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Hill urges N Korea to come clean on nuclear programs

US envoy Christopher Hill said yesterday that North Korea must make credible declarations about all its nuclear programs, as doubts emerged over whether a year-end deadline would be met.

Speaking ahead of talks with Chinese and Russian officials to brief them on his visit this week to North Korea to observe the dismantling of the Yongbyon nuclear facility, Hill told reporters that Pyongyang's declaration was crucial.

"We want to make sure that when they transfer [issue] even a first draft, that it is credible," Hill told reporters. "We need them to step up and show some trust in us and trust in the process."

Following the testing of its first nuclear device in October last year, North Korea agreed to a six-nation accord in February to disable all its atomic programs in return for energy aid and diplomatic and security concessions.

As part of that agreement, North Korea agreed to disable its main nuclear facility at Yongbyon and declare all its atomic programs before the end of the year. It would then eventually completely and irreversibly scrap its nuclear programs.

Hill said on Wednesday night that he still hoped that the end-of-year deadline for a declaration could be met, but South Korean Foreign Minister Song Min-soon appeared more downbeat.

"Currently the nuclear issue is at a crossroads where it may proceed towards a stable phase or to a rough road," Song said in Seoul yesterday after Hill had briefed his South Korean counterpart.

"As to the declaration part, progress is not yet being made. We are aiming at the end of the year as a target date but if we miss it, we will be flexible in readjusting it and doing it in a realistic way," he said.

In what could prove to be a hurdle in the declaration, Hill specifically referred to North Korea's alleged secret uranium enrichment program.

While North Korea has openly admitted to producing plutonium at the Yongbyon facility, the US has for many years asserted that there may also be a secret uranium enrichment program.

Both plutonium and highly enriched uranium can be used to make nuclear bombs.

The US has asserted that North Korea purchased materials and equipment that could be used to build gas centrifuges needed to enrich weapons grade uranium.

Hill made it clear that the whereabouts of such materials and equipment must be revealed in order for the US to move towards establishing diplomatic relations with the regime as agreed to in the February accord.

"We have had a lot of discussion with them about uranium enrichment. It is a very delicate ... discussion," Hill said. "Being clear about what has happened in the past is the means for us to build a future relationship."
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