N. Korea nuke declaration significant for denuclearization: Machimura

TOKYO, June 26 Kyodo - North Korea's long-due nuclear declaration anticipated Thursday will be ''significant'' as a step in the country's fulfillment of its six-party talks commitment to eventually abandon its nuclear weapons and programs, Chief
Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said Wednesday.

''It is more significant than anything for North Korea to carry out a complete
declaration and important for the entire picture of North Korea's nuclear
programs to be revealed,'' Machimura told a press conference.

''If the initially-set goal of the six-party talks for North Korea to
completely abandon the nuclear weapons which it says it possesses is not
carried out ultimately, it would mean the purpose of the six-party talks has
not been accomplished, so I believe it is important that things move steadily
toward that goal,'' he said.

Asked to comment on remarks by top U.S. nuclear negotiator Christopher Hill
that the declaration will not include information about nuclear weapons, the
Japanese government spokesman said it will nevertheless be ''significant as one
step in the commitment, promise'' by North Korea to abandon its nuclear arms
and programs.

Hill told reporters in Beijing on Tuesday that North Korea's declaration will
be limited to the country's nuclear materials, facilities and programs and that
information about nuclear weapons will be ''determined at a subsequent phase.''

Pyongyang is expected to hand over its declaration to the Chinese government on
Thursday. It had been scheduled for presentation at the end of last year as
part of a six-party agreement for North Korea to take denuclearization steps in
exchange for energy aid.

Once the list is submitted, the United States is set to respond by beginning
steps to remove North Korea from its list of terrorist sponsors, a longstanding
demand by Pyongyang, according to six-party negotiation sources.

Pyongyang is then expected to destroy the cooling tower at the Yongbyon nuclear
complex, which is currently being disabled under the six-party deal struck by
North Korea, the United States, host China, Japan, South Korea and Russia, the
sources said.==Kyodo