Despite the United States recently charging North Korea of helping Syria build a nuclear reactor, the top US envoy to the nuclear talks said the US is ready to continue working with North Korea on the disarmament deal. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Christopher Hill just reiterated statements made by US administration officials earlier. He said that the U.S. intelligence material on the North Korea-Syria link need not ruin the six-party accord, by which North Korea is to cancel its nuclear program in return for aid and diplomatic benefits. He made these statements in between sessions of Washington talks with top South Korean diplomat Kim Sook.

 

North Korea closed down its nuclear reactor complex at Yongbyon the previous year in exchange for energy aid. But this process got slowed down after North Korea declared its nuclear programs, including proliferation activity that Pyongyang was to have undertaken by the end of previous year. Hill and Kim Kye-Gwan, who is his North Korean counterpart, made a tentative deal in Singapore recently under which Pyongyang instead of making announcement about proliferation, would acknowledge U.S. concerns about it. This arrangement attracted disapproval from few U.S. conservatives.