SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea failed to meet a year-end deadline to declare all its nuclear programs under an aid-for-disarmament deal, prompting disappointed reactions Monday from South Korea, the U.S. and Japan.
The three countries, along with China and Russia, have been pushing North Korea to abandon its nuclear programs in a series of negotiations that began in 2003 and finally gained momentum in 2007. Washington and Seoul have said they believe the overall disarmament process, though falling behind schedule, is still on track.
North Korean state media made no mention of the missed deadline, but the North renewed its call for Washington to scrap what it calls “hostile” policies toward the communist regime.
The North’s New Year message also said it would “make earnest efforts for stability on the Korean peninsula and peace in the world,” according to the country’s official Korean Central News Agency.
Pyongyang promised in February to abandon his nuclear ambitions in return for energy aid and political concessions. In October, North Korea vowed to disable its nuclear facilities and declare its programs by the end of the year in return for the equivalent of 1 million tons of oil. South Korean media have reported that Pyongyang has so far received 150,000 tons of oil, and the North began disabling the reactor last month with U.S. experts watching.
