TNAG-2346-FCO40-3415-Political-relations-between-Hong-Kong--Japan-and-China-1991 — Page 57

BACKGROUND

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NORTH KOREA/NON PROLIFERATION TREATY (NPT)

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1 North Korea continues to refuse to adhere to its NPT

obligations. In spite of an initially positive reaction to

President Bush's nuclear initiative North Korea's Prime Minister,

addressing the UNGA on 2 October, only restated his government's

proposal that the Korean Peninsula should become a nuclear free zone

as a condition for Pyongyang's acceptance of international inspection of its nuclear facilities. The US is reportedly prepared in principle to remove all nuclear weapons from Korea (including

air-launched nuclear weapons) to pave the way for renewed efforts to press North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons programme. They want to convey this to the North as a window of opportunity which

will not remain open indefinitely.

2. Several countries, including Japan, have been in favour of

resolutions at recent IAEA meetings in Vienna calling on North Korea

to sign the Nuclear Safeguards Agreement. The UK supported

the most recent resolution, but with reservations, believing

(rightly) that there was a risk that North Korea would use this as a reason for delaying any action. We are proposing however that Sir David Hannay should raise NPT with his North Korean opposite

number when discussing other matters of concern, as a lower-key way

of getting the message across.

NORTH KOREA/JAPAN

3.

North Korea and Japan last held intergovernmental talks on the normalisation of diplomatic relations at the end of August/early September. Japan is insisting that North Korea adheres to its NPT

obligations before matters can be taken further. North Korea

continues to press for compensation from the Japanese for the pre and post-colonial period. A 5th round of negotiations will be held in Peking in early November.

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