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June 25, 2007
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Headline News of June 25, 2007
 
Olli Heinonen of the IAEA arrives in Beijing en route to Pyongyang - 25/06/07
North Korea's foreign ministry confirms it has received $25m, as UN nuclear inspectors head to Pyongyang.

 
A plane carrying some 20 people between Cambodian tourist sites is thought to have crashed.
The Australian government's controversial plans to tackle child abuse in Aboriginal areas get under way.

 
BBC news transcript with photos
Transcript in the news of June 25, 2007 (With some misspelled words)  

The standoff is over. North Korea has announced it's starting to implement the nuclear disarmament, the resolution struck last February.  The decision follows the resolution of a financial dispute. Some of the North's money had been frozen in oversees' bank accounts, but is now returned.  The nuclear reactor at Yongbyon is supposed to be shut down as part of the agreement. In return North Korea will receive aid. U.N. nuclear inspectors arrive on Tuesday to discuss how the proceed.  Well, BBC's Kevin Kim is in Seoul.

>> It's just the first confirmation from North Korea their funds have been received. The North Korean state newsagencies says the troublesome issue of the frozen funds in Macau had finally been resolved and the money was successfully transferred into its North Korean accounts.  The foreign ministry said the money will be used for humanitarian purpose (to enhance the standards of life for its people).

>> So is the assumption now, Kevin, that the North is sincere?

>> It will be a good test. Nohttial phase of shutting down its main nuclear reactor Yongbyon. A delegation from the IAEA--the international nuclear watchdog--will be arriving in Pyongyang on Tuesday to discuss the procedure of the shut down and how it will be monitored, and I think a lot of analysis will be  seeing how smoothly this process goes.

>> Turkey's ruling party has unveiled its manifesto for the next month's election. It's pledging to trim the power of the country's president. He's believed to have been at odds. Been hammersly has been around turkey talking to regular people before they head to the polls. First he's in istanbuL. 467FB3C9.JPG

>> Less than one month until thevbul and the aptly named 360 restaurant to get an overview of the situation. With mE. Is a journalist and academiC.

E eutetween the islamist A.K. Party and the secular army and all of their allies. What's really going on?

>> That is only one die mention of this conflict because we are now facing a multidimensional crisis. The problem of security is one problem, but there is also the kurdish problem, the problem of social conservatism of the A.K. Government. There is also the problem of relationships with the european union so that there are a lot of contradictions. There's a lot of politicisation among the turkish society.

>> Currently the opinion polls are showing the a.K. Party may well win with an increased majority. This creates a crisis. The army is against them. The army has been known to have quite a few coup deutahs. 467FB40B.JPG

>> -- Coup d'etats.

>> All theto parliament, and everybody hopes that it will be dealt in a fair way. If not the army and parts of thetu this multidimensional problem will go on. Turkey does face a multidimensional crisis. We'll cover all bbc world. The next report will be on wednesday at the same time. Qiewl also be able to follow myE.E.

>> Ben, thank you. Now, in the u.S., A wind-driven wildfire has destroyed more than 160 homes on the border between california and nevada. More than 750 acres of land haved t the local sheriff says the fire is less than 5% contained and has more than 500 more homes in its path. Air tankers are assisting. More than 4 hundred firefighters on the ground. There have been no injuries so fa course, site bbcnews.Com, including bad news for scotsmen. Excuse me, sir, do you have a license for that? Scotsmen who wear kilts can face charges if they don't have alicence for the furry purse worn in front. It's usually made from badgers and they're protected. <

North Korea has confirmed it has received $25m (£12.5m) following a funding row that had hindered progress on a nuclear disarmament deal.

The foreign ministry said in a statement: "The issue of the frozen funds has finally been settled."

Pyongyang said the money would be used for humanitarian purposes.

The ministry also confirmed it would begin implementing a deal to shut down its main reactor - a day before UN nuclear inspectors are due to visit.

Now we are going to negotiate how to verify and make sure the reactor will be shut down and sealed, so this is the next step on this long trip
 
Olli Heinonen
Head of IAEA delegation

The team from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is travelling at the request of Pyongyang to discuss procedures for monitoring the shut down of the Yongbyon nuclear reactor.

Washington's chief nuclear negotiator, Christopher Hill, said at the weekend that Pyongyang had agreed to shut down the reactor within three weeks.

Banking concerns

"As the funds that had been frozen... have been transferred as we demanded, the troublesome issue of the frozen funds is finally resolved," a foreign ministry spokesman was quoted by official media as saying.

The money will be used "for improving the lives of our people and other humanitarian purposes as planned," the spokesman went on.

He also confirmed that North Korea "is set to start negotiations on the shutdown" of Yongbyon with the IAEA team.

N KOREA NUCLEAR DEAL
North Korean nuclear reactor at Yongbyon. File photo
N Korea to "shut down and seal" Yongbyon reactor, then disable all nuclear facilities
In return, will be given 1m tons of heavy fuel oil
N Korea to invite IAEA back to monitor deal
Under earlier 2005 deal, N Korea agreed to end nuclear programme and return to non-proliferation treaty
N Korea's demand for light water reactor to be discussed at "appropriate time"

 

Earlier the Russian bank Dalkombank - in the country's Far East - confirmed it had transferred the money to North Korea's Bank of Foreign Trade.

The money had frozen for nearly two years in a Macau bank after the US said it had been gained through drug smuggling and counterfeiting.

The block on the money was lifted after North Korea agreed in a landmark deal last February to "shut down and seal" Yongbyon in return for badly-needed fuel aid and other benefits.

But the transfer of the money had been held up because of concerns within the international banking community about handling the funds.

After weeks of stalling, progress on the nuclear issue finally picked up when the Russian bank agreed to act as an intermediary in the transfer of funds.

It led to North Korea's invitation to IAEA inspectors, and a surprise visit by US chief nuclear negotiator Christopher Hill to Pyongyang last week.

Mr Hill said at the weekend that the North had agreed to shut Yongbyon within three weeks, and that a fresh round of multi-party disarmament talks would be held in July.

The four-member IAEA team arrived in Beijing on Monday en route for the five-day visit to Pyongyang.

"Now we are going to negotiate how to verify and make sure the reactor will be shut down and sealed, so this is the next step on this long trip," the head of the team, Olli Heinonen, told reporters.

It will be the first time the IAEA has visited the country since inspectors were forced to leave in 2002.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6236026.stm

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* Because production of these transcripts depend on a variety of factors, there are occasional spelling errors.



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