By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter
North Korea is putting the final touches to a declaration on its nuclear development programs, and is engaging in last-ditch talks with the United States to fix the date for its issuance, South Korea's top nuclear envoy said Sunday.
``I can confirm Pyongyang is making final preparations to issue the declaration. It is almost ready to do so,'' Kim Sook told reporters in Seoul. ``My understanding is that the U.S. needs more time to review the 18,000-page report on the North's nuclear development, which the U.S. received from the North in early May. The North is expected to issue the declaration as soon as the U.S. finishes its review of the documents.''
Kim made the comments after meeting with his North Korean counterpart, Kim Kye Gwan, in Beijing, Friday. They discussed a wide range of topics related to the six-party talks and the stalled inter-Korean relations, Kim said.
``Pyongyang is taking a more positive stance toward advancing the six-party talks. We agreed to make efforts to speed up the process,'' Kim said. ``It is very important to check whether the North's declaration is verifiable. Verification should be done through various measures, including on-site inspections and sample-taking (from its nuclear material and facilities) by experts.''
The nations involving in the six-party negotiations will lay out measures to have independent experts verify the North's nuclear programs and to eventually dismantle them after the communist regime issues the declaration to China, which is chairing the stalled multilateral talks.
The chief U.S. negotiator, Christopher Hill, said on Friday in Moscow that he was optimistic about the outlook of the multilateral talks on the North's nuclear disarmament. He refused to comment on when Pyongyang will issue the long-awaited declaration, but said, ``They are getting ready to do this.''
Hill held two days of meetings with his North Korean counterpart, Kim Kye Gwan, in Beijing.
Regarding the schedule for a fresh round of the six-party talks, Kim Sook indicated that the talks may resume in June.
``All I can say is that the six-party talks will be able to make progress in June,'' Kim said.