NK Nuclear Declaration Is Completed
By Michael Ha
Staff Reporter
The U.S. State Department, responding to questions on whether North Korea fully disclosed information on its uranium program and nuclear proliferation, said Pyongyang's declaration last week was ``completed" and that there were no gaps.
State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack said during a press briefing in Washington Wednesday that North Korea ``made statements that can be verified."
The spokesman's comments indicate that Pyongyang presented information on its nuclear proliferation to Syria and the uranium-based nuclear program, in addition to the plutonium program.
``In terms of the declaration ― the turning in of the declaration ― that step is completed. The process is one now of verification. And I would expect that through the verification process, we are going to excavate issues related to plutonium, as well as HEU (highly enriched uranium) and proliferation. The heads of delegation meeting is intended to nail down a verification protocol on the regime that will allow you to get to that.
``As I said, the declaration came in a couple of different parts regarding plutonium, then separate statements on HEU and on proliferation," McCormack said. The spokesman's comments appeared on the U.S. State Department's official Web site.
McCormack told reporters that in the coming days, it might even be possible for the United States and member countries in the denuclearization talks to make North Korea's 60-page declaration papers available to the public.
``It's a matter of discretion among the six. I'm not going to preclude it at this point. We'll see. We'll see," he said.
``We've talked about the declaration and the fact that it's come in different parts. The bottom line, as (Secretary of State Condolezza Rice) spoke about, is that on the plutonium, HEU, and proliferation fronts, the North Koreans have made certain statements," the spokesman said.
``The five parties will hold them to those statements. And they will be verified. And if there is any discrepancy between their commitments and their statements, then there are going to be consequences within the framework of the six-party talks."
McCormack acknowledged it is still unclear how much President George W. Bush can accomplish during the remaining six months of his presidency.
``How far are we going to get in this Administration? Don't know… You know, (Secretary of State Rice) has seen momentous international accomplishments take place in a very short period of time, or they could take a long period of time. We shall see. But it's going to be based on the principle of action for action within the six-party talks."
Some U.S. media reports have expressed doubts as to whether the United States would be able to complete the verification process within 45 days. Some reports have suggested that the U.S. government could run into difficulties in the upcoming verification process.
``Last week, Bush set in motion a 45-day process under which North Korea will be removed from the list of state sponsors of terrorism," the Washington Post reported.
``U.S. officials have suggested the process could be stopped if North Korea proves uncooperative," the newspaper said. ``But few expect that verification of North Korea's declaration will be completed before the 45-day period ends in mid-August."