The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Friday blew up the cooling tower at the Yongbyon nuclear complex, a symbolic gesture of its willingness to abandon its nuclear ambition.
Five broadcasters -- one each from the five countries in nuclear talks with the DPRK -- were invited by the DPRK to cover the demolition of the aging cooling tower, a symbol of the DPRK's nuclear facilities that has repeatedly appeared in U.S. satellite photos.
With the event being witnessed by the world, the DPRK is taking a new step for reaching the goal of denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula.
The DPRK's move indicated that a breakthrough is imminent in the impasse that has held up the six-party nuclear negotiations for months, as the tower's destruction came after Pyongyang submitted its long-delayed list of nuclear programs.
The DPRK handed over its nuclear declaration to China on Thursday.
WASHINGTON PROMISES TO REMOVE DPRK FROM TERROR LIST
The United States said Thursday it may remove the DPRK from its state sponsors of terrorism in August if the DPRK meets all its obligations under the six-party talks.
"After a period of 45 calendar days and absent the enactment of a joint resolution blocking the proposed rescission, the secretary of state may rescind North Korea's designation as a state sponsor of terrorism on August 11," the U.S. State Department said in a statement.
The DPRK will not be removed from the terror list until a verification system is put in place and verification itself begins, the statement said.
U.S. President George W. Bush also said Thursday that the United States will lift the key sanctions on the DPRK under the Trading with the Enemy Act and will notify Congress of his intent to remove the DPRK from the state sponsors of terrorism.
Under a landmark agreement reached last year at the six-party talks, involving the United States, the DPRK, China, South Korea, Japan and Russia, Pyongyang 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 denuclearization process reached an impasse as Pyongyang failed to meet the deadline despite reported progress in its nuclear disablement and declaration.
The White House stressed that it was expecting Pyongyang to fully meet its commitments under the 2007 deal.
"We'll have to see. We hope that they will fulfill their obligations and then, as we've said, there is action for action," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said earlier this week.
HOPES FOR BREAKTHROUGH IN SIX-PARTY TALKS
Hopes have been rising recently that the months-long deadlock in negotiations will soon end. In May, the DPRK handed over to the United States 18,000 pages of records for its Yongbyon reactor and reprocessing plant.
The United States also announced in the same month that it would send 500,000 tons of food aid to the DPRK, a sign of improved bilateral relations after rounds of negotiations and dialogues, which have facilitated mutual understanding and helped build up confidence between the two sides.
Several other factors are believed to have contributed to the breakthrough in the process of DPRK's nuclear disarmament.
The close cooperation among the six parties has given great impetus to the development of denuclearization process. China, as the chair of the six-party talks, has played a critical mediating role. The working groups of the six-party talks also made tremendous efforts to figure out the details of the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula.
Moreover, the DPRK has adopted a more open stance as evidenced by its permitting foreign experts to visit the Yongbyon nuclear center and inviting foreign media to cover the demolition of the cooling tower.
However, some major challenges still exist in the denuclearization process, such as the U.S. verification of the DPRK's declaration, the normalization of the DPRK-U.S. and DPRK-Japan ties, and the issue of the DPRK's past abduction of Japanese citizens.
Source: Xinhua
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