US-India nuke deal may hurt N Korea talks
Ap, Seoul
A US deal offering India help with its civilian nuclear programme could further stymie arms talks with North Korea and push China to step up its own atomic dealmaking in the region, experts say. President Bush signed an agreement with New Delhi last week to share nuclear know-how and fuel providing India allow international inspections of its nuclear reactors. The agreement marks a shift in policy for the United States, which imposed temporary sanctions on India in 1998 after it conducted nuclear tests. However the deal requires US Congress approval, which may be difficult because India hasn't signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. China typically sees India as a strategic rival and is likely to step up its influence to try and block the deal, said Mohan Malik, professor at the Asia-Pacific Centre for Security Studies in Honolulu. Beijing has already offered nuclear technology to Bangladesh, and Myanmar has expressed interest in atomic energy. "China could step up proliferation of nuclear technologies in India's neighbourhood to countervail India-US ties," Malik said. China's Foreign Ministry criticized the plan last week, saying any international nuclear cooperation "must meet the requirements and provisions of the nuclear nonproliferation regime and the obligations undertaken by all countries concerned."
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