North Korea rejects request for nuclear sampling

Washington had requested soil samples, but North Korea says sampling was never part of the verification deal.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Published: NOVEMBER 12, 2008 11:09
north Korea officers 298 (photo credit: AP)
north Korea officers 298
(photo credit: AP)
North Korea says it has agreed to let nuclear inspectors visit its main atomic complex and interview scientists - but refuses to let them take samples as part of any verification checklist. The Foreign Ministry statement released Wednesday provides the first details from Pyongyang about last month's negotiations with a US nuclear envoy. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill went to the North Korean capital in early October in a bid to rescue a disarmament-for-aid deal stalled over how to verify Pyongyang's claims about its nuclear program. Washington had requested soil samples, but North Korea says sampling was never part of the verification deal.