Make N. Korea accountable
(From The Japan Times June 28 issue)

北朝鮮にきちんとした説明をさせよ

North Korea has filed a declaration of its nuclear programs with China, which chairs the six-party talks, and the United States has started a procedure to remove the North from its list of state sponsors of terrorism.

Japan wants to see progress on the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea and opposed delisting the North. It faces the difficult task of pushing for the denuclearization process while seeking a solution to the abduction issue.

In the Oct. 3 second-phase agreement in the talks, North Korea agreed to disable its three main nuclear facilities in Yongbyon, and to provide a "complete and correct declaration" of all of its nuclear programs by the end of 2007. The disablement work has been done only at the 5,000-kW experimental graphite-moderated reactor. The North tested a nuclear weapon in October 2006. But the declaration does not list its nuclear weapons; it lists only nuclear materials and facilities. The United States has said that the handling of nuclear weapons will be taken up in the next phase. Information on the North's uranium-enrichment program and nuclear cooperation with Syria is in another document given to the United States.

The 45-day interim before the actual removal of the North from the terrorism sponsors list will be crucial. An effective method of verifying the declaration must be developed. If information indispensable for ascertaining the North's denuclearization is missing, the United States should reconsider the delisting, and the other five members of the talks should exert pressure on the North to provide full information. The delisting goes together with removing the North from Enemy Act restrictions, ending its financial isolation from the rest of the world.

Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda said if the delisting contributes to resolving North Korea's nuclear problem, it is desirable. Still, the abduction issue has yet to be resolved. Japan should make utmost efforts to attain the goal in the 45-day period, perhaps using economic assistance and sanctions as leverage. But it should proceed cautiously in close cooperation with Washington and Seoul.

北朝鮮が核開発計画の申告を6カ国協議議長国の中国に提出、米国は北朝鮮のテロ支援国家指定を解除する手続きに入った。

拉致問題解決を望む日本は、核放棄と拉致問題の双方を解決するという難題に直面している。

北朝鮮は昨年10月、非核化第2段階として寧辺にある核施設の無能力化と核計画全容の申告に合意。申告が核物質と核施設のみで核兵器情報がないことについて、米政府は次の段階で究明するとした。北朝鮮のウラン濃縮利用の核計画や、シリアへの核技術協力については別文書が米政府に渡っている。

申告が不十分であれば、米政府は解除を考え直すべきだ。解除と同時に敵対国通商法適用も撤廃される。

福田首相は、核問題解決が進むなら指定解除歓迎と述べたが、政府は拉致問題解決に向けて経済支援や制裁も考慮に入れ、米韓政府と協力して慎重に問題解決に取り組むべきだ。