• Military

• WMD Menu                           

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Six-Party Talks Recess Could Foster Positive Results, Hill Says

10 August 2005

U.S. negotiator expresses optimism on August 29 resumption of talks

By Todd Bullock
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- Although 13 days of intensive negotiations did not produce a final agreement, the United States believes the current recess before the August 29 resumption of the Six-Party Talks indicates North Korea is serious about resolving issues related to its nuclear weapons programs, says Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Christopher Hill.

"I think it was very important especially for the North Korean team to get back to Pyongyang and have some in-depth discussion about what could follow," Hill said at an August 10 press conference in Washington.

Hill noted he was optimistic that the resumption of the talks could lead to "getting an actual agreement in September or at the latest October."

"There was a real effort by all the parties to try to negotiate seriously and negotiate with the aim to reach an agreement," Hill said. "So I was kind of encouraged by that sort of attitude in the talks."

The assistant secretary said the United States, China, Japan, South Korea and Russia are trying to make clear "the sort of programs that would be available to the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea)" should it make the fundamental decision to denuclearize.

South Korea, for example, has offered the North an energy package if the North abandons its nuclear ambitions, Hill said.  "This is a very generous package for the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea)," Hill said.  "This package would virtually solve their energy problems.  It would address many of their economic problems."

The United States, too, is prepared to work with North Korea on its energy and economic needs and work toward bilateral and international normalization, he said.

Hill said the DPRK "subscribed to" ridding the Korean Peninsula of nuclear weapons.  But a point of contention, Hill said, is North Korea's demands for a light water reactor for commercial energy. "Light water reactors are simply not on the table," he said.

"We have made the point that [South Korea's] agreement offers them the equivalent energy, exactly the equivalent energy," he said.

The assistant secretary lauded the strong efforts by China and South Korea to work with North Korea.

"China has a great interest in achieving this agreement, and it has hosted the process," Hill said. "They really want to get this agreement."

Hill reiterated the importance of the multilateral approach noting that all involved have a stake in resolving the problem of nuclear weapons in North Korea.

"Ultimately, if we reach an agreement, not only [on] the statement of principles but actually the full agreement, that will open up entire new roads for the DPRK's relationships with the international community, including with the United States," Hill said.

For additional information, see U.S. Policy Toward North Korea.

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)