Yonhap had an interesting “piece”:http://english.yna.co.kr/Engnews/20070305/630000000020070305224932E3.html the other day about North Korea’s thoughts RE: disabling the Yongbyon facilities.

According to an unnamed “ranking South Korean official:”

Kim Kye-gwan, the North’s chief nuclear negotiator, has reaffirmed that disabling the communist country’s nuclear facilities will be an “irreversible process,” after which the facilities cannot be restarted for use, the official told reporters while speaking on condition of anonymity.

The North Korean made his remarks during a meeting with his South Korean counterpart, Chun Yung-woo, in New York on Saturday, according to the official.

These comments are enlightening, given that a Feb. 13 “KCNA statement”:http://www.totalwonkerr.net/1354/kcna-on-six-party-statement
said that North Korea had agreed to the “_temporary suspension_ of the operation of its nuclear facilities.”

According to the South Korean official

bq. “Kim said his country only used the expression ‘temporary suspension’ because the facilities can be restarted at any time until they are completely disabled,” the official said, adding there was “absolutely no difference of opinion between North Korea and the other countries on what ‘disabling’ means.”

It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out.

[ Via “Andreas Persbo.”:http://verificationthoughts.blogspot.com/2007/03/denuking-north-korea.html ]

Previous disablement post “here.”:http://www.totalwonkerr.net/1371/doe-on-disablement