The leaders are expected to repeat a call from G8 foreign ministers urging North Korea to "fully cooperate" in the verification of its nuclear declaration and settle the issue of the country's past abductions of Japanese nationals.

BBC: G8 summit: The key issues

The U.S. State Department has said North Korea must provide a complete declaration of its nuclear program to the United States and its partners in talks on the nuclear issue -- Russia, China, Japan and South Korea -- to break the deadlock.

CNN: North Korea: U.S. to blame in nuclear talks deadlock

"This declaration must include all nuclear weapons, programs, materials and facilities, including clarification of any proliferation activities, " U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last month.

CNN: North Korea: U.S. to blame in nuclear talks deadlock

If this was the founding precedent, the deepest argument for the irrelevancy of the declaration of war is to be found in nuclear weapons.

FORBES: What Happened To The American Declaration Of War?

Gibbs was speaking on the heels of a declaration by Iran that not only will it move ahead with plans to build 10 new nuclear plants, it will take legal action over infringements on its nuclear rights.

CNN: U.S.: Time running out for Iran

Likewise, the administration's declaration that it would not unleash nukes on non-weapons states that lived by the rules of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) was criticised either for being unwise (because it curtailed deterrence against biological and chemical weapons), or misleading (because it is so full of loopholes that it does not curtail deterrence much at all).

ECONOMIST: Nuclear diplomacy: Chain reaction | The