Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 106: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement on the present position in North Korea; if North Korea was discussed at the recent Europe-China meeting; and if so, the intervention the Irish delegation made on this subject. [38394/08]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Following discussions in early October between officials from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the United States Government, the DPRK's reversal during the summer of its agreed nuclear disablement process appears to have been resolved. As a result, inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) returned last month to the nuclear facilities in the DPRK, and work towards the decommissioning of these sites has now resumed.

In the wider context, the humanitarian situation in the DPRK remains of considerable concern. The country is suffering chronic food insecurity and high malnutrition rates, and remains reliant on external food assistance to meet the needs of its 23 million people. Recent studies indicate that the DPRK has been as vulnerable to the global crisis as other countries, with domestic costs increasing in line with global food prices, and the price of fuel surging by 50 percent in the second quarter of 2008.

The situation in the DPRK was discussed at the ASEM 7 Summit on 25 October, in the context of a broad review of international and regional developments. The official record of the Summit noted that the ASEM Leaders had welcomed the progress made in the recent Six-Party Talks discussions and "called on the relevant parties to continue to take positive steps to move forward the Six-Party Talks with the aim of early and verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in a peaceful manner." They also emphasized the importance of addressing the humanitarian concerns in the DPRK.

Time pressures and the number of topics on the agenda under this item did not permit an intervention by the Taoiseach on this issue.