Easier nuke declaration eyed for NKorea

[maddezmom]

Source: AP

TOKYO - Countries negotiating with North Korea over its nuclear weapons program are considering easing their demands on the communist nation in order to break a stalemate in the talks, Japan's foreign minister said Friday.

Masahiko Komura said some countries wanted to relax the requirements for what North Korea should include in a declaration of its nuclear programs and weapons.

"The point is, the purpose (of the negotiations) is not a declaration per se, but a complete abandonment (of North Korea's nuclear weapons) and denuclearization," Komura said. "There is a view that it is better to get things going and out of the stalemate to achieve the goal of denuclearization, even if it takes a slight easing of the requirements for now."

Komura suggested that a declaration that omits details about North Korea's nuclear weapons could be sufficient for some countries in the talks in order to move the process forward. The talks — involving Japan, China, Russia, the U.S. and the two Koreas — have been stalled since last year over North Korea's failure to provide a full declaration of its nuclear programs.



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