North Korea nuclear talks aim for statement

BEIJING - No big differences divide negotiators seeking to end North Korea's nuclear weapons ambitions, the U.S. envoy said on Saturday, adding a statement pointing the way forward was a real prospect.

Christopher Hill said negotiators at the six-nation talks still had to work out how much detail be spelt out in a proposed statement that may come out when the current session winds up on Sunday.

"We really don't have any substantive disagreements...We know what we're trying to accomplish by the end of the year," Hill told reporters, referring to steps to have North Korea cripple key nuclear facilities and disclose atomic activities.

"I think there'll be some sort of statement", Hill said after a day of talks over energy aid and disarmament steps.

North Korea, which tested a nuclear device last year, shut down and sealed its Yongbyon nuclear plant and allowed U.N. monitors back to the site in July.

Now the envoys from North Korea, South Korea, the United States, China, Japan and Russia are trying to settle on a "road map" for the next disarmament steps. They have been wrangling what specifics should go into a statement from the latest talks.


FUEL AID

As part of the breakthrough deal reached in February at the talks, North Korea has been receiving heavy fuel oil.

U.S. President George W. Bush on Friday authorised $25 million in aid for the North, which would provide up to 50,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil, as a reward for Pyongyang's commitment to disable its nuclear facilities by the end of the year.

But it must now disable atomic facilities and make a declaration of all of its nuclear programmes, in return for a huge injection of fuel aid and an end to diplomatic isolation.

China and South Korea have delivered initial fuel shipments and Russia is expected to do so too, but Japan has indicated it will not participate unless North Korea addresses the issue of Japanese citizens the North abducted in the 1970s and 1980s.

Russian negotiator Alexander Losyukov expected a draft joint statement to be released on Sunday, according to Xinhua news agency.

Xinhua quoted South Korean delegate Chun Yung-woo as saying the six sides had reached "some agreement".

He said he could not disclose the details but "the most important part of it will be the timing of declaration and disablement of nuclear facilities".

Hill stressed that disablement of the nuclear facilities, a step towards complete dismantling, had to mean that it would be a long and costly process for Pyongyang to restart its reactors.

He said the United States and North Korea still did not see entirely eye-to-eye on the scope of disablement.

In 2002, North Korea was able to restart the Yongbyon reactor in two months, after a previous disarmament agreement fell apart.

South Korea said the issue of North Korea's nuclear ambitions should not be allowed to drag on.

"This problem, if not resolved soon, will seriously undermine the NPT regime," said South Korean Foreign Minister Song Min-soon, referring to the nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty.

"It also has significant implications for peace and security in Northeast Asia and beyond," he told the U.N. General Assembly.