The government will continue to freeze assistance for light-water nuclear reactor projects in North Korea, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiromu Nonaka said Wednesday.
He made the remarks in response to media reports on a tentative agreement Sept. 5 between the United States and North Korea concerning Pyongyang's nuclear and missile development.
The agreement calls for, among other things, settling by the end of the month the cost-sharing of the light-water nuclear reactor projects, which have been promoted under the auspices of the Korea Peninsula Energy Development Organization, according to media reports. "I understand that there has been certain progress in the talks between the U.S. and North Korea," Nonaka said at a news conference.
While noting that the government has yet to receive official information concerning the contents of the talks, he said, "We have announced our new policy toward North Korea, including the suspension of our assistance to the KEDO projects -- and we will stick to this stance."
Meanwhile, Foreign Ministry officials said Wednesday that Japan, South Korea and the U.S. will hold a working level meeting Monday in Washington to exchange views on North Korea's launch of a missile last week.