Remarks Prior to Departure From Japan

QUESTION: Has there been any progress for making a scheduling of Six-Party Talks?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE HILL: Well, again, I'm on a trip through the region. I'm going to consult with all my counterparts. I had good meetings last night with Director-General Sasae. I'll be meeting with the South Koreans today. I'm going to China tomorrow, and after that I’ll also go to Russia. So we’ll get a sense from our partners how they assess the process. Obviously, we are going to need the declaration from the North Koreans in order to move forward. We have had extensive discussions with them. There's a lot they’re willing to put in the declaration. But at present it’s not complete, and they need to finish that. So we'll be talking to some counterparts and seeing how we're doing.

QUESTION: Who are you going to meet in South Korea? Are you going to meet with Lee Myung Bak, the next president?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY HILL: Well, let me just say I know our embassy in South Korea has been working on a schedule, but I will be going there mainly to brief various people about the Six-Party process and to hear their thoughts as we go forward.

QUESTION: Is there any possibility to go to North Korea during your visit?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY HILL: No, no. Not this time. Maybe another time, but not this time.

QUESTION: Do you think North Korea is going to ask for more returns for the final declaration?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY HILL: I don’t think so. I think the problem is they just don't want to list all of their programs. And we're trying to convince them that if they list their programs, it's the best way to move forward.

QUESTION: For disablement, we have 25 months left to go. And I know we have to be patient, but how long will it take?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY HILL: I think the disablement has gone very well, and it's gone as fast as possible. But there are a lot of those issues that are related to technical and safety matters. So I'm not concerned about the disablement. I think that's been going very well. The issue is their declaration, their willingness to disclose the programs that they've had that they may not want to talk about. But that's been the issue. I think disablement, we’re in good shape, and I hope people notice that in fact disablement has been proceeding very well.

QUESTION: Do you have any idea how long?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY HILL: I don’t know. Sorry, I’ve got to get to my plane.