Comments Upon Arrival in Japan

QUESTION: Does it include a special message only to Mr. Fukuda?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY HILL: I think it's a letter to Prime Minister Fukuda, yes.

QUESTION: Wu Dawei said that the disablement of nuclear facilities is not going to happen within this year.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY HILL: Disabling is very much underway. They are disabling in all three facilities. Things are moving, actually, quite on schedule. So whether some of these actions can actually be physically completed by the end of the year, for technical reasons probably they can't. Probably they have to take more time. But everything is underway, and everything is going smoothly.

QUESTION: If they are going to delay disablement, does that mean U.S. reaction will be delayed as well?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY HILL: I think there are two types of delays: those for purposes of people not wanting to do things and those for safety and technical reasons. And so I don't think we should mix up those two.

QUESTION: About the declaration, what is the DPRK refusing to give out? What kind of information is the DPRK --

ASSISTANT SECRETARY HILL: Well, I wouldn't put it in those terms. I mean, we have a declaration which needs to be complete and correct. It's a major undertaking to list all nuclear programs, nuclear facilities, nuclear materials. So I think it will require some discussion before it comes out. So I wouldn't put it in terms of refusing to do something. Simply a question of working through some issues.

QUESTION: There are informations that they are refusing to give out any information about the HEU development.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY HILL: We continue to have discussions about that. This is early in December right now, and the declaration is really not expected to be completed until the end of the month.

QUESTION: So, do you think it's going to happen . . . ?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY HILL: Well, I don't make predictions. It's not my job. But we will continue to work with them and try to ensure that when the declaration is finally conveyed to the Chinese hosts of the Six-Party process, it's as complete and correct as possible.

QUESTION: When do you expect the next Six-Party Talks?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY HILL: Well, I think we had hoped to have a Six-Party meeting in December, but I think it's proving difficult to have in December. So my suspicion is it will spill into January.

QUESTION: And about the oil delivery delay from Russia, have you heard any information that it's solved?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY HILL: My understanding is that there is no principle problem there -- there are a lot of technical issues -- and that it’s moving ahead. And indeed, when I saw the Russian ambassador he told me that all the decisions have been made; it's simply a question of moving ahead. It's often not easy to get things into the DPRK on time, so I'm sure the Russians are working very hard to move along.

QUESTION: What was the response from North Korea to the letter from the President?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY HILL: Oh, I don't know, because I delivered it on my departure. So I don't know what the response was. I think there was a KCNA statement afterwards. So I would refer you to that.

QUESTION: I want to know the reaction from Pak Ui Chun when he gets the presidential letter.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY HILL: The reaction?

QUESTION: Yes. For example, say “thank you” or surprised?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY HILL: No, he was not surprised, because we told them we were going to deliver it. I think he said thank you, and then I went downstairs and got in my car and went to the airport.

QUESTION: Did any delegate from North Korea say in what condition they will attend to the next Six-Party Talks?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY HILL: No, we didn't discuss conditions. And, by the way, I don't think there should be any preconditions for attending meetings. I like to think we're beyond all that. No, my focus in the conversations was to review where we are in disablement, because it's very important. Disablement is what is actually happening on the ground. And if you saw the technicians out there, and the equipment they've gotten in, and some of the conditions they had to work in -- there's been nuclear contamination at some of these sites -- if you could see some of those activities, you would understand the why. Everything doesn't always proceed on the schedule that [inaudible] expect in the first place.

So a lot of my effort was to understand the disabling process. And then I spent a good deal of time discussing the other aspects of the obligations the DPRK has -- that is, the obligation to provide a complete and correct declaration. So I think these were very good and substantive, very, very businesslike conversations. And it's early in December. So let’s see how we do by the end of December.

OK? So if you don't mind, I've got a letter to deliver.