US, NKorea discuss nuclear declaration

The U.S. and North Korea began talks Tuesday on the communist nation's delayed nuclear declaration and the American political concessions it will receive in return, including Pyongyang's long-sought goal of being removed from a U.S. terrorism blacklist.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said he met with his North Korean counterpart, Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan, to lay out the agenda for more detailed negotiations Wednesday in the Chinese capital.

Hill was guarded about prospects for progress at this week's talks _ his first encounter with Kim since early April when the two met in Singapore _ but said their first meeting of just under an hour was "very good."

Asked whether the sides were close to an agreement, he said, "We'll have to see. Obviously, there's a lot of discussion ahead."

"We've needed this declaration since the end of December," he added, emphasizing that the details it contains would have to be independently verified.

The declaration has been key in preventing progress on the North's disarmament. The North promised to complete the statement by the end of last year, but Washington said it failed to do so.

In exchange for the declaration, the North is to receive concessions including removal from American terrorism and sanctions blacklists, which restrict its foreign trade and ability to get loans from international development banks.

The declaration would lay out the North's nuclear programs, which would eventually be dismantled.

The North has already halted production of plutonium for bombs at its main nuclear facility and begun disabling its main reactor while U.S. officials keep watch to ensure it can't be easily restarted.

North Korea recently raised hopes for progress by giving the United States thousands of documents from its Yongbyon reactor. The records were being reviewed to determine how much plutonium was produced there, and Hill said the documents would help with eventual verification of the nuclear declaration.

The United States had previously insisted that North Korea detail its alleged uranium enrichment program as well as nuclear cooperation with Syria.

But Washington has apparently backed down from such demands, drawing strong criticism from conservatives in the U.S. who claim the Bush administration is going too far to strike a deal with the North before leaving office next year.