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US envoy seeks '100 percent' truth from NKorea
Tokyo (AFP) Jan 7, 2008 Chief US negotiator Christopher Hill called Monday for North Korea to declare "100 percent" of its nuclear programmes after it missed a key deadline. North Korea had until December 31 to disable its key nuclear facilities and give a full declaration of its other nuclear programmes as part of a deal with China, Japan, South Korea, Russia and the US. Hill, visiting Tokyo at the start of a regional tour, said North Korea needed to provide a full declaration even after the deadline slipped. "We don't need a 90 percent declaration; we need a 100 percent declaration," said Hill, the US assistant secretary of state for Asia. "They have not provided a complete and correct declaration. By that I mean that they have not included all of the nuclear programmes they have, they have not included all the nuclear facilities they have," he said. "A partial declaration is really no declaration at all," Hill said after talks with his Japanese counterpart in the six-nation talks, Kenichiro Sasae. But Hill voiced optimism that the delay would not destroy the breakthrough six-nation deal reached in February last year. "We can complete this phase and move very quickly to the next stage because we do want to persist in achieving our full goal," Hill said. Under the agreement, North Korea, which tested an atom bomb in 2006, receives badly needed aid and security guarantees in return for disarmament. Pyongyang said Friday it had been forced to slow compliance with the six-nation deal and build its "war deterrence," accusing the United States of aggressive diplomacy. A key hurdle is believed to be North Korea's declaration of its nuclear programmes. Washington says it has evidence that Pyongyang has imported material for a suspected uranium enrichment programme along with its plutonium-based activities. The North has never admitted any uranium operation. Japan has been the most critical nation of the six-way deal. It has refused to fund it due to a lingering row over North Korea's abductions of Japanese civilians. Sasae said Japan agreed with the United States that it was still important to have a complete declaration of North Korea's nuclear programmes. "Unfortunately, the declaration issue did not go as scheduled by the end of last year. But in principle, having correct and complete content is more important than the timing," Sasae said. After Tokyo, Hill is due to head for talks in South Korea, China and Russia. In Seoul, he will meet the US ally's President-elect Lee Myung-Bak, who has signalled a tougher line on the communist North. "We will have a lot of consultation in the days and weeks ahead to make sure that we can get the process on track," Hill said. In Beijing, Hill said he would hold talks on setting the next date of six-party talks. Related Links Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com All about missiles at SpaceWar.com Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
NKorea says slowing nuclear deal compliance
Seoul (AFP) Jan 5, 2008North Korea said Friday it had been forced to slow compliance with a six-nation nuclear disarmament deal in its first comments since missing a deadline to declare its atomic programmes. |
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