北김혁철-美비건 하노이서 이틀째 협상... 'WMD 동결 우선과제'
Top nuclear envoys of North Korea and the U.S. continued talks in Hanoi to hammer out the details for their leaders' summit declaration.
While this is going on, an a senior American official highlighted, bold steps must be taken quickly on the regime's denuclearization.
Oh Jung-hee starts us off.
Talks continue between North Korea and the U.S. in Vietnam... to fine-tune the details of the Hanoi summit declaration.
At 9AM Friday morning, North Korea's Special Representative for U.S. Affairs, Kim Hyok-chol, went to the Hotel du Parc Hanoi, where U.S. Special Representative for North Korea, Stephen Biegun, is staying.
He was accompanied by two other North Korean delegates -- Kim Song-hye, who heads the United Front Department's strategy office,... and Choe Kang-il, the acting director-general for the foreign ministry's department on North American affairs.
The team left the venue at 2:30 in the afternoon.
And during these hours, Kim Song-hye was seen leaving and returning to the hotel a few times, possibly to report to Pyeongyang about the deals.
Kim and Biegun had met for over four hours at the same hotel the day before.
The core talking point is believed to be the verified shutdown of the North's Yeongbyeon nuclear complex -- the key site where it produces plutonium and uranium for nuclear weapons.
In return, the U.S. is likely to suggest exchanging liaison offices, formally ending the Korean War... and easing sanctions on the regime.
The two sides are expected to continue meeting until the very last minute.
And Seoul's nuclear envoy Lee Do-hoon could also be seeing Biegun time to time, as he arrived in Hanoi on Friday as well.
While the final coordination is tight, Washington is urging Pyeongyang to take big and bold denuclearization measures.
An senior U.S. government official told reporters on Thursday... that for North Korea and the U.S., it's crucial to move quickly with "very big bites",... and should the regime make the right choice, it'll get all the necessary incentives.
He said Washington is still not sure if Pyeongyang has really chosen to denuclearize,... but is engaged in the ongoing talks because there's a possibility.
The immediate priority for now, says the official, is to freeze all of North Korea's weapons of mass destruction and missile programs.
The regime will also need to provide a full inventory of its nuclear arsenal "well before" the end of the denuclearization process.
Oh Jung-hee, Arirang News.