NK leader ready to halt WMD tests: Russian pres. source

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il said Wednesday that the North is ready to impose a moratorium on tests of weapons of mass destruction.

In summit talks with Russian President Dmitri Medvedev at a military garrison outside Ulan-Ude, the capital of the Russian republic of Buryatia, Medvedev`s spokesman also quoted Kim as saying Pyongyang is ready to resume the six-party talks without precondition, adding, “North Korea has agreed to resume the six-party talks.”

Medvedev said, “I`ve had frank and practical dialogue with Kim. We can also agree on the construction of natural gas pipelines by supporting the project to install pipelines that pass through North Korea and reach South Korea,” adding, “As far as I know, North Korea is interested in the tripartite project (with the two Koreas and Russia) on the transit of Russian natural gas to South Korea.”

Kim’s mention of a moratorium on WMD tests was apparently his response to Medvedev’s demand that the North implement denuclearization measures for the resumption of the nuclear talks.

In March, Moscow urged Pyongyang to return to the dialogue without precondition; halt the production and test of nuclear weapons; stop launching ballistic missiles; accept inspections of Pyongyang’s uranium enrichment program by the International Atomic Energy Agency; include uranium enrichment program on the agenda of the six-party talks; and allow international inspectors to return to the North`s Yongbyon nuclear facility.

The WMD tests that Kim mentioned included not only those of nuclear weapons but also for ballistic missiles.

Medvedev is also known to have told Kim that Pyongyang’s renouncement of nuclear weapons can lead to the implementation of projects to build a pipeline transporting Russian natural gas to South Korea and a railway linking the two Koreas with Russia and China.

Moscow reportedly considers these projects part of economic and energy assistance that five of the six parties to the nuclear talks have to offer in return for Pyongyang`s abandonment of its nuclear program.

kimkihy@donga.com