The European Parliament has decided to temporarily withhold its 2003 funding to a consortium charged with building nuclear reactors in North Korea following Pyongyang's admission that it is developing nuclear arms, EU sources said Friday.
But the decision on the 20 million euros ($19.9 million) 2003 budget for the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO) could be reversed, the sources said.
The development places KEDO's finances at risk because the European Union's contribution is significant. The 15-member EU provided 115 million yen to the New York-based international consortium building two light-water reactors in the North between 1997 and 2002, mainly to buy fuel oil. Brussels also pledged to provide a further 20 million euros annually until the end of 2005.