The upcoming talks in Beijing, involving China, Japan, Russia, the United States and the two Koreas are expected to finalize a timeline for the second stage of the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, which envisions North Korea shutting down all its nuclear facilities.
The Japanese agency cited sources in the South Korean government as saying that Pyongyang had requested that host China postpone the negotiations until the conclusion of the second-ever summit between the two Koreas, scheduled for October 2-4.
Following more than three years of negotiations after Pyongyang withdrew from the Non-Proliferation Treaty in 2003 and conducted a nuclear bomb test last October, North Korea formally agreed in February to permanently disable all its nuclear facilities and provide a full account of its nuclear weapon activities.
In exchange for North Korea's denuclearization and information on all its nuclear programs, the reclusive state will receive 950,000 metric tons of fuel oil for its thermal power-generating plants in addition to the 50,000 already delivered by South Korea for the closure of its only operational nuclear reactor at Yongbyon.
