US envoy meets SKorean counterpart to discuss NKorea nuclear accord
(6 Mar 2007) POOL 1. US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte walking then shaking hands with South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Cho Jung-pyo 2. Pan from mid of Negroponte to mid of Cho as they shake hands 3. Negroponte and Cho walk away AP Television 4. Negroponte walking into news conference 5. Wide pan of news conference 6. SOUNDBITE: (English) John Negroponte, US Deputy Secretary of State: "So it seems to me we have an early test of North Korea's willingness and disposition to comply with the terms of the February 13 statement and I think we should all be attentive to what North Korea does in that regard." 7. Cutaway, reporters 8. Wide of Negroponte at podium 9. SOUNDBITE: (English) John Negroponte, US Deputy Secretary of State: "It's in North Korea's interest to comply with this obligation and that if it were for some reason to conceal nuclear facilities or not declare facilities that it in fact had developed and that were then discovered it some later day, I think it would have the effect of undermining confidence in this entire arrangements." 10. Wide of news conference 11. Cutaway, reporters 12. SOUNDBITE: (English) John Negroponte, US Deputy Secretary of State: "We would like these negotiations to move as quickly as possible and for conclusions to be reached as soon as possible." 13. US ambassador to South Korea, Alexander Vershbow, at news conference 14. Wide of news conference 15. Cutaway, cameraman 16. Negroponte leaving news conference STORYLINE: The US State Department's number two diplomat met his South Korean counterpart on Tuesday as Washington and Seoul discussed how to ensure North Korea keeps a pledge to start dismantling its nuclear weapons program. US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte met South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Cho Jung-pyo for lunch, but both declined to comment ahead of their talks. Negroponte was to meet President Roh Moo-hyun later on Tuesday. The meetings came after the US and North Korea began talks in New York on Monday aimed at normalising relations, part of the measures outlined under a February 13 agreement in which Pyongyang said it would shut down its sole operating nuclear reactor within 60 days in exchange for aid and other concessions. Negroponte was confirmed last month as US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's deputy, and his visit to South Korea is part of an Asian tour that also included China and Japan. Meanwhile, the combined US-South Korean military command on Tuesday announced it would hold its annual joint exercises from March 25 to 31. The war games regularly draw criticism from North Korea, which alleges that they are a rehearsal for invasion. The command said in a statement that the affiliated UN Command contacted the North Korean army "and assured them that this is a defensive military readiness exercise, and that it is not meant to be provocative in any way." US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte noted that an early test of North Korea's willingness to disarm would occur within 60 days, the deadline for Pyongyang to shut down its sole operating nuclear reactor. "We should all be attentive to what North Korea does," he told a news conference in Seoul. "It's in North Korea's interest to comply with this obligation and that if it were for some reason to conceal nuclear facilities or not declare facilities that it in fact had developed and that were then discovered it some later day, I think it would have the effect of undermining confidence in this entire arrangements," he added. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: / ap_archive Facebook: / aparchives Instagram: / apnews You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...
