U.S., China Call On North Korea To Honor Nuclear Pledge

John Negroponte, speaking in Seoul today (epa) March 6, 2007 -- The United States and China have urged North Korea to honor agreements made at six-party nuclear talks last month.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte, speaking in South Korea, called on Pyongyang to meet a 60-day deadline to shut down its main nuclear reactor.

Separately, Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing called on all negotiators to meet their obligations, including the five countries that have offered aid to North Korea in exchange for its nuclear cooperation.

An EU delegation is also headed to Pyongyang today for high-level talks on implementing the agreement.

Meanwhile, the United States and North Korea today are set to continue talks on normalizing relations for the first time in more than 50 years.

The talks were scheduled as part of the six-country nuclear agreement.

(AFP, AP)

The Proliferation Threat

The Arak heavy-water plant in central Iran (Fars)

BENDING THE RULES. Henry Sokolski, executive director of the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center, told an RFE/RL-Radio Free Asia briefing on January 9 that the West is hamstrung in dealing with Iran and North Korea because of the way it has interpreted the international nonproliferation regime to benefit friendly countries like India and Japan.