[imText1] According to Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesman Cho Hee Yong, “It is known that North Korea has not submitted a declaration of its nuclear programs to China, the chairman country of the Six-Party Talks.”

During the briefing, Cho stated, “The U.S. and North Korea held consultations in November of last year regarding the declaration of nuclear programs, but we have not heard anything to confirm that the North submitted the declaration.”

Cho continued, “The Ministry, through a spokesperson, expressed regret that the declaration was not submitted by December 31st of last year. We are still hoping that the North will faithfully declare its the nuclear programs.”

North Korea countered through an official statement, “We already submitted the declaration of our nuclear facilities in November” and “we concluded an investigation into the military facilities where the imported aluminum tubes were used.”

However, the U.S. State Department stated on the 5th that the U.S. has not yet received an accurate and complete nuclear declaration from the DPRK.

North Korea adhered to its original position regarding suspicions over its uranium enrichment program (UEP), “We imported aluminum tubes, but their use was unrelated to a UEP,” said the North.

Meanwhile, Christopher Hill, the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, arrived in Seoul on the 8th.

Hill will make a courtesy visit with President-elect Lee Myung Bak on the 10th and will exchange views on ways to improve future U.S.-Korea relations, including the nuclear issue, the U.S.-Korea FTA, and the overall state of affairs in Northeast Asia.

Hill will also meet with Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs Chun Young Woo and will discuss plans to improve the Six-Party Talks.

Both the U.S. and South Korea, in the midst of North Korea’s postponement of its nuclear declaration, will reopen the chief delegates talks of the six countries. Among the participating nations of the Six-Party Talks, a plan to reopen the Top Representative Talks in late January is also being discussed.

Hill departed Washington on the 4th, stopped over in Tokyo on the 7~8th, and will visit Beijing and Moscow from the 10~11th and 11~12th, respectively.

Whether or not Hill will meet with his North Korean counterpart, Kim Kye Gwan during his stay in Beijing remains to be seen.