VARIOUS: U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill says Korea nuclear talks on track

North Korea's obligatory declaration of its nuclear programmes under a disarmament pact must include its secret uranium enrichment, the U.S. envoy in talks with Pyongyang said on Tuesday (March 6). But talks are believed to be on the right path for the 'normalisation' of North Korea. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said in a speech prior to the second day of talks with North Korea that Washington wanted Pyongyang to be clear about its obligations under the landmark nuclear deal. "I think so far we are on schedule for completing our 60-day set of initial actions. I think there was a commitment on their part to fulfil their part of the deal and I assured them that we will do our part as well," Hill said in a speech at the Japan Society in New York. Under the February 13 deal reached in Beijing by the Koreas, the United States, Japan, Russia and China, North Korea must begin discussions within 60 days to produce a comprehensive list of its nuclear activities. Hill is holding talks in New York with North Korean envoy Kim Kye-gwan aimed at eventually normalising diplomatic ties as part of the agreement, under which Pyongyang has pledged to scrap its nuclear arms programs in exchange for aid. The talks in New York marked the highest-level meeting between the two countries on U.S. soil since communist North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-il, sent a top envoy to Washington in 2000 in an abortive effort to improve relations. But Hill warned that one should not expect to see immediate results from these preliminary meetings. He said, "We don't look for any immediate outcomes from this working group; it's just a first session. Another thing we'll be discussing is when and where our next working group is going to be. I find these discussions very valuable and to try and explore their thinking get a better idea of what's really important to them, that sort of thing. I think people should understand that this is an initial working group where we are going to be discussing things, sometimes for the first time." The negotiating teams of Hill and Kim met for four hours on Monday (March 5) evening in an initial session that Hill declined to discuss in detail but described as "very constructive, very businesslike." Although the normalization effort has brought the U.S. and North Korea to the same table, it "does not mean that all our problems with North Korea go away with the abandonment of their nuclear aspirations. Obviously we will have continuing differences with North Korea, but I think getting rid of the nuclear aspirations is a very good start and I know that we could have a relationship with them, albeit a relationship where we will have disagreements on a number of issues as we do with countries throughout the world, but nonetheless, I think a relationship that can move forward." Hill said that issues to be discussed on Tuesday (March 6) include Washington's designation of North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism and U.S. trade sanctions against it under the Trading with the Enemy Act.

ITN Source | March 7, 2007

Tags:. .terrorism. .session. .met. .japan. .aid