The comments came upon Hill's arrival in Seoul Tuesday evening following a sudden meeting with his North Korean counterpart Kim Kye-gwan in Beijing. Hill added that there is no talk of a phased declaration.

The Beijing discussion between Washington and Pyongyang envoys was the first of its kind after North Korea missed its December 2007 deadline to disable and declare its nuclear programs.

Washington demands a "correct and complete" account of all nuclear activities while Pyongyang demands its name be stricken from the U.S. list of terrorism-sponsoring states.

But the two sides are unable to agree on what a "complete and correct" declaration means, stuck over Pyongyang's alleged uranium enrichment program.

The other part of the six-party nuclear deal is to send economic and energy aid to the North for its disablement, but Pyongyang is upset over the delay in receiving the promised heavy fuel oil.

Another working group meeting between South Korea, the U.S. and China will be held Thursday in Beijing on sending non-heavy fuel aid like construction materials.

Washington's nuclear envoy will meet his South Korean counterpart and members of the incoming administration Wednesday for talks on the nuclear issue and to prepare for U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's visit.

But it's the sudden Washington-Pyongyang meeting in Beijing that has raised questions of a possible breakthrough in the deadlocked six-party process.

Arirang News