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)
