US Does Not See North Korea Nuclear Account As Final Declaration - Envoy

Jan 05, 07:33 AM

Washington, Jan. 4 Kyodo - The United States does not regard North Korea's account about its nuclear programmes as a final declaration it was to make by the end of last year under a six- party nuclear deal, chief US nuclear negotiator Christopher Hill said Friday.

"We've been notified about some of the contents," he said. "But when we receive a declaration, first of all, the declaration should be received by the chairman of the six-party talks - the Chinese."

The assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs made the comments after North Korea insisted earlier in the day it is not to blame for the "regrettable" failed Dec. 31 deadline to implement a six-way deal, saying it has already fulfilled most of its obligations by disabling its nuclear facilities to the utmost extent and by declaring its nuclear programmes to the United States.

Under the terms of the six-party deal, North Korea was to have disabled all its nuclear facilities and declared all its nuclear programmes by the end of last year in exchange for energy assistance.

But diplomats involved in the six-way process have said North Korea has balked after complaining that heavy fuel oil Russia was to have shipped to it in November has not reached the country yet.

Hill, in a brief conversation with reporters at an airport outside Washington ahead of his journey to Asia and Russia, reiterated Washington's call on Pyongyang to submit a "complete and correct" declaration on its nuclear programmes.

"They are supposed to provide a declaration that would include all (nuclear) materials, all installations, facilities and all programmes. So...in our discussions, we didn't feel they were quite ready to do that," he said.

"And I hope they will, because we'll need that in order to get moving, because if they do their things, we'll do our things," he added.

The United States has repeatedly said North Korea's declaration should cover its suspected uranium enrichment programme, separate from a known plutonium-based programme, and the alleged transfer of nuclear technologies to other countries such as Syria.

Earlier in the day, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said North Korea has not yet provided its final declaration on nuclear programmes to China.

"We're still waiting for that," McCormack told reporters.

White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe also told reporters, "Unfortunately, we have not yet received a complete and correct declaration and we urge North Korea to deliver one soon, so that we can all get the benefits offered in the six-party process."

North Korea's Foreign Ministry made the assertion that Pyongyang has declared its nuclear programmes to the United States in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.

In the statement, Pyongyang also confirmed it has slowed down disablement work in response to delays in the delivery of rewards promised by other parties in the six-way process, which involves North and South Korea, the United States, China, Russia and Japan.

Hill acknowledged that as the statement said, US officials were allowed to visit some military facilities in which imported aluminium tubes were used as an exception.

"What they said today in the KCNA statement was accurate about our access to the facilities where they told us that the tubes had ended up - ended up for the purposes that the tubes had eventually been used for," he said.

The United States had said it suspects the tubes were used in a covert programme to enrich uranium for weapons.

After stopping over in Hawaii, Hill will arrive in Tokyo next Monday. He will then proceed to Seoul next Tuesday, to Beijing next Thursday and to Moscow the following day. During his stay in each country, he is expected to confer with his counterparts involved in the six-way process.

He said he has no plan to meet North Korean officials, including Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan, during his trip, or to visit Pyongyang. "We suggested if they could come to Beijing, but I don't think it's possible," he said.

Originally published by Kyodo News Service, Tokyo, in English 2123 4 Jan 08.

(c) 2008 BBC Monitoring Asia Pacific. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved. US Does Not See North Korea Nuclear Account As Final Declaration - Envoy
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