Six-Party Process Builds North Korea's Relations with World
26 October 2007
State Department envoy Christopher Hill recaps recent milestones
Washington -- Several positive and significant steps have been achieved under the Six-Party Talks, and those steps are beginning to bring North Korea into a different relationship with other nations, says Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Christopher Hill.
In testimony before two House Foreign Affairs Committee panels October 25, Hill described recent developments in U.S. efforts to achieve the verifiable removal of nuclear programs from the Korean Peninsula through the Six-Party Talks, which involve North Korea, South Korea, China, Japan, Russia and the United States.
In July, Hill said, North Korea shut down and sealed the core nuclear facilities at Yongbyon and invited back the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the key international body charged with nuclear issues, to conduct monitoring and verification activities. The IAEA later verified the shutdown status of a nuclear reactor, a fuel fabrication facility and two uncompleted reactors. The IAEA continues to monitor those sites, and has reported excellent cooperation from North Korean authorities.
In addition to the IAEA monitoring, the United States, China and Russia sent experts to North Korea in September to survey the facilities at Yongbyon. Another U.S. technical team visited from October 11 to 18, he said, again demonstrating new levels of cooperation and accessibility.
Hill said that, in return for stopping its nuclear activities, North Korea is to receive energy assistance in the form of heavy fuel oil (HFO) or its equivalent in alternative economic, energy and humanitarian assistance from the other parties. Once North Korea implemented its initial commitments, it received 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil. The other parties, he said, have begun implementing their commitment to provide an additional 950,000 tons of HFO or the equivalent. (See related article.)
On October 3, North Korea reaffirmed its commitment “not to transfer nuclear materials, technology, or know-how.” The United States, Hill said, has discussed this issue with the North Koreans many times and will remain vigilant about proliferation concerns.
For its part, the United States has started moving toward normalizing relations with North Korea, and has committed to begin the process of removing the designation of North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism and terminating the application of the Trading with the Enemy Act. Changes in this status, Hill said, will greatly improve opportunities for further advances in the bilateral relationship.
"The United States recognizes that some issues remain unresolved, including remaining questions about Japanese abductees, and we continue to urge North Korea at every opportunity to address Japan’s concerns," Hill said.
NEXT STEPS
Hill said he believes that, as the October 3 agreement is implemented and moves forward into the next phase of actions toward complete removal of nuclear programs in early 2008, the six parties can begin to make real progress on transforming North Korea’s relations with the international community, and indeed transforming Northeast Asia.
Hill said the United States and North Korea have committed to improving bilateral relations and working toward full diplomatic relations.
"One way this will be done," he said, "is to increase bilateral exchanges between the United States and DPRK [North Korea] aimed at enhancing mutual trust. The goal through this process will remain improving the lives of the people of North Korea."
Hill also pointed out that, on a separate track to address humanitarian assistance needs, the United States announced in August a plan to provide substantial food aid to North Korea.
"We have also made clear to the DPRK that discussion of outstanding issues of concern, including the DPRK’s human rights record, would be part of the normalization process," he said.
The United States, Hill continued, remains committed to replacing the 1953 Armistice with a permanent peace arrangement on the Korean Peninsula and believes that discussions of a Korean Peninsula peace regime could begin once North Korea fully discloses and abandons its nuclear weapons programs.
The United States further hopes to move forward on developing a Northeast Asia Peace and Security Mechanism, "which would help transform the cooperative relationships built through the Six-Party process into an enduring security framework for Northeast Asia," Hill said.
The full text and a video of Hill's testimony are available on the State Department Web site.
For additional information, see The U.S. and the Korean Peninsula.
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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