Remarks After Meeting With Deputy Foreign Minister Losyukov

QUESTION: What would DPRK need to do to convince you and the Russians that they have given a full declaration about their nuclear assets, and how would you define full declaration (inaudible)?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY HILL: I think the declaration they are obliged to make is a complete declaration. That means a declaration that would declare all their nuclear materials, declare all their nuclear facilities, and declare all their nuclear programs, any sort of nuclear cooperation they’ve had with any one, any other nuclear programs they’ve had beyond the one they are working to disable -- that is, the reactor program in Yongbyon. They do need to give us a direct declaration, and that’s what we are expecting.

Of course, this is not a society that has an easy time giving out information. It’s not easy for them to give out correct status on their nuclear programs, facilities, and materials. But that is what is required.

I think it is important to note that we did make progress in 2007. For the first time the Yongbyon facility is disabled, and disabling actions continue. This was never done in the 1990’s. So this is the first time.

In addition, I think the Six Parties have been working very closely together. Russia and the United States, in particular, have been working closely together to provide heavy fuel oil shipments to help North Korea with heating oil this winter. That’s an example of the kind of cooperation we can do with the Six-Party process. It is going to be a bumpy road, as Ambassador Losyukov mentioned, but I think it’s a road worth taking. So we’ll have to continue on this bumpy road.

DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER LOSYUKOV: I want to add that we are providing some assistance to North Korea, as was agreed during the Six-Party Talks. Russia is in the final stages of delivering oil. Around January 20-21 we will finish the delivery. So that cannot be used as a pretext for slowing down.

QUESTION: Earlier you said that the United States expected North Korea to provide a complete declaration by the inauguration of the president-elect of South Korea. Does that mean that the process will be more complex after the inauguration?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY HILL: No, first of all, I didn’t say that. The time to provide a complete and correct declaration is now. In fact, it was December 31. I think what you are referring to is that fact that in South Korea there is a new government that will be installed on February 25. And it would be nice if this problem were solved ahead of time so when the new government comes in, it deals with the next phase. We would like to see a complete abandonment of all their nuclear programs. I’m not trying to set a new deadline. Based on my conversations in Seoul, we have a very good Six-Party partner in the South Koreans and will continue to have a very good partner as they transition to a new government.

DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER LOSYUKOV: We expect the inter-Korean dialogue will continue, and we expect our South Korean colleagues to proceed with assistance to their North Korean brothers. So it is very helpful in terms of moving forward within the Six-Party process and this is (inaudible).

QUESTION: You have visited four countries now, and by consulting with four parties, what do you think you have accomplished? And what sort of consensus, if any, have you reached? Can you tell us who will be communicating with and persuading North Korea and when?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY HILL: It is important to bear in mind that it is the Chinese who are the chair, and it is up to the Chinese to set the agenda and call the meetings. So China plays the key role here. We all have an interest in staying in close contact with each other. A good New Year’s resolution is to do more of that. That is certainly what I am trying to do in the beginning of this year by going out to all our partners and talking about where we are, where we’ve come from, and where we hope to be. Based on my travels to these four capitals, I see a lot of support for the Six-Party process. There is a real consensus on the need to continue in the Six-Party process, that this is the right process for dealing with this difficult problem. There is

consensus that even though you encounter difficulties, you encounter some bumps in the road, we should try to overcome those and keep going. Certainly, as we begin this new year with the realization that we did not quite complete the tasks set the last year, I see a real sense that we need to stick with this and try to finish the job.

QUESTION: (Inaudible)

ASSISTANT SECRETARY HILL: I think the Chinese will be looking at whether to call a Six-Party meeting, but I do not know if they have made a decision to do so. When they do, from the U.S. vantage point, we will be pleased to attend.

DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER LOSYUKOV: I think the Six-Party Talks are the only available option for us to proceed. That is the goal before us. We are determined to proceed. We are determined to resolve the problems and difficulties we have before us.

Thank you very much.