Chief US negotiator to the six-party talks on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue Christopher Hill said late Thursday night it is possible to have a good draft of the declaration of nuclear programs from Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in a couple of weeks.
Hill, who arrived in Beijing Wednesday afternoon following a three-day visit to the DPRK, said that he had productive discussions with his Chinese counterpart Wu Dawei Thursday afternoon and both sides had "very good understanding of the way forward."
"We had good discussions in Pyongyang yesterday on the declaration (of nuclear programs), on what elements need to be there, and everyone understands the situation," he told reporters at hotel.
"We can resolve it," said Hill, referring to the differences between the US and DPRK on what should be included in the declaration, "we can have a good draft of declaration in the next couple of weeks," emphasizing it should be "complete and correct".
In response to question that the disablement of nuclear facilities at Yongbyon might exceed the dateline of Dec. 31, Hill said "things are moving ahead."
"Anyone who has seen the disablement could be impressed with the fact that we are really on schedule, "he said.
Hill confirmed that US President George W. Bush has sent letters to the other five parties involved in the nuclear talks, including DPRK's top leader Kim Jong-il, to advance the denuclearization process.
"I think the decision to send a letter out to all the parties was in connection with the very important moment," he said, but declined to disclose the specific contents.
According to a six-party talks joint document released in Beijing on Oct. 3, the DPRK agreed to disable all the existing nuclear facilities and provide a complete and correct declaration of all its nuclear programs by the end of this year.
The document said the disablement of the five-megawatt Experimental Reactor, the Reprocessing Plant (Radiochemical Laboratory) and the Nuclear Fuel Rod Fabrication Facility in Yongbyon would be completed by Dec. 31.
Hill said he will leave for Tokyo early Friday morning.
(Xinhua News Agency December 7, 2007)
