U.S. - North Korea

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.

“The Six-Party process is not only beginning to show some results in the issue of denuclearization; we're also showing results in the issue of bringing the countries closer together,” Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said in a July 1 appearance at Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Since 2005, Hill has led U.S. efforts to convince North Korea to shut down its nuclear program through the Six-Party Talks, which are chaired by China and also include diplomats from Japan, Russia and South Korea.  “North Korea's aspirations for nuclear weapons are an issue rooted in the region, an issue that cannot be solved by the U.S. alone, an issue that really needs the active engagement of its neighbors,” he said.

Hill praised China’s leadership of the talks, which have benefited from Beijing’s long-standing ties with North Korea as well as new political relationships enabled through the Six-Party process with one-time regional rivals Japan and South Korea.

“What the Six Parties is doing is trying to deal with some of the causes of conflict in the region,” Hill said. “Trying to not only address some of the historical antecedents that got us where we are, but also try to set up a framework for the future.”

“Countries in the region can look for areas of cooperation where there was conflict in the past, and look for areas where we can really set up a sort of lasting mechanisms for peace and security,” said Hill.

The United States and other Six-Party members actively have been considering ways to transform the process into a future body of Northeast Asian states to address other pressing challenges, Hill said.

“We’re very much open to hearing different ideas about how we can turn the Six-Party process that has been very singularly focused on denuclearization and see if it can address some of the broader issues as we go forward.” 

MAJOR CHALLENGES AHEAD, SAYS HILL

Hill’s remarks followed two major steps forward for the process: Pyongyang’s June 26 report detailing its past nuclear activity, and the demolition of the main cooling tower at the nuclear complex where it produced plutonium for its nuclear weapons. 

While North Korea was scheduled to submit its nuclear dossier December 31, 2007, a united front among its Six-Party partners and several months of steady, patient negotiations finally broke the deadlock.

“Getting used to an idea is something that doesn’t happen overnight,” Hill said.  “People need to think about it, live with that idea for a few weeks and sometimes months, and finally come to understand that if you want to go forward, you have to accept that idea.”

Both moves are welcome advances, Hill said, but are only initial steps toward the Six-Party goal of a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula. (See “Secretary Rice in China Discusses Relations with North Korea.”)

The next challenge, he said, will be to confirm North Korea’s declaration through a review of supporting documents, visits to its nuclear facilities and interviews with North Korean nuclear scientists to find out exactly how much weapons-grade plutonium was produced. Then comes the third and final phase of the process: complete dismantling of North Korea’s nuclear infrastructure.

“People often say ‘how can you trust them?’”  Hill said.  “This has nothing to do with trust. This has everything to do with verification.”

In addition, North Korea will be expected to answer questions about other elements of its nuclear past -- including a suspected uranium enrichment program similar to Iran’s, as well as Pyongyang’s cooperation with Syria and other countries seeking nuclear technologies. 

Further progress also will rely on North Korea’s willingness to improve human rights conditions for its citizens, as well as to address lingering questions about its abductions of Japanese citizens during the late 1970s.  “I have never had a meeting with the North Koreans where I have not raised this issue,” Hill said.   

“We have a long way to go, but I do believe that the Six-Party mechanism has put all six countries in the same boat, has kind of created a situation where we can all move together,” Hill said.