MOSCOW, July 17 (RIA Novosti) - North Korea should not only give up its nuclear programs but should also seek a settlement of its relations with the U.S. and Japan, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.
The six-party talks between North and South Korea, China, Russia, Japan and the United States are set to resume July 18 in Beijing to outline the next phase of ending North Korea's nuclear weapons program, which has been the subject of international concern for many years.
"Along with steps toward abandoning its nuclear programs, North Korea should be seeking to settle its relations with the U.S. and Japan and to resolve a number of controversial issues that complicate Pyongyang's cooperation with these countries," the ministry said in a statement posted on its Web site.
The ministry also voiced its approval with the start of the practical implementation of the denuclearization agreements.
"We positively assess Pyongyang's shutdown of its nuclear facilities at Yongbyon, and welcome the start of compensatory fuel oil deliveries to North Korea from South Korea," the ministry said.
Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency, who arrived in Pyongyang over the weekend, confirmed Monday the shutdown by North Korea of its nuclear reactor at Yongbyon, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) north of the capital as part of a disarmament deal reached in February.
The shutdown of the Yongbyon facilities is the first phase of the disarmament deal, which also envisions other economic and diplomatic incentives for the North, which conducted its first nuclear bomb test in October 2006.
Under the deal, the reclusive Communist regime will initially receive 50,000 metric tons of heavy fuel oil from its neighbor, South Korea. The U.S., Russia and China are to supply another 950,000 metric tons later on.
The second phase will include North Korea providing information on all its nuclear programs, including its uranium enrichment, and shutting down all nuclear facilities.
So far, South Korea has sent a total of about 13,000 tons of heavy fuel oil to energy-starved North Korea.
The ministry also said: "We assume that the next phase will have a key, crucial significance in many aspects, as its implementation would make the denuclearization process irreversible and create prerequisites for improving the situation both in the Korean Peninsula and northeast Asia as a whole."
North Korea started implementing the February agreements after Pyongyang was given back its funds in Banco Delta Asia in Macao frozen in 2005 at the request of the United States on accusations of money laundering and counterfeiting.
