YONGBYON NUCLEAR FACILITIES

[Anchor Lead]

Experts predict that the nuclear facilities in Yongbyon are going to be the starting point if a dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang is to resume. The discussion could start at the dismantlement of the Yongbyon nuclear site and relaxation of sanctions - the key issues at the last North Korea-U.S. summit in Hanoi.

[Pkg]

When the leaders of South Korea and the United States met for the first time under the Biden administration they made it clear in a joint statement that they respected the agreement signed between North Korea and the U.S. in Singapore three years ago. An unnamed foreign affairs source said the U.S. not only respects the Singapore statement but also reviews the items discussed and tries to use them in a positive way. That means that if the North again proposes to dismantle the nuclear facilities in Yongbyon, Washington may reciprocate by partially easing some sanctions. The relaxation of sanctions is likely to be what Pyongyang had demanded in the past. During the North Korea-U.S. summit in Hanoi, out of the five UN sanctions adopted between 2016 and 2017, Pyongyang demanded the ones that hurt the North's economy be removed first. Those sanctions put limits on crude oil imports and banned mineral exports.

[Soundbite] Lim Eul-chul(Prof., Kyungnam Univ.) : "The Biden administration seems to be sending a signal that it is more open to talks about such issues as the Yongbyon nuclear site and gradual denuclearization."

However, there is concern that North Korea’s human rights issue could be put on the table - something the Trump administration had not taken up eagerly.

[Soundbite] Park Won-gon(Prof., Dept. of North Korean Studies, Ewha Womans Univ.) : "Actual measures must be produced in the denuclearization process. The human rights issue may make it to the negotiating table to bring progress because that issue is consequential to what North Korea wants - the deferral or removal of sanctions."

North Korea has maintained that they would come to the negotiating table only when the U.S. demonstrates sincerity. That's why some experts suggest that Washington needs to send a signal that boosts Pyongyang's pride.