U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said Wednesday that there are no signs of North Korea returning to the six-party talks on its nuclear weapons program.
Hill said it is disappointing for North Korea not to respond positively to China's diplomatic efforts.
He made the remarks after meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing and other Beijing officials here.
The top US envoy on North Korea, who was briefed on efforts by a Chinese delegation visiting Pyongyang to get the isolated regime back to the negotiating table, said that Pyongyang faced a "historic moment" and a choice between engagement and isolation.
"From the DPRK's point of view, they are in a historic moment," Hill told reporters in Beijing, referring to North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
"They must decide -- further isolation or to join the rest of the world. Yet they cannot seem to decide what to do with this historic moment."
Earlier in the day, Hill stressed that there was still time to resolve the crisis over the North's recent missile tests through diplomatic means.
When asked if time was running out for a diplomatic settlement of the crisis, Hill told reporters here, "No, I wouldn't use that," adding that he is neither optimistic nor pessimistic about the Chinese delegates' accomplishment.
The U.S. official, on a whistle-stop tour of Asia, headed back to Beijing earlier this week to keep updated on the activity of the Chinese delegation, which includes Beijing's top nuclear envoy Wu Dawei.
Chinese officials said that Wu was continuing diplomatic efforts in the North Korean capital.
Wu is scheduled to stay in Pyongyang till this weekend, but may cut short the trip to meet with Hill in Beijing, sources said.
The United Nations Security Council accepted China's request to defer from voting on a punitive resolution against North Korea.
The Japan-drafted resolution has sparked a war of nerves between Seoul and Tokyo, as it would technically enable the international community to use military power against Pyongyang.
Hill said that he stood by the strong draft resolution, saying, "we continue to be guided by the need to make a strong united statement to the North Koreans." But China and Russia oppose the resolution.
The results of the Chinese delegation's trip to Pyongyang are expected to affect the fate of the resolution, observers say.
Beijing, July 12 (Yonhap News)
U.S. envoy says N. Korea unlikely to return to six-party talks |
