DISPUTE OVER N. KOREA'S NUCLEAR REACTOR

[Anchor Lead]

The South Korean political scene was rocked over the weekend by a controversy surrounding a nuclear reactor in North Korea. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy is accused of destroying a massive amount of public papers ahead of the inspection of the early closure of a Wolsong nuclear reactor and among the shredded papers were materials on the construction of a nuclear reactor in North Korea. The Ministry held a press conference and claimed that it wasn’t the government’s official position, but more like an idea floated around as internal memos. However, the ministry said it cannot disclose what the documents contained and why the ministry destroyed them.

[Pkg]

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy reported there were six pages of documents related to building a nuclear reactor in North Korea. Those six pages included four pages of main text and two for references. The Ministry stated it is not true that an internal investigation found the accusation of the South Korean government building a nuclear reactor in North Korea, and backed up this claim. The Ministry reasoned that it was clearly specified in the report’s heading that the document was for internal review, not the government’s official position. Also, the report concluded that there were limits to actually implementing the idea and additional reviews were needed in step with North Korea’s denuclearization measures in the future. The Ministry emphasized that it was just a report about possible ideas tossed around with no detailed plan.

[Soundbite] Shin Hee-dong(MOTIE Spokesperson) : "This issue was terminated without additional reviews or outside disclosure. It has never been a government policy and the allegation that we were trying to build a nuclear reactor in North Korea in secret is just not true."

The Ministry expressed regrets over destroying the document and said the reasons behind it would be unveiled through investigation and trial. What the document actually contained could not be revealed as it could affect the ongoing trial. The Ministry also made it clear that some ruling party members’ claim that the deleted documents were written during the Park Geun-hye administration, is not true. As for the controversial activity report on interested parties, the Ministry answered that it was not an investigation on civilians, but an ordinary activity report.