"I think we will complete the delivery on January 20-21," Alexander Losyukov said after talks in Moscow with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, who arrived in Moscow for consultations with Russia, one of the countries involved in the talks on Pyongyang's denuclearization.
Christopher Hill said that the next round of six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear program could take place this month amid concerns over the reclusive Communist state's failure to meet the deadline to disclose all its nuclear activities.
Under a February 2006 deal made between the two Koreas, China, the United States, Russia and Japan, Pyongyang must decommission all of its nuclear facilities in Yongbyon and submit a complete list of its nuclear programs by the end of 2007. North Korea was promised economic and diplomatic incentives in return for the measures.
Fuel aid shipments under the deal were delivered by South Korea and China last year.
Losyukov said: "North Korea cannot use this [the delivery of Russian fuel oil] as an excuse to drag its feet on denuclearization process any longer."
Russia has also offered North Korea a number of energy deals and the possibility of writing off part of Pyongyang's Soviet-era debt if it continues to fulfill its commitment to complete nuclear disarmament.
