WASHINGTON _ The U.S. envoy visiting North Korea next week will focus on making sure Pyongyang provides complete disclosure of its nuclear activities by the end of this year, the U.S. State Department said Wednesday.
Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, currently touring Asia, is scheduled to travel to North Korea on Monday as the agreed deadline nears for Pyongyang to submit its declaration of its nuclear programs.
"We told them this is part of what he (Hill) wants to talk about, so I would expect they would be prepared to talk in some fashion about it," department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters.
"I wouldn't be surprised if they give him a brief or fill him in in some way on where they stand on that declaration," he said.
"And his point will be the point we've made in public numerous times, that whatever declaration they make needs to be full and complete with respect to their nuclear program."
North Korea and the U.S. are members of the so-called six-party talks, also involving South Korea, China, Russia and Japan, negotiating denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. In a series of deals made since September 2005, the six countries mapped out phased Reciprocal actions leading ultimately to Pyongyang's dismantlement of its nuclear weapons and programs.
After shutting down its core nuclear facilities at a site called Yongbyon, North Korea is in the process of disabling them. The six-party deals commit Pyongyang to complete the process by the end of this year, and also to provide the nuclear declaration by then.
The U.S. has emphasized that this disclosure must include clarification on North Korea's alleged uranium-based nuclear program, as well full accounting of any proliferation.
This means "all aspects of their nuclear program, including uranium," McCormack said.
Before heading out to Asia, Hill said he expects North Korea to give the first draft of the declaration to the U.S.-led nuclear disablement team present at Yongbyon.
(Yonhap)