5TH LD: Uncertainties emerge over N. Korea denuke deadline

BEIJING, July 19 Kyodo

(EDS: UPDATING)

Talks among six countries over North Korea's denuclearization were believed to have hit a snag on Thursday, with uncertainties emerging over whether they can agree on a deadline for Pyongyang to declare all its nuclear programs and disable its nuclear facilities.

The talks, which the U.S. top nuclear negotiator said earlier would end later Thursday, were extended into Friday, diplomats involved in the discussions said.

''There were points that were agreed on, but others that were not agreed on,'' Japan's chief delegate Kenichiro Sasae told reporters.

''The chair is working on putting together the results. We will continue tomorrow,'' he said.

China hosts the talks which also involve North and South Korea, Japan and the United States.

South Korean negotiator Chun Yung Woo also said China was drafting a chairman's statement to wrap up the top delegates' talks which began Wednesday in Beijing.

While U.S. head delegate Christopher Hill had said earlier he hoped the statement would include a timeline for North Korea's nuclear declaration and disablement, Chun said the six parties are unlikely to agree on a specific timeline.

Hill said earlier in the day that there is ''a consensus'' among the six parties over the ''target time frame for the completing of these tasks.''

''So I think that will be reflected in the Chinese statement,'' the U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs said before leaving his hotel in the morning for Beijing's Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, the venue of the six-way talks.

Hill, who has repeatedly said he hopes to see the denuclearization measures completed by the end of the year, declined to specify any target timing.

A Japanese government source also indicated that the timeline was the sticking point in the talks. When asked what the point of disagreement was, the source said, ''As you all know well, it is the point that has been the focus.''

Meanwhile, talks were held on another point of potential contention during the day.

Sasae told reporters he held bilateral talks with top North Korean delegate Kim Kye Gwan and the two agreed to make ''mutual'' efforts to resolve the various pending issues at the six-party talks and in bilateral relations.

Japan continues to refuse to provide assistance to North Korea until progress is made in a bilateral dispute over past abductions of Japanese nationals by North Korean agents, a point some pundits have pointed out could hinder the six-party process.

The nuclear negotiations among the chief delegates of the six parties are being held for the first time in four months.

The multilateral talks follow North Korea's halting of operations at its key nuclear facilities in Yongbyon over the weekend in tandem with the arrival of the first batch of energy aid, marking the first concrete step toward denuclearization under a Feb. 13 six-party deal.

With the first-phase actions in place, the delegates are now discussing the second phase, which entails North Korea declaring all of its nuclear programs and disabling all of its nuclear facilities in exchange for the provision of further assistance equivalent to 950,000 tons of fuel oil, on top of the initial supply of 50,000 tons.

Hill said the United States would be involved in the heavy fuel oil assistance, and that it is also open to ideas about humanitarian aid.

''We're very concerned about the plight of the North Korean people and would like to see what can be done,'' Hill said. ''I think we have an open mind about looking at some of these humanitarian issues and seeing if more can be done.''

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