S. Korean envoy: N. Korea in final stage of producing nuclear declaration

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
North Korea is in the final stages of producing a declaration of its nuclear programs in return for economic aid and political concessions under an aid-for-disarmament deal, a South Korean official said Sunday. South Korea's chief nuclear negotiator, Kim Sook, told reporters that North Korea is coordinating with the United States on when it will issue the long-awaited declaration. Pyongyang had promised to complete the declaration by the end of last year in exchange for its removal from US terrorism and economic sanctions blacklists. "The US side needs time," Kim said, citing the need to check 18,500 pages of sensitive nuclear records Pyongyang has handed over to Washington last month. Kim made the comments after meeting his counterparts from the US, China, North Korea and Russia last week.