Hanoi - The top US negotiator with North Korea Monday urged Pyongyang to issue a full accounting of all its nuclear programs, so that the six-party talks on dismantling the programs and ending the country's diplomatic isolation could resume. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, on a diplomatic visit to East Asia, said North Korea must issue a "complete and correct declaration" of its nuclear programs before the talks can begin.
"Time is short, and I would hope we can get on that within this month," Hill said.
Hill visited Beijing three times in the course of his current 16-day trip to East Asia, but did not succeed in meeting with North Korean nuclear negotiators. Hopes that a meeting might take place on Sunday were dashed after Hill said the North Koreans were not ready to negotiate.
The six-party talks involve North and South Korea, China, Japan, Russia, and the United States. In 2005, the talks led to North Korea agreeing to dismantle its nuclear programs in exchange for diplomatic concessions and economic aid.
North Korea detonated a nuclear weapon in October, 2006. It has since shut down its Yongbyon nuclear reactor in compliance with the 2005 agreement, and has issued a list of its nuclear activities, including an admission that it possesses 30 kilograms of plutonium, enough for six bombs.
But the list failed to meet American expectations, and North Korea has complained that deliveries of aid promised by the US and other countries in the agreement, including fuel oil, have slowed.
The US says North Korea must provide a complete and correct declaration of its nuclear programs before negotiations can move forward to a "third phase." Analysts say the US wants North Korea to discuss its dissemination of nuclear technology to other countries, such as Syria, and its alleged pursuit of uranium enrichment.
"We have had a number of discussions with the North Koreans regarding what is meant by 'complete and correct'," Hill said.
