Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura expressed concern Friday that the agreement to provide North Korea with two light-water reactors may collapse unless Pyongyang cooperates to resolve suspicions about its missile and nuclear activities.
The Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization framework will be meaningless if North Korea is constructing underground facilities capable of producing nuclear weapons, Komura told a regular news conference. Japan, South Korea and the United States are urging North Korea to provide access to the suspected underground site.
KEDO was launched based on an agreement between the U.S. and North Korea under which Pyongyang promised to give up its nuclear weapons program in exchange for the light-water reactors.
Komura meanwhile suggested that Japan's cooperation with KEDO may have to be suspended again if North Korea launches another missile similar to the one it fired over Japan Aug. 31. "It will become extremely difficult to gain public support" for the plan at home in such an event, he said.
Some media reports have recently suggested Pyongyang is preparing to launch another Taepodong missile.