Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

TAIWAN HAS NEVER BEEN PART OF SIX-PARTY TALKS OVER NORTH KOREA: US

ROC Central News Agency

2005-08-11 17:54:30

    Washington, Aug. 10 (CNA) The United States has never thought of trading off Taiwan in dealing with the issue of North Korea's nuclear program, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher R. Hill said Wednesday.

    Hill made the remarks while fielding questions at a press briefing on the just-concluded round of six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear future. The six participating parties in the talks were the United States, Japan, South Korea, North Korea, China and Russia.

    In response to questions on whether Taiwan has been used as a tradeoff in the six-party talks or whether China has used its leverage in the talks as a tradeoff to U.S. concessions on the Taiwan issue, Hill said the Taiwan issue has never been mixed in with topics related to North Korea's nuclear ambitions. "I've heard this issue about these, you know, the tradeoff with Taiwan, but I've only heard it in the media," he said.

    The United States has talked about the Taiwan issue with China many times, but never in connection with North Korea's nuclear program, Hill said, adding that he wants to put that "tradeoff" speculation to rest right now.

(By Oliver Lin and Sofia Wu)

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