U.S. - North Korea

Christopher R. Hill, Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs

China World Hotel
Beijing, China
July 12, 2008

ASSISTANT SECRETARY HILL: Hi. I am trying to catch a plane, but I’ll just spend a minute. There will be a press communiqué issued by the Chinese Chair, which I think pretty accurately reflects the range of discussion we had. It will discuss the various elements we talked about, including verification, monitoring, and the North East Asia Peace and Security Mechanism. It also discusses fuel oil and a target time for completing the disablement of the Yongbyon facility. The most important issue is, of course, working out the overall protocol for verification....more

Envoys meet in Beijing to build on progress toward peace on Korean Peninsula

By David I. McKeeby
Staff Writer
July 9, 2008

Washington -- As envoys to the Six-Party Talks meet in Beijing to build on recent progress in stabilizing the Korean Peninsula, verifying North Korea’s nuclear claims will top the agenda, says Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill...more

America’s envoy offers insider’s view of Korean Peninsula’s path to peace

By David I. McKeeby
Staff Writer
July 2, 2008

Washington -- The diplomatic process behind North Korea’s abandonment of its nuclear arsenal could lead to a new era of peace and stability for the region, says America’s top diplomat for East Asia and the Pacific...more

United States lifts sanctions as Six-Party Talks turn to verification

By David McKeeby
Staff Writer

Washington -- President Bush welcomed North Korea’s delivery of information about its past nuclear activities and announced the United States will lift key trade sanctions and remove Pyongyang from its list of state sponsors of terrorism...more

• President Bush Remarks on North Korea
• Congress Welcomes North Korea's Nuclear Declaration

 June 26, 2008 - United States to Ease North Korea Political, Economic Sanctions

Spent nuclear fuel rods are stored in a cooling pond at North Korea's Yongbyon nuclear reactor facility.

North Korea to be removed from State Sponsors of Terrorism list

By Merle D. Kellerhals Jr.
Staff Writer

Washington -- The United States will remove North Korea from its list of state sponsors of terrorism within 45 days, as long as it can be verified that North Korean leaders have kept their promises and dismantled their nuclear bomb-making program, says National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley...more   

June 26, 2008 - Diplomacy Is Working on North Korea, Secretary Rice Says

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice

Wall Street Journal op-ed on Six-Party Talks

The following op-ed by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, “Diplomacy is Working on North Korea,” first appeared in the June 26 edition of the Wall Street Journal and is in the public domain. There are no republication restrictions...more             

          

June 26, 2008 - Diplomacy Is Working on North Korea, Secretary Rice Says

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice

Long-delayed disclosure could move Six-Party Talks forward

By David McKeeby
Staff Writer

Washington -- North Korea may be ready to issue its long-delayed declaration of past nuclear activities, marking a step forward for international efforts to stabilize the Korean Peninsula, says Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice...more

Secretary Rice Interview with Wall Street Journal Editorial Board

 

June 23, 2008 - Evening Walk-Through at Six-Party Talks

Christopher R. Hill, Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs
China World Hotel
Beijing, China

[View Video]

ASSISTANT SECRETARY HILL: Hi. I really don’t have a lot for you tonight. I met with Wu Dawei this afternoon. We discussed the sequence of events with respect to the Six-Party meeting starting with the submission that the DPRK will make to the Chinese on their...more     

June 19, 2008 - Rice Emphasizes Successes in U.S.-East Asian Relations

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice

By Merle D. Kellerhals Jr.
Staff Writer

Washington -- Since the beginning of the Bush administration in 2001, one of the highest goals of U.S. foreign policy has been to deepen the chances for peace and security in Northeast Asia, and the effort seems to be succeeding...more

 May 27, 2008 - Evening Walk-Through Remarks at Six-Party Talks

Christopher R. Hill, Assistant  Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs

Christopher R. Hill, Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs
Grand Hyatt Hotel
Beijing, China

 

[View Video]

ASSISTANT SECRETARY HILL: Hi. Well, good to see you all here. Let me just say this is the first visit back to China since the earthquake, and I just want to say or express, as I have before, but I think as we all continue to feel a great sense of sorrow at the loss of life caused by the earthquake and the sense of solidarity we all have with the Chinese people as they cope with this terrible, terrible tragedy...more

• Morning Walk-Through With Journalists at Six-Party Talks (May 28)
• Evening Walk-Through Remarks at Six-Party Talks (May 28)

 

May 16, 2008 - Resumption of U.S. Food Assistance to the North Korean People

USAID FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The United States and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) have reached an understanding on the parameters of a program for the resumption of U.S. food assistance for the North Korean people. International organizations and experts have expressed concern about a severe food shortage in North Korea, and the DPRK has explained to the United States that it faces a major shortfall in food supplies. In response, the United States has pledged significant assistance. The two sides have agreed on terms for a substantial improvement in monitoring and access in order to allow for confirmation of receipt by the intended recipients...more

May 16, 2008 - United States Rushing Aid Flights to China, Burma

Burmese children get in line to receive cups of clean water on the outskirts of Rangoon May 16. (© AP Images)

North Korea also to receive 500,000 metric tons of food aid

By Merle D. Kellerhals Jr.
Staff Writer

Washington -- The United States will provide direct humanitarian relief to China in the wake of a magnitude 7.9 earthquake that struck the region around Sichuan province May 12. In addition, the United States already has provided vital satellite imagery of the region to Chinese authorities to help them locate victims and identify damaged roads and infrastructure...more

May 14, 2008 - North Korean Nuclear Documents a Step Forward, United States Says

U.S. diplomat Sung Kim shows one of over 18,000 pages of new North Korean nuclear documents. (© AP Images)

Materials may mean forward progress for Six-Party Talks

By David McKeeby
Staff Writer
May 14, 2008

Washington -- As translators and analysts review 18,882 pages of newly released North Korean nuclear documents, a top U.S. diplomat says the materials may represent “an important first step” toward a long-delayed declaration of Pyongyang’s nuclear activities...more

May 13, 2008 - Nuclear Weapons States Issue Strong Nonproliferation Signal

DPRK soldier accompanies State’s Korean expert, Sung King, in Panmunjom May 10 with North Korea nuclear documents. (© AP Images)

Serious concerns expressed about proliferation risk from Iran’s program

By Jacquelyn S. Porth
Staff Writer
May 13, 2008

Washington -- Delegates to a two-week conference in Geneva to review the 40-year-old nuclear nonproliferation regime spent considerable time on challenges posed by Iranian and North Korean nuclear endeavors.

At the conclusion of the discussions May 9, the nuclear weapons states attending the 2008 Preparatory Commission meeting to examine the 1970 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) issued a statement pointing to the proliferation risks posed by Iran’s nuclear program and calling them “a matter of ongoing serious concern.”...more

May 12, 2008 - North Korea Discloses New Nuclear Details

U.S. envoy Sung Kim, center, leaves North Korea with documents detailing the country's nuclear activities at Yongbyon. (© AP Images)

Documents may help Six-Party Talks get back on track

By David I. McKeeby
Staff Writer
May 12, 2008

Washington -- A top U.S. official has returned from North Korea with new details of Pyongyang’s nuclear activities that will help advance international efforts to stabilize the Korean Peninsula.

“Our top three priorities are going to be verification, verification, verification,” State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said as a U.S. delegation returned to Washington with 18,000 pages of newly released documents.  The documents date back to 1986 and outline operations at the Yongbyon nuclear complex, where North Korea produced weapons-grade plutonium that was used in an October 2006 nuclear detonation...more

• Fact Sheet: Update on the Six-Party Talks

April 29, 2008 - Talks to Continue Despite North Korean Proliferation Activities

U.S. envoy Alexander Vershbow says Six-Party Talks will continue despite evidence of North Korean nuclear aid to Syria. (© AP Images) State Department says six-party process “appropriate and best way forward” By Stephen Kaufman Staff Writer April 29, 2008 Washington -- Despite revelations that North Korea was helping Syria to build a nuclear reactor, the Bush administration says the United States remains committed to the Six-Party Talks process it established in 2005 with North Korea, South Korea, China, Japan, and Russia to remove nuclear material from the Korean Peninsula...more

April 25, 2008 - Syria Did Not Disclose Building Nuclear Reactor

This photo, released by the CIA April 24, shows the covert Syrian nuclear reactor under construction near al-Kibar. (© AP Images) White House says it was destroyed in 2007 in an Israeli air strike April 25, 2008 By Merle D. Kellerhals Jr. Staff Writer Washington -- Syria did not tell the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) it was building a nuclear reactor in a remote area of eastern Syria with help from North Korean nuclear scientists and engineers, and after it was destroyed in September 2007, made every effort to...more

April 24, 2008 - Statement by the Press Secretary

Office of the Press Secretary April 24, 2008 Today, administration officials have briefed select Congressional committees on an issue of great international concern. Until Sept. 6, 2007, the Syrian regime was building a covert nuclear reactor in its eastern desert capable of producing plutonium...more

April 17, 2008 - U.S. Wants Full Accounting of North Korea's Nuclear Programs

Negotiators and delegates gather for six-nation talks in Beijing on North Korea's nuclear disarmament. (© AP Images) Six-Party Talks have shown progress, Rice says By Merle D. Kellerhals, Jr. Staff Writer April 17, 2008 Washington –- The six-nation nuclear talks with North Korea over its weapons program have shown progress, but there is still reason for caution and skepticism, says Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice...more

April 17, 2008 - On-the-Record Briefing by Secretary Rice

Secretary Condoleezza Rice Secretary Condoleezza Rice Washington, DC April 17, 2008 SECRETARY RICE: Good morning, everyone. I came by just to take a few of your questions, but I’d like to make a few comments first on several issues. First, the rapid rise in global food prices is an urgent concern. Those who are hit hardest are the poorest people, and, of course, this is a matter of social justice because no one should have to spend all of their daily wages just to buy their daily bread. Rising food prices are a source of social instability, as we are seeing in a number of places around the globe....more

April 2, 2008 - Assistant Secretary Hill Comments on the Six-Party Talks

Christopher R. Hill Christopher R. Hill, Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Seoul, South Korea April 2, 2008 In particular we need to know what the plutonium situation is, but also we know that DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) was engaged in procurements of things for uranium enrichment, so we need to know that status. We also need to know what has gone on with any foreign nuclear cooperation...more

March 28, 2008 - North Korea Should Focus on Six-Party Talks

Sean McCormack, Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs

Daily Press Briefing
Sean McCormack, Spokesman
Washington, DC
March 28, 2008

Spokesman McCormack (Mar. 28): "North Korea should refrain from any of these kinds of missile launches. ...We would hope that they would direct their energies towards fulfilling their obligations under the Six-Party Talks, and as they are fulfilling their obligations...more

 

Six-Party Talks Await Complete and Correct Declaration from Pyongyang
State's Hill says partial declaration politically unsustainable for participants

The stalemate in Phase 2 of the Six-Party Talks is not a result of problems with sequencing, timing, or formatting issues; the real problem has been getting North Korea to agree to a "complete and correct" declaration of all its nuclear materials, capacity, and knowledge -- without exceptions...more

Moving Forward in 2008: The U.S.-East Asia Relationship

Christopher R. Hill at FPC Christopher R. Hill, Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs MODERATOR: Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to the Foreign Press Center. Pleased to have a group here today to hear from Assistant Secretary Christopher Hill from the State Department's Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs. He'll be discussing 2008 as we move forward throughout the year and the U.S.-East Asian relationship. Just a reminder, when we move to the question and answer period, if you would please state your name and your news organization before you ask your question, we'd really appreciate it. Thank you so much and I will turn the podium over to Assistant Secretary Hill..more

Progress Being Made on North Korea Nuclear Issue, Rice Says
Secretary urges full cooperation from North Korea

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice meets with Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura February 27. (© AP Images)

By Merle D. Kellerhals Jr.
Staff Writer

Washington –- The United States believes that considerable progress has been achieved on removing the threat of nuclear weapons from the Korean Peninsula, and even more can be expected with improved cooperation from the North Korean regime.

The essential ingredient is the political will to end the nuclear threat completely, says Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

"We have made progress on disablement [of the Yongbyon nuclear facilities].  But we do now need the declaration of the North Koreans that would be complete and would, in its accuracy, show us that there is a way forward," Rice says...more

February 26, 2008 - New York Philharmonic Performs in North Korea
Shared musical values evoke warmth, friendship

Washington -- The music was Gershwin, Dvorak and Wagner; the national anthems were North Korean and American; and the theme was shared musical values.  The orchestra combined Korean folk songs with some of the best-known classical music into a mixture of cultural blends that evoked warmth and friendship even among strangers.

When it was over, the New York Philharmonic received a five-minute standing ovation from a cheering audience in the East Pyongyang Grand Theater, in North Korea, according to news reports.  Members of the audience and orchestra alike did not want it to end.more...

February 6, 2008 - State’s Hill’s Remarks at Senate Foreign Relations
Briefs on Six-Party Talks for denuclearization of Korean Peninsula

Thank you, Chairman Biden, Ranking Member Lugar, and distinguished Members for inviting me to discuss with your committee recent developments in our efforts to achieve the verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula through the Six-Party process.

I have had the opportunity to brief many of you on the Six-Party Talks over the last few months. Since that time, we have made progress on implementation of the October 3, 2007 agreement on “Second Phase Actions for the Implementation of the Joint Statement,” particularly on the disablement of more...