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Hill upbeat after N Korea visit N Korea 'ready to shut reactor'
(about 3 hours later)
US envoy Christopher Hill has said he had "good" talks with officials during a surprise visit to North Korea. US envoy Christopher Hill has said North Korea is prepared to shut down its Yongbyon nuclear reactor promptly, following bilateral talks in Pyongyang.
He said they discussed ways of moving forward international talks on halting North Korea's nuclear programme. Mr Hill said North Korea had reaffirmed its commitment to fulfil an agreement on halting its nuclear programme, but that it would take time and effort.
Mr Hill is the most senior US State Department official to visit the secretive state since 2002. He is the most senior US official to visit the secretive state since 2002.
Correspondents say bilateral talks are an indication the US trusts the North to act on its promise to "shut down and seal" its main nuclear reactor. North Korea agreed in February to shut down the reactor, but progress has been delayed by a row over frozen funds.
The North agreed in February to close Yongbyon in return for aid, but progress has been delayed by a row over frozen North Korean funds.
N KOREA NUCLEAR DEAL N Korea to 'shut down and seal' Yongbyon reactor, then disable all nuclear facilitiesIn return, will be given 1m tonnes of heavy fuel oilN Korea to invite IAEA back to monitor dealUnder earlier 2005 deal, N Korea agreed to end nuclear programme and return to non-proliferation treatyN Korea's demand for light water reactor to be discussed at "appropriate time" Q&A: Nuclear standoff
The US says the money has already been transferred from a Macau bank to North Korea, but Pyongyang has not yet confirmed this.The US says the money has already been transferred from a Macau bank to North Korea, but Pyongyang has not yet confirmed this.
The confusion throws into doubt a visit by UN nuclear watchdog inspectors planned for next week - their first since they were forced out of the country in 2002. The confusion has thrown into doubt a visit by UN nuclear watchdog inspectors planned for next week - their first since they were forced out of the country in 2002.
Mr Hill held meetings with his North Korean counterpart, Kim Kye-gwan, and Foreign Minister Pak Ui-chun during his visit. 'Buoyed'
"We had a good discussion about the way forward at the six-party talks, a very good discussion on the way forward and the need to move forward," he told reporters as he was leaving Pyongyang on Friday. Mr Hill held meetings with his North Korean counterpart, Kim Kye-gwan, and Foreign Minister Pak Ui-chun during his two-day visit.
Major shift? The DPRK indicated that they are prepared, promptly, to shut down the Yongbyon facility Christopher Hill
Mr Hill is the most senior US official to visit the country in five years. Speaking at a press conference in the South Korean capital, Seoul, afterwards, Mr Hill said the talks had been detailed, substantive and useful.
Washington has in the past rejected bilateral negotiations with North Korea, favouring six-party talks that also involve South Korea, Japan, China and Russia. "The DPRK - indeed both of us - reaffirmed our commitment to the February agreement and to the complete fulfilment of that February agreement," he said, referring to the North with an abbreviation of its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
While the US state department denied Mr Hill's visit signalled a major shift in US policy, a BBC correspondent in Washington said it would be viewed as a positive sign. "The DPRK indicated that they are prepared, promptly, to shut down the Yongbyon facility."
The assistant secretary of state said that although the talks had been positive, he realised some parts of the agreement would take a long time to implement.
"I come away from this two-day set of meetings buoyed by a sense that we are going to be able to achieve our full objectives... but also burdened by the realisation of the fact that we are going to have to spend a great deal of time, a great deal of effort, a lot of work in achieving these," he said.
Momentum
Mr Hill also said both parties had discussed getting away from issues such as the row over the frozen North Korean funds, and returning their focus to denuclearisation.
N KOREA NUCLEAR DEAL N Korea to 'shut down and seal' Yongbyon reactor, then disable all nuclear facilitiesIn return, will be given 1m tonnes of heavy fuel oilN Korea to invite IAEA back to monitor dealUnder earlier 2005 deal, N Korea agreed to end nuclear programme and return to non-proliferation treatyN Korea's demand for light water reactor to be discussed at "appropriate time" Q&A: Nuclear standoff
"We also had a look ahead to what we have to do in the future to keep the process going and to really restore a sense of momentum and dynamism that will take us to the endgame," he said.
Mr Hill's visit had followed signs of visible progress, culminating last weekend in an invitation from Pyongyang for International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors to travel to the North to discuss shutting down Yongbyon.Mr Hill's visit had followed signs of visible progress, culminating last weekend in an invitation from Pyongyang for International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors to travel to the North to discuss shutting down Yongbyon.
An unnamed North Korean official was quoted as saying that Pyongyang planned to shut down Yongbyon in the second half of July. The invite had come on the back of news that a Russian bank had accepted the transfer of $25m (£12.5m) of Pyongyang's funds, which had been frozen in a Macau bank since 2005.
The North's move had come on the back of news that a Russian bank had accepted the transfer of $25m (£12.5m) of Pyongyang's funds, which had been frozen in a Macau bank since 2005. Although Mr Hill said earlier this week he believed the money had been transferred, a North Korean diplomat said Thursday that completion of the move had not yet been confirmed - and warned it could mean a delay to the IAEA visit.
But progress on the nuclear issue looked shaky on Thursday after a North Korean official said completion of the funds transfer had not yet been confirmed - and warned it could mean a delay to the IAEA visit. Russian Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov was quoted by Itar-Tass news agency on Friday as saying: "I have been assured, the money transfer shall be completed today."