Rice urges North Korea's nuclear disclosure, does not rule out P'yang visit

Posted on : 2007-12-22 10:17 KST Modified on : 2007-12-22 10:17 KST

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Friday pressed North Korea to give full disclosure of its nuclear programs and held out a possibility of her own visit to Pyongyang, saying the U.S. doesn't have "permanent enemies."

"I sincerely hope it will be the end of the year," she said in a press conference about North Korea's declaration of its nuclear stockpile.

But she indicated some flexibility on the deadline, saying "the key here is to get the process right."

South and North Korea, the U.S., China, Russia and Japan are members of what is known as the six-party talks aimed at denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula. In three major agreements reached since September 2005, the six governments laid out a road map under which North Korea's nuclear weapons and programs would be dismantled.

Pyongyang came through on the first-phase actions by shuttering its core atomic facilities and is now required to disable them. It also must submit a declaration to the six-party members detailing the fissile material North Korea produced, the suspected uranium enrichment program, and any nuclear proliferation.

"We have been very clear that we expect a declaration from North Korea that is complete and that is accurate," Rice said.

But with only 10 days left till the deadline, officials here say Pyongyang has yet to indicate it will follow through with the disclosure that would satisfy the six-party members.

Christopher Hill, Washington's top nuclear envoy, was in the North earlier this month to press the North Koreans, as was his Chinese counterpart Wu Dawei. This week, Hill's deputy, Sung Kim of the U.S. State Department, is in Pyongyang with the same message.

Pyongyang, in return for its denuclearization, was promised political and economic incentives by the five other governments, including diplomatic normalization with Washington that would open the door for one of the most closed regimes in the world to join the international community.

Rice, asked whether she saw an opportunity to visit countries like North Korea herself, did not rule it out.

"Look, we don't have permanent enemies. The United States doesn't," she said. "What we have is a policy that is open to ending conflict and confrontation with any country that is willing to meet us on those terms."

Rice also emphasized that there is an opportunity for better relations between Washington and Pyongyang.

The six-party agreements "is very clear on a pathway toward better political relations" between the two countries, she said, "And there can be many different opportunities within that context of improved relations."



WASHINGTON, Dec. 21 (Yonhap)

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