If oil aid given, North should abandon desire for light-water reactor, top envoy says
Christopher Hill, the chief U.S. negotiator at the six-party talks, told reporters in Seoul on February 5 that the issue of providing energy aid in the form of heavy oil to North Korea would be part of working-level discussions between the nations involved in the six-party talks. Asked about the energy issues a day earlier in Tokyo, Hill had much the same response, saying, "...I’m sure we’ll discuss them again when we go back to Beijing," referring to the restart of the six-party meeting aimed at ending North Korea’s nuclear program. The third-stage meeting of the fifth round of six-nation talks is set to resume in Beijing on February 8. In his interview by the Korean media, Hill continued by saying that the energy aid issue is too complicated to discuss practically via the formal six-party talk format, suggesting that it would be better served through working-level discussions between the nations involved. As far as a potential visit to Pyongyang, the U.S. envoy told reporters that if his visit to North Korea is judged to correspond and help serve national interest, he would seek a means to travel there, adding that he had not yet received an invitation to visit.Hill continued that in order to bring up the energy problem, the participation of experts is needed. Therefore, we should launch discussions first, taking a reserved approach, he said. If North Korea is given heavy oil, the nation should not insist on light-water reactors, as well, but should employ various approaches regarding its energy needs, including the method of power transmission suggested by South Korea last year, added Hill. South Korea suggested last year that it provide the North with 2 million Kilowatts of electricity per year on the condition of the North’s giving up its nuclear program. Regarding the problems of normalizing North-U.S. relations and establishing a liaison office, Hill replied that the matter would be discussed at an appropriate time. China is interested in setting up the liaison office, but North Korea is not, he added. Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper reported that the top North Korean envoy to the talks, Kim Kye-gwan, recently demanded more than 500,000 tons of heavy oil aid, quoting Joel Wit, a former official of the U.S. State Department who recently visited North Korea. Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]
