The United States and its allies announced today they will suspend work on a nuclear power project in North Korea for one year - a step toward closing down an operation strongly opposed by the Bush administration.
But the organization building the project will maintain the site for at least the one year while five countries try to persuade Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear weapons programs.
The New York-based Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization, KEDO, said the suspension would start on December 1st and the organization would take a decision on the future of the project by the time the suspension period ends. KEDO includes the United States, Japan, South Korea and the European Union.
"The executive board of KEDO, given that the conditions necessary for continuing the light water reactor project have not been met by the DPRK (North Korea), has decided to suspend the light water reactor project in the DPRK for a period of one year, beginning December 1st, 2003," a KEDO statement said.