nuclear weapons Pyongyang has, and what will now happen to them. | Neither is the declaration expected to address the issue of how many nuclear weapons Pyongyang has, and what will now happen to them. |
| Analysts say the most difficult part of the disarmament deal will focus on what happens to any nuclear weapons and weapons-grade material North Korea may have stockpiled. | Analysts say the most difficult part of the disarmament deal will focus on what happens to any nuclear weapons and weapons-grade material North Korea may have stockpiled. |
| The expected handover is dominating a meeting of G8 foreign ministers in Japan. | The expected handover is dominating a meeting of G8 foreign ministers in Japan. |
| Condoleezza Rice said North Korea should not try to "cheat" | |
| US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told reporters in the Japanese city of Kyoto there was still work to do in verifying Pyongyang had given up the pursuit of atomic weapons. | US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told reporters in the Japanese city of Kyoto there was still work to do in verifying Pyongyang had given up the pursuit of atomic weapons. |
| But some critics in the US accuse the Bush administration of making concessions to North Korea for little return. | But some critics in the US accuse the Bush administration of making concessions to North Korea for little return. |
| Japan, meanwhile, is concerned that any move to de-list North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism could marginalise its efforts to find out what happened to Japanese nationals abducted by Pyongyang 20 years ago. | |
| The BBC's Charles Scanlon says North Korea's nuclear programme is one of the few cards the impoverished and isolated communist state has to play. | |
| He says Pyongyang has used the menace of its claimed nuclear arsenal to prize concessions from the US as well as from its nervous neighbours. |