North Korea “Give Us 2,000,000kW of Electricity”

North Korea “Give Us 2,000,000kW of Electricity”. June. 24, 2004 21:10. by Soon-Taek Kwon Hyong-gwon Pu maypole@donga.com bookum90@donga.com.

On June 24, it was reported that North Korea requested 2,000,000kW of electric power or the equivalent in oil supply per year in exchange for its nuclear freeze during the third six-way talks held in Beijing, China on June 23, and that the U.S. must participate in this effort to provide energy support.

According to multiple Washington and Beijing foreign sources, it was informed that North Korea had intentions to include nuclear facilities that they claimed were for “peace-related purposes,” including Youngbyun’s 5MW experimental atomic reactor as one of the nuclear freeze targets. North Korea’s electricity production capacity is 7,000,000kW per year; however, due to worn out equipment and fuel shortages, the rate of operation currently is only around 2,000,000kW.

On the afternoon of June 24, the second day into the talks, North Korea and the U.S. made the first bilateral contact at Diao Yu Tai Conference Hall and discussed a full-scale negotiation of these issues; however, it was reported that they held dissenting opinions.

Meanwhile, during this talk, the U.S announced on June 23 that, in addition to the member countries of the six-way talks, they will be able to provide temporary support that will relieve North Korea of its economic and political isolation if North Korea publicly pledges to discard all nuclear programs and initiate a preparation stage.

White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan and U.S. State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher each held a briefing this day and announced as such, explaining that energy, food, and North Korea’s security will be included in the support by countries including the U.S., South Korea, and Japan.

They also made clear that, in the process of discarding the nuclear programs, North Korea should dismantle and eliminate nuclear-related equipment and substance under the supervision of an outside inspector, transfer the nuclear weapon and related parts outside, as well as operate a long-term inspection program.

Concerning this matter, the Washington Post reported that U.S. President George W. Bush declined the State Department’s proposal of South Korea providing crude petroleum to North Korea with the U.S. offering security, following Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld’s opposition to this proposal.