By Michael Ha
Staff Reporter
Top U.S. nuclear negotiator Christopher Hill said that North Korea will be disappointed if the regime expects Barack Obama to yield and take a softer stance on denuclearization verification.
Speaking at a meeting of the Asian Society in Washington on Tuesday, Hill, who recently returned from the six-nation meeting in Beijing, said that the latest negotiation had stalled because Pyongyang refused to accept a denuclearization verification protocol.
``It has been a tough couple of weeks," he said.
Hill, who is the U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asia and Pacific affairs, said he's not sure why North Korea continues to turn down a verification measure.
``It might be because the regime may be afraid of revealing the true extent of its past nuclear activities, or it might be because Pyongyang may simply be playing a waiting game until Jan. 20, when the next U.S. President is sworn in,'' he said.
``The reclusive regime may be expecting U.S. President-elect Obama to be softer on North Korean issues,'' he said.
But Hill dismissed that possibility. He said he would be greatly surprised if North Korea can manage to extract more favorable terms from the Obama administration.
Hill also defended U.S. President George W. Bush's accomplishments as well as results from North Korean nuclear talks, despite the latest setback.
He said six-party talks have successfully prevented North Korea from developing any more plutonium for its nuclear ambition.
``When we started this long negotiation in the summer of 2005, North Korea was merrily and busily producing plutonium. However, since the September 2005 joint statement, they have not produced even one gram of plutonium. I think the six-party process takes some credit for that," said Hill, according to the Asia Society.
The latest round of the six-nation discussions held in Beijing broke down last week, when North Korea rejected a plan accepted by the United States, South Korea, Japan, and China, he noted. The plan would have required, among other things, Pyongyang to submit its claims of nuclear disarmament in writing.
He said in his speech that ``North Korea will come to the understanding what most countries in the world have come to understand, which is you don't need nuclear weapons to protect yourself; you need good relations with your neighbors to protect yourself; that is the strategy."
Hill said that North Korea stands to gain much if it verifiably gives up all its nuclear programs and materials including its plutonium.