North Korea ready to dump nukes if US normalise ties
North Korea said yesterday it would dismantle its nuclear weapons if the United States promises to normalise relations and drops plans to topple its regime, according to a source at six-party talks.
The Stalinist state said it was willing to allow any disposal of its atomic weapons to be verified, but did not say if this meant International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors could return to the country.
IAEA inspectors were thrown out of North Korea in December 2002 after the US accused the regime of running a uranium enrichment programme.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. "In the word-for-word agreement, the DPRK pledges to liquidate its nuclear weapons and nuclear weapons program verifiably if the DPRK and the US normalise relations, build trust and remove the nuclear threat," North Korea's chief delegate Kim Kye-gwan told the talks, according to the source who was in attendance.
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