The United States said Wednesday that it hopes North Korea will
keep its promise and disclose all its nuclear activities by the end
of this year.
"We are hopeful that we will have the complete declaration
provided by around the year end," U.S. Assistant Secretary of State
Chris Hill said.
North Korea is making progress in disabling its nuclear
facility, Hill said.
U.S. President George W. Bush, in a letter to North Korean
leader Kim Jong-il last week, called on North Korea to disclose all
its nuclear activities. The United States has insisted that North
Korea has not so far explained the status of its nuclear program to
U.S. satisfaction.
This was the first time for Bush to directly communicate with
North Korea since he took office.
It is widely regarded that the letter marked an apparent shift
of attitude by Bush toward North Korea, a country once he branded
as one of the "axis of evil."
The six-party talks held in Beijing in February reached a
nuclear deal, in which North Korea agreed to disable its nuclear
reactor and declare all nuclear programs and facilities by the end
of this year to pave the way for dismantlement next
year.?????
(Xinhua News Agency December 13, 2007)
