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Christopher Hill on tour of nations involved in the negotiations
Visiting U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill urged North Korea to return to the stalled six-party talks, whether officially or unofficially, to discuss not just the North’s nuclear program but also issues such as economic sanctions placed on the communist country. Secretary Hill, who is on his tour of nations participating in the talks, arrived in Seoul on Friday, his visit prompted by the North’s test launch of a number of missiles last week. The six-party talks have been stalled since November of last year due to the North’s anger at U.S. sanctions; nations to the talks comprise the two Koreas, Russia, China, the U.S., and Japan.Over the weekend, Hill, the top U.S negotiator to the talks, met with his South Korean counterpart Chun Young-woo, Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon and Unification Minister Lee Jong-seok. "Each side has agreed to work closely to push for the unofficial six-party talks that China recently proposed," a government official said. "The North has yet to respond to the proposal...but the other five countries have been supportive of the talks," the official added. Hill’s visit comes amid mounting tension in Northeast Asia as the North test-fired seven missiles last week, including a Taepondong-2, believed by some to be capable of reaching parts of the U.S. The launches came in defiance of repeated urgings by the international community. Another government official forecast that China’s top negotiator Wu Dawei will have close consultations with the North on the issue when he visits Pyongyang this week to attend events commemorating the 45th anniversary of a treaty of friendship between the two nations. Hill has maintained the stance that there will not be any bilateral meeting between the U.S. and North Korea outside of the framework of the six-party talks, rejecting the demand by the communist state to hold such talks. As for the South Korean government’s recent decision to hold an inter-Korean cabinet meeting this week as scheduled, Hill expressed his support, an official close to his visit said, adding that there was no suggestion for Seoul to begin sanctions on the North. Secretary Hill and South Korea’s Unification Minister Lee held an in-depth talks regarding the U.S. stance on North Korea issues, but an official close to the matter said that the U.S. negotiator did not ask for the South to deliver its stance in return. With respect to possible five-way talks excluding the North, a plan proposed by Japan, Chun voiced his opposition, saying that it would not be a viable alternative to the six-party negotiation framework. Hill said that the North performed the test launches last week without making prior notification to any other country, denying Japanese media reports that the North had informed China of the launches beforehand. Hill is now headed to Japan for talks with his six-party counterparts there.
