US enters Taiwan/Korea fray

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@ix.netcom.com>]

WASHINGTON  - The United States believes any  
shipment of nuclear waste from Taiwan to North Korea should 
conform to international standards, the State Department said 
Wednesday. 
    A department official also said Washington was urging Taipei  to
consult ``interested parties'' over a controversial Jan. 11 contract
under which the Taiwan Power Co. can ship up to 200,000 barrels of
nuclear waste to communist North Korea. 
  The official said the United States saw no nuclear arms  
proliferation threat from the low-level waste, which contains no
uranium or plutonium. ``There is no reason to believe it raises any
direct proliferation concerns,'' he said. 
  But he said Washington was aware of environmental concerns  
about the deal in South Korea. 
  ``It is important to ensure that the shipment and storage of  
this waste conforms to internationally accepted practices,'' he 
said. ``We hope that Taiwan will continue to consult with 
interested parties on this important issue.'' 
  Despite escalating protests in South Korea, Taiwan and North  
Korea forged ahead Tuesday with preparations for an initial 
shipment of 60,000 barrels of the waste. 
  Despite seeing no proliferation threat, the U.S. official  
said Washington and the International Atomic Energy Agency were 
looking into whether the shipment might hinder IAEA scrutiny of 
North Korea's nuclear program and facilities. 
  Pyongyang agreed to halt its nuclear program, which had  
raised U.S. fears of possible weapons production from spent 
fuel, and submit to IAEA safeguards under a 1994 agreement with 
the United States. 
  The United States was discussing the issue with Taiwan and  
the Vienna-based IAEA, an international nuclear watchdog body, 
the official said. 

Sandy Perle
Technical Director
ICN Dosimetry Division
Office: (800) 548-5100 x2306 
Fax: (714) 668-3149

E-Mail: sandyfl@ix.netcom.com    

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