N. Korea Drops $300-Million Demand
North Korea has dropped its demand for $300 million to allow a U.S. inspection of a suspected nuclear weapons site and instead will accept food and other economic benefits, Seoul newspapers reported today.
Quoting unidentified sources in Washington, two major South Korean newspapers--Joong Ang Daily News and Dong-A Ilbo--said the agreement was reached in recent negotiations in New York and Washington.
The two sides were to start discussions on detailed terms of the inspection at their next round of negotiations, expected in late January, the newspapers said. Those talks probably will be in Geneva and coincide with Korean peace talks with the United States and China as mediators.
Tension has risen over North Korea’s refusal to accept a U.S. demand for inspection of the suspected underground nuclear facility under construction northeast of the North’s main nuclear complex of Yongbyon. North Korea says the facility is for civilian use only.
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