U.S. wants RI to support KEDO

U.S. wants RI to support KEDO

JAKARTA (JP): The United States is calling for Indonesia's participation in the newly-formed Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO) consortium, intended to supply North Korea with "safe" reactors.

U.S. Ambassador-at-Large Robert Gallucci said yesterday that he hoped Indonesia would support KEDO, both politically and economically.

"We would be very interested in an active Indonesian role, politically and substantially," Gallucci said.

KEDO was formed by the U.S., South Korea and Japan on Thursday to supply North Korea with two 1,000 megawatt Light Water Reactors (LWR) to replace the graphite-based reactors that Pyongyang is currently developing.

North Korea's agreement to convert to LWRs, which produce less weapons grade plutonium, has alleviated world fears that North Korea was developing its nuclear capability.

The establishment of KEDO follows a breakthrough agreement between a U.S. delegation, headed by Gallucci, and North Korea in Geneva last October.

The U.S. agreed to supply North Korea with an alternative energy source, in the form of heavy oil, while the reactors are being built. Pyongyang received the first shipment of 50,000 tons of heavy oil from the U.S. in January.

"Indonesia is in a position to help with heavy fuel oil ... and financially directly," Gallucci said from Washington during a Worldnet Dialog with panelists from Seoul, Tokyo, Canberra and Jakarta.

The project is expected to cost over $4 billion, with Seoul providing the bulk of the funds and Tokyo bearing about 30 percent.

A row has erupted recently, with North Korea rejecting the South Korean-made reactors about to be supplied.

Pyongyang is questioning the quality of the South Korean reactors, while Washington says North Korea has no alternative but to accept them.

Prior to the establishment of KEDO, a preparatory conference involving 20 countries was held in New York.

The six members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) -- Brunei, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand -- took part in the conference.

Gallucci said that after the conference the U.S. was "hopeful that countries would conclude that it was in their interest to politically support the organization and then do so also materially, and I would say that is certainly true of Indonesia."

When asked about the notable absence of China, from both the preparatory conference and from KEDO, Gallucci said Beijing had been invited but had declined to attend. However, he stressed that Beijing fully supported the October agreement.

"They told us that they could support the agreed framework better by remaining outside KEDO than by joining KEDO," Gallucci explained.(mds)