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Denuclearisation of NKorea by end 2008 'a challenge': Hill
Beijing (AFP) May 28, 2008 US nuclear envoy Christopher Hill said Wednesday it will be a challenge to complete the denuclearisation of North Korea by the end of the year. Hill met with his North Korean counterpart Kim Kye-Gwan in Beijing on Wednesday amid efforts to secure from Pyongyang a declaration of its atomic activities originally due at the end of last year. "We're certainly committed to trying to complete the denuclearisation process, but obviously completing everything by the end of the year will be a challenge and we need to see if it's going to be possible," Hill told reporters on Wednesday evening. Hill said he had good discussions on a timeframe for the declaration, but would not elaborate on when it might be handed over. "We're certainly moving ahead but I'm not prepared at this point to announce the timetable." "There will be some technical meetings in the next couple of weeks or so." Hill also held talks with Chinese envoy Wu Dawei before having dinner with Japanese nuclear envoy Akitaka Saiki. North Korea reached a landmark six-party deal last year with the United States, China, Japan, Russia and South Korea. Under the deal, it agreed to disable nuclear plants at its key Yongbyon facility in exchange for aid and diplomatic recognition. As part of that agreement, Pyongyang was to hand over a full declaration of all its nuclear activities by December 31 last year. But disputes over the declaration have blocked the start of the final phase of the process -- the permanent dismantling of the plants and the handover of all atomic material. The biggest sticking points have centred on US suspicions that North Korea had a secret uranium enrichment programme and was involved in building a nuclear reactor in Syria on a site that Israel bombed last September. North Korea has not admitted to either allegations. "My discussion with the North Koreans was very much focused on the need for verification, and to fully cooperate in a verification regime," Hill said, referring to the need to make sure the declaration could be fully validated. Hill flies to Moscow on Thursday to meet with his Russian counterpart. China is the host of the six-party talks, and Wu has this week met with Hill and Kim in Beijing, and was also due to meet with negotiators from Japan and South Korea. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Share This Article With Planet Earth
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US nuclear envoy meets NKorean counterpart in Beijing
Beijing (AFP) May 27, 2008US nuclear envoy Christopher Hill met his North Korean counterpart on Tuesday in a bid to start working on a timeframe for Pyongyang's submission of an overdue declaration on its nuclear activities. |
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