U.S. Says North Should Disclose Nuclear Programs in Next Round of Six-party Talks

Christopher Hill , the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs and the chief representative of the U.S. delegation to the six-party talks, emphatically said on October 4, “If a fifth round of the six-party talks is held in November as agreed, North Korea should disclose all details with regard to its nuclear programs.”

Hill had a foreign press conference in Washington on October 4 and said, “It is impossible to verify North Korean nuclear programs that may or may not be known (by the U.S. and the other six-party participant countries). Complete disclosure will create an opportunity for North Korea to wipe out the accumulated distrust between North Korea and the U.S.”

He added, “North Korea should keep it in mind that it signed a joint statement which requires it to abandon nuclear programs voluntarily, not as a defeated nation.”

When asked about the possibility of his visit to Pyongyang in October, he just said, “It has not been decided yet.” Since the September 19 Beijing agreement, the possibility has been raised constantly.

Seung-Ryun Kim srkim@donga.com