North Korea Responds To Letter From Bush; Nuclear Disarmament Progressing

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - North Korea has responded to a hand-delivered letter from President George Bush urging Pyongyang to follow through on an agreement to declare and dismantle its nuclear program. The letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong Il earlier this month was viewed as a personal gesture and North Korea verbally responded through diplomatic channels, according to officials.

"I got his attention with a letter and he could get my attention by fully disclosing his program including any plutonium he may have processed... as well he could get our attention by fully disclosing his proliferation activities," Bush said on Friday.

North Korea has until Dec. 31 to hand over a document declaring its nuclear secrets. "We'll live up to our side, we hope you'll live up to yours," a senior U.S. official paraphrased Kim's message as saying.

North Korea started to dismantle its plutonium-producing reactor last month under watch of U.S. experts. In exchange, the U.S. is normalizing ties with North Korea.

It was North Korea's first official response to Bush but it did not directly answer his demand for full disclosure and it was unclear whether it came from Kim, Yonhap news agency reported.