WORLD / Asia-Pacific
US nuclear envoy visits N.Korea
(AP)
Updated: 2007-06-21 10:38
SEOUL, South Korea - Chief US nuclear envoy Christopher Hill arrives in
Pyongyang in the first high-level visit by a US official there in more
than 4 1/2 years.
US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill (L) shakes hands with
North Korea's US Affairs Department Director Li Gun upon his arrival at
Pyongyang airport June 21, 2007. [Xinhua]
Assistant US Secretary of State Christopher Hill's trip came ahead of the
expected resumption of six-nation talks next month following the
resolution of a key financial dispute that had blocked progress.
APTN footage showed Hill arriving at Pyongyang's airport in a small jet
in a steady downpour. His five-member delegation was met by Ri Gun, the
North's deputy nuclear negotiator.
Special coverage:
North Korea Nuclear Crisis
Related readings
Hill: Six-party talks could resume soon
N.Korea plans to shut reactor in July
N.Korea invites UN nuclear inspectors
N.Korea envoy eyes talks soon
"We want to get the six-party process moving," Hill, standing under an
umbrella, said in the APTN film. "We hope that we can make up for some of
the time that we lost this spring and so I'm looking forward to good
discussions about that."
Hill and Ri were shown walking together and chatting in a friendly manner.
"We're all waiting for you," Ri said. In response, Hill said he "got the
message on Monday and we had to work fast to find an airplane,"
suggesting the visit was hastily arranged and based on a North Korean
invitation.
North Korea, which carried out its first nuclear test explosion in
October, promised in a landmark agreement struck in February with China,
Japan, Russia, South Korea and the US that it would shut down its nuclear
reactor at Yongbyon by mid-April.
Progress was stalled by the financial dispute between Pyongyang and
Washington involving $25 million in alleged North Korean illicit funds.
That dispute was resolved in recent days, and although North Korea still
hasn't shut the reactor, it invited UN monitors next week to discuss a
shutdown.
Last year, North Korea openly invited Hill to visit the country, but
Washington did not accept the offer.
Hill planned consultations Thursday and Friday on the nuclear issue "to
move the process forward," the US State Department said in a statement.
Visits to the North by high-ranking US officials are extremely rare. The
US and North Korea do not have formal diplomatic relations. Hill's
unexpected trip was the first since one by his predecessor as assistant
secretary in October 2002.
The highest-ranking US official ever to visit North Korea was former
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who met the North Korea's leader
Kim Jong Il in late 2000.
Hill was to meet with North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan to
discuss advancing the six-party process, the State Department said. Hill
was to return to South Korea on Friday and then travel on to Japan on
Saturday.
South Korea welcomed Hill's visit as "efforts to build mutual trust"
between the US and the North, and expressed hope that it would prompt
concrete steps toward North Korea's denuclearization.
Top World News
� US nuclear envoy visits N.Korea
� Bush eyes Blair for Mideast peace role
� Japan changes name of Iwo Jima
� Abbas refuses talk with Hamas
� Israeli planes, tanks hit Gaza
Today's Top News
� Shanxi governor makes self-criticism for slave labor
� China urges patience on yuan reform
� Man confesses to thallium poisoning
� US nuclear envoy visits N.Korea
� US curbs on high-tech exports to hurt trade
Most Commented/Read Stories in 48 Hours
Learn Chinese, Chinese Online Class, Chinese Course, Learning Materials, Mandarin audio lessons, Chinese writing lessons, Chinese vocabulary lists, About chinese characters, News in Chinese, Go to China, Travel to China, Study in China, Teach in China, Dictionaries, Learn Chinese Painting, Your name in Chinese, Chinese calligraphy, Chinese songs, Chinese proverbs, Chinese poetry, Chinese tattoo, Beijing 2008 Olympics, Mandarin Phrasebook, Chinese editor, Pinyin editor, China Travel, Travel to Beijing, Travel to Tibet
No comments:
Post a Comment