The United States says North Korea must report all of its nuclear programs, including its highly-enriched-uranium (HEU) program, signaling that this could be the next big issue of debate at the next round of multilateral talks scheduled for Wednesday.

President George W. Bush’s national security advisor Stephen Hadley said in an interview with Fox News that the ultimate goal in the February nuclear agreement is the closure of all North Korea’s nuclear programs.

Hadley added that the nuclear shutdown in Yongbyon is only the first step, and that the next is to get an account of its covert uranium enrichment programs and to obtain the nuclear materials from which the North could make nuclear weapons with.

He also said, in the upcoming round six-party talks, that countries will discuss the complete dismantlement of North Korea’s plutonium programs alongside the handover of any covert enrichment operations and any nuclear materials it may have already produced.

Meanwhile, North Korea said the resolution of the nuclear issue largely depends on whether countries such as the United States and Japan abandon their hostile policies towards Pyongyang, as it has taken the first steps toward denuclearization.

The North made this announcement shortly after declaring the closure of its nuclear facilities at Yongbyon.