A top official of a U.S. foreign policy organization says that verification of North Korea’s nuclear disablement is unlikely to be completed within George W. Bush's term as president.

Vice President of the Council on Foreign Relations, Gary Samore, made the comment in a speech at the South Korean Embassy in Washington Friday. He said the process of verifying Pyongyang’s nuclear disablement is expected to take considerable time as the process would be very complex.

Samore noted it took South Africa a year and a half to return to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty after it underwent the process of verification by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

He added that the North could exaggerate on the amount of plutonium it has or the level of its nuclear technology when it declares its nuclear programs and materials in line with an October 3rd six-way nuclear accord.