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U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, left, speaks as Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura listens during their joint press conference at Japan's Foreign Ministry's Iikura Guesthouse in Tokyo on Thursday./AP
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U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice expressed hope of a breakthrough in deadlocked six-nation talks on the North Korean nuclear problem, telling reporters in Japan of her ˇ°hope for momentum, for progress.ˇ± The talks have not reconvened since Pyongyang missed a Dec. 31 deadline to declare all its nuclear programs and stockpiles.
Speaking in a joint press conference with Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Koumura, Rice said her recent talks with China ˇ°were useful and they were constructive and I would like to have continued them myself. I was there for a short time and we were having good discussions, and it seemed like a good idea for (U.S. chief nuclear envoy Christopher Hill) to stay behind and continue them."
Rice said the talks will continue to make progress. ˇ°We need to establish confidence in this phase that there is the prospect for real denuclearization in the next phase. But we do now need the declaration of the North Koreans that would be complete and would, in its accuracy, show us that there is a way forward to the third phase, which should take on the further denuclearization and indeed the dismantling of the North Korean nuclear program.ˇ± Rice concluded that while the deadline was important, ˇ°it is also more important, though, to get this right.ˇ±
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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