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KCNA Urges U.S. to Compensate for Losses Caused by Scrapping AF

Korean Central News Agency of DPRK via Korea News Service (KNS)

   Pyongyang, December 19 (KCNA) -- The Korean Central News Agency today issued a detailed report in connection with the fact that the construction of Light Water Reactors (LWRs) promoted by the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO) under the U.S. supervision came to a final end. It said:
    In November the U.S. and the KEDO made a final decision to completely stop the construction of the LWRs which they committed themselves to provide to the DPRK.
    The construction of the LWRs, the keynote of the DPRK-U.S. Agreed Framework (AF), provided a guarantee for putting an end to the hostile relations between the two countries and peacefully solving the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula as groundwork for building the bilateral confidence. The construction of the LWRs which the U.S. had committed itself to provide to the DPRK on a turnkey basis by the year 2003 under the AF has not gone beyond the phase of the groundwork although it is two years behind the deadline for the completion of the construction due to the U.S. obstructive moves. The U.S. has procrastinated over their construction, regarding it as a sort of "gift" to the DPRK. It has finally made such unilateral decision, a wanton violation of the agreement between the governments and a perfidy to its dialogue partner.
    It is the Bush administration which is chiefly to blame for having reduced the AF to a dead document.
    The basic spirit of the AF adopted on Oct. 21, 1994 calls on both sides to respect mutual sovereignty, build an atmosphere of reconciliation and confidence, terminate the hostile relations between the two countries and ensure peace and security in the world, to say nothing of those on the Korean Peninsula and in Asia-Pacific.
    The Bush administration, however, has deliberately refused to abide by the AF and systematically scrapped all official documents signed between the two countries in a premeditated manner, asserting that the AF and a series of other agreements its previous government concluded with the DPRK bring "benefits" to the DPRK only while harming the interests and dignity of the U.S. side.
    The hard-line conservative forces of the U.S. Republican Party did not let even a single opportunity pass by without escalating the pressure as regards the DPRK policy pursued by the Democratic Party government, talking about the AF. This had thrown this or that hurdle in the way of the smooth implementation of the AF.
    No sooner had the Bush administration emerged than it opted for modifying the policy toward the DPRK and totally negating the AF. It has systematically pursued a hard-line policy toward the DPRK, terming it a "lawless state", a "rogue state", a "human rights abuser" and a "sponsor of terrorism," etc. even without having any chance to talk to it.
    The keynote of the AF was the provision of the LWRs as it reflected the political will to solve the nuclear issue between the DPRK and the U.S. on the principle of reciprocity.
    The AF committed the U.S. to building LWRs of 2,000 MW and providing them to the DPRK by the year 2003.
    On Jan. 17, 2003 the Bush administration adopted the "stop to the provision of LWRs to north Korea" through KEDO as its official policy and decided to negotiate with the relevant parties. On Nov. 22, 2005 it finally decided to completely stop it.
    Now that the U.S. has completely given up the construction of the LWRs, a yardstick showing its confidence, the DPRK is left with no option but to pursue without let-up its peaceful nuclear activities based on the graphite-moderated reactors (GMRs) of Korean style.
    The Bush administration's abandonment of its commitment to provide LWRs to the DPRK compels it to develop in real earnest its independent nuclear power industry based on 50,000 KW and 200,000 KW GMRs and their related facilities and start developing and building LWRs of Korean style in reliance upon its indigenous technology and potential when an appropriate time comes to put further spurs to its peaceful nuclear activities. The U.S. is now under a legal and moral obligation to compensate for the huge political and economic losses it has caused to the DPRK by totally stopping the construction of the LWRs and scrapping the AF.
    The DPRK has suffered enormous political and economic losses due to the Bush administration's breach of the AF as evidenced by the suspension of the delivery of heavy fuel oil and the complete stop to the provision of the LWRs.
    First of all, the freeze of the independent nuclear power generating facilities has brought huge losses to the DPRK, having an immeasurably adverse impact on different domains of the national economy.
    The U.S. non-compliance with its commitment to build LWRs by 2003 and put them on a normal operation in return for the DPRK's freeze of its independent nuclear power industry has caused the latter to suffer the loss of tens of billions kwh of electricity annually since 2004. Therefore, the DPRK is not in a position to meet the growing demands of different domains of the national economy for electricity which has seriously affected the development of industry, agriculture and other fields of economy and the efforts to improve the standard of people's living. The DPRK has the legitimate right to demand the U.S. compensate for having pulled out of the AF and caused huge political and economic losses to the DPRK.
    This demand is quite reasonable and just in view of internationally recognized laws, norms and common practice.
    The DPRK is entitled to urge the U.S. to fully compensate for the huge losses it has brought against the DPRK even under the DPRK-U.S. agreement and Article 16 of the Agreement on the Provision of LWRs "Actions in case of non-compliance".
    The U.S. which organized the KEDO and supervised it has unilaterally disbanded it without full agreement with the KEDO member countries. Therefore, it should compensate to them for the possible future losses.
    The fact that the U.S. has systematically violated the AF and shunned its implementation proves that it was quite right for the DPRK to have decided to maintain the nuclear facilities without dismantling them.
    The present reality once again convinces the DPRK that it was far-sighted when it took a measure for self-defence every time it deemed necessary, predicting that the Bush administration might scrap the AF and completely halt the construction of the LWRs anytime.
    The DPRK was quite right when at the six-party talks it insisted on observing the principle of simultaneous actions as regards the provision of LWRs and the abandonment of nuclear program, a physical foundation for building confidence between the DPRK and the U.S.
    The DPRK will deal with the U.S. in the future, too, on the basis of simultaneous actions on the principle of "action for action." The U.S. has neither a pretext nor justification to blame the DPRK for bolstering its nuclear deterrent as a defensive means because it has persistently pursued a hostile policy toward the DPRK.
    As long as the Bush group persistently pursues the policy to stifle the DPRK, bent on arrogant, self-justified and high-handed practices while regarding "force" as all-powerful, the DPRK will steadily bolster its nuclear deterrent as a powerful treasured sword for defending the sovereignty of the country, averting a war on the Korean Peninsula and ensuring peace in Asia and the rest of the world.