LONDON, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Britain's Secretary for Northern Ireland said on Monday that devolution in the province is a "real possibility in the near future".

    Peter Hain made the remarks after talks co-chaired with Irish Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern for Northern Ireland's political parties at Hillsborough, the British Broadcasting Corporation news reported.

    "I'm confident we can make the necessary progress to get the assembly running," said Hain, adding that he wanted to see progress in the province by April.

    The secretary had ruled out recalling the assembly in an attempt to force all-party agreement.

    Ahern said any deal would be determined by the principles set out in the Good Friday Agreement signed in April, 1998.

    Expectations for resuming the assembly had been dealt with a blow after the Independent Monitoring Commission revealed in its report that the Irish Republican Army (IRA), the paramilitary of Sinn Fein, is still engaged in intelligence gathering and criminal activity despite its declaration of decommissioning last July.

    The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has reiterated it will not sit in a joint government with Sinn Gein without the disband of IRA.

    "There was no agreement between us," said DUP leader Ian Paisley.

    After the talks, Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams urged the British and Irish governments to set out a public time-frame for the restoration of the institutions.

    Devolved government in Northern Ireland was suspended in 2003 following spy allegations involving the republicans. Enditem