By DPA
Geneva : North Korea agreed Sunday to dismantle its entire nuclear programme by the end of the year, following two days of intense bilateral talks with the US in Geneva and opening the way for the normalisation of relations between the two countries.
“We had very good and substantive talks,” US negotiator, Assistant US Secretary of State Christopher Hill said at the close of the session.
“DPRK (North Korea) will provide a full declaration of their nuclear programme and disable their nuclear programme by the end of this calendar year of 2007.”
He described the talks as “very good and very substantive” and spoke of a very “good level of understanding” between the two countries.
Hill expressed hope that a deal would be brokered at the multilateral talks scheduled later this month between all six working party groups including the US, Japan, China, North and South Korea and Russia.
Tensions had eased considerably since the deadlock last October caused by North Korea’s nuclear test. Pyongyang had said it was ready to end its nuclear activities.
Shortly before the talks in Geneva, Washington had offered aid and condolences to the country devastated by flooding but there was concern over an alleged second undeclared weapons programme.
In answer to reporters’ questions, Hill insisted the deal was all encompassing.
“When we say all nuclear programmes, we mean all nuclear programmes,” he said, adding, there was still a great deal of “arduous work” to be done on the details.
“We are not in this for the declaration. We are in this for denuclearisation,” he said.