By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter
North Korea is expected to issue a nuclear declaration by the end of this month, South Korea's top nuclear envoy said Wednesday.
``North Korea and the United States have found common ground in settling the issue of the North's declaration of its nuclear developments. I expect it to submit it this month,'' Kim Sook said in a meeting with foreign correspondents in Seoul.
Kim said the countries involved in the six-party negotiations over the North's nuclear weapons program are making efforts to resume the talks as early as possible.
``All countries are aware of the need to set a timetable for a fresh round of talks and resolve the nuclear issue as soon as possible,'' the envoy said.
Kim attended the conference just hours before leaving for Japan to participate in three-way discussions on the issue. He will meet with Christopher Hill of the United States and Akitaka Saiki of Japan in Tokyo, Thursday.
Regarding worries that some external factors, such as the U.S. presidential election slated for Nov. 4, may hamper the talks, he said all participants should move more quickly to find a breakthrough.
``Time is running out,'' Kim said. ``We need to reach an agreement before it is too late. We can't rule out the possibility that the window of opportunity may close unless we hurry up.''
The North must declare its nuclear developments under an aid-for-disarmament deal it signed last year with other countries.
Last week, officials from South Korea, the U.S., Japan, China and Russia met with North Korean officials at the truce village of Panmunjeom and agreed to speed up the delivery of energy aid to Pyongyang.