2006.07.10: July 10, 2006: Headlines: Figures: COS - Cameroon: Diplomacy: COS - Korea: Baltimore Sun: Christopher R. Hill is hoping to reconvene six-nation talks on de-nuclearization of North Korea that have been stalled since last September
Peace Corps Online:
Directory:
Cameroon:
RPCV Christopher R. Hill (Cameroon) :
RPCV and Diplomat Christopher R. Hill (Cameroon):
2006.07.10: July 10, 2006: Headlines: Figures: COS - Cameroon: Diplomacy: COS - Korea: Baltimore Sun: Christopher R. Hill is hoping to reconvene six-nation talks on de-nuclearization of North Korea that have been stalled since last September
Christopher R. Hill is hoping to reconvene six-nation talks on de-nuclearization of North Korea that have been stalled since last September
If North Korea boycotts a formal meeting, Hill said, the six countries might meet informally or there might be a meeting of the five - the United States, China, Japan, Russia and South Korea - without North Korea's participation. "Six is better than five. Five is better than none," Hill said in an interview yesterday with a small group of Western reporters. "If [the North Koreans] want to negotiate, we are prepared to do so within the six-party process," Hill told reporters. "If they are not interested, we will do our best to defend ourselves and secondly to keep them very isolated." Christopher R. Hill, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs and former U.S. ambassador to South Korea, served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Cameroon.
Christopher R. Hill is hoping to reconvene six-nation talks on de-nuclearization of North Korea that have been stalled since last September
Crisis over missile creates new push for diplomacy
By Barbara Demick
Originally published July 10, 2006
SEOUL, South Korea // U.S. and Asian officials are trying to use the atmosphere of crisis generated by North Korea's missile tests as the impetus for a fresh diplomatic push on its weapons, according to participants in meetings here over the weekend.
The push came as North Korea adopted an increasingly defiant tone, saying that U.N. sanctions would be tantamount to war.
In a rare statement attributed directly to North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, his nation's radio yesterday broadcast an editorial saying that Kim had announced a "heroic position" in which he "promised to answer to an enemy's retaliation with retaliation and to an all-out war with an all-out war."
In an emergency sweep through the region after the missile launches, Assistant Secretary of State Christopher R. Hill said he was hoping to reconvene six-nation talks on de-nuclearization that have been stalled since last September.
If North Korea boycotts a formal meeting, Hill said, the six countries might meet informally or there might be a meeting of the five - the United States, China, Japan, Russia and South Korea - without North Korea's participation.
"Six is better than five. Five is better than none," Hill said in an interview yesterday with a small group of Western reporters.
"If [the North Koreans] want to negotiate, we are prepared to do so within the six-party process," Hill told reporters. "If they are not interested, we will do our best to defend ourselves and secondly to keep them very isolated."
Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns blitzed television talk shows yesterday morning, urging China to step up pressure on North Korea to return to the stalled talks. If Kim remains defiant, Burns warned, the United States and its allies might push for the United Nations to impose harsh sanctions as early as this week.
"We hope that China is going to bring some pressure and influence to bear to convince the North Koreans that they are entirely isolated in the world," Burns said on CBS' Face the Nation. "The North Koreans have to come back to the six-party talks."
The fresh diplomatic push appears to be principally an effort by China and South Korea, along with the United States, to prevent the missile launches from escalating into a larger confrontation. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called senior Chinese officials Saturday, and Chinese leaders hurriedly sent a delegation to Pyongyang over the weekend for talks.
Both China and South Korea are hesitant to go along with a Japanese-led effort before the United Nations to get sanctions enacted against North Korea.
South Korea intends to hold Cabinet-level meetings with North Korea beginning tomorrow in Pusan and will push for the renewed talks.
"We have to turn the dynamic created by the [missile tests] into a force for diplomacy," said South Korea's top nuclear negotiator, Chun Young-woo, after a meeting with Hill on Saturday.
At the last meeting of the six-party talks, in September, North Korea agreed in principle to dismantle its nuclear weapons - then reneged on the deal the following day. The talks have been stalled since.
A North Korean diplomat in New York, Han Sung Ryol, said in an interview published in Seoul on Saturday that North Korea will not return to talks until the United States releases $24 million held in a small bank in the Chinese enclave of Macao that is being audited by the Treasury Department for its role in illicit activities.
Hill rejected those demands.
"This is not a time to talk about what concession we should be making," he said.
Hill will be meeting in Tokyo today with Japanese officials who are leading the drive for tougher economic measures against North Korea.
Barbara Demick writes for the Los Angeles Times. Times staff writers T. Christian Miller and Jim Puzzanghera in Washington contributed to this article.
When this story was posted in July 2006, this was on the front page of PCOL:
Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers
| Jody Olsen is acting Peace Corps Director The Senate confirmed Gaddi Vasquez to head the FAO on June 30. Jody Olsen will be acting Director until the President makes a permanent appointment. Olsen has been Deputy Director of the Peace Corps since 2002. She has previously served as Chief of Staff for two directors, as regional director for North Africa, Near East, and Asia and the Pacific, and as country director in Togo. She served in Tunisia as a PCV. |
| The Peace Corps Library The Peace Corps Library is now available online with over 40,000 index entries in 500 categories. Looking for a Returned Volunteer? Check our RPCV Directory. New: Sign up to receive PCOL Magazine, our free Monthly Magazine by email. Like to keep up with Peace Corps news as it happens? Sign up to recieve a daily summary of Peace Corps stories from around the world. |
| Changing the Face of Hunger In his new book, Former Congressman Tony Hall (RPCV Thailand) says humanitarian aid is the most potent weapon the United States can deploy against terrorism. An evangelical Christian, he is a big believer in faith-based organizations in the fight against hunger. Members of Congress have recently recommended that Hall be appointed special envoy to Sudan to focus on ending the genocide in Darfur. |
| PC will not return to East Timor in 2006 Volunteers serving in East Timor have safely left the country as a result of the recent civil unrest and government instability. Latest: The Peace Corps has informed us that at this time, the Peace Corps has no plans to re-enter the country in 2006. The Peace Corps recently sent a letter offering eligible volunteers the opportunity to reinstate their service in another country. |
| Chris Dodd considers run for the White House Senator Chris Dodd plans to spend the next six to eight months raising money and reaching out to Democrats around the country to gauge his viability as a candidate. Just how far Dodd can go depends largely on his ability to reach Democrats looking for an alternative to Hillary Clinton. PCOL Comment: Dodd served as a Volunteer in the Dominican Republic and has been one of the strongest supporters of the Peace Corps in Congress. |
| Vasquez testifies before Senate Committee Director Vasquez testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on his nomination as the new Representative to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture replacing Tony Hall. He has been the third longest serving Peace Corps Director after Loret Ruppe Miller and Sargent Shriver. PCOL Comment: Read our thanks to Director Vasquez for his service to the Peace Corps. |
| Interview with a Hit Man RPCV John Perkins says that for many years he was an "economic hit man" in the world of international finance whose primary job was to convince less developed countries to accept multibillion dollar loans for infrastructure projects that left the recipient countries wallowing in debt and highly vulnerable to outside political and commercial interests. In this exclusive interview for "Peace Corps Online," Colombia RPCV Joanne Roll, author of Remember with Honor, talks to Perkins about his Peace Corps service, his relation with the NSA, "colonization" in Ecuador, the consequences of his work, why he decided to speak out, and what his hopes are for change. |
| Peace Corps stonewalls on FOIA request The Ashland Daily Tidings reports that Peace Corps has blocked their request for information on the Volkart case. "After the Tidings requested information pertaining to why Volkart was denied the position — on March 2 — the newspaper received a letter from the Peace Corps FOIA officer stating the requested information was protected under an exemption of the act." The Dayton Daily News had similar problems with FOIA requests for their award winning series on Volunteer Safety and Security. |
| PCOL readership increases 100% Monthly readership on "Peace Corps Online" has increased in the past twelve months to 350,000 visitors - over eleven thousand every day - a 100% increase since this time last year. Thanks again, RPCVs and Friends of the Peace Corps, for making PCOL your source of information for the Peace Corps community. And thanks for supporting the Peace Corps Library and History of the Peace Corps. Stay tuned, the best is yet to come. |
| History of the Peace Corps PCOL is proud to announce that Phase One of the "History of the Peace Corps" is now available online. This installment includes over 5,000 pages of primary source documents from the archives of the Peace Corps including every issue of "Peace Corps News," "Peace Corps Times," "Peace Corps Volunteer," "Action Update," and every annual report of the Peace Corps to Congress since 1961. "Ask Not" is an ongoing project. Read how you can help. |
| RPCV admits to abuse while in Peace Corps Timothy Ronald Obert has pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a minor in Costa Rica while serving there as a Peace Corps volunteer. "The Peace Corps has a zero tolerance policy for misconduct that violates the law or standards of conduct established by the Peace Corps," said Peace Corps Director Gaddi H. Vasquez. Could inadequate screening have been partly to blame? Mr. Obert's resume, which he had submitted to the Peace Corps in support of his application to become a Peace Corps Volunteer, showed that he had repeatedly sought and obtained positions working with underprivileged children. Read what RPCVs have to say about this case. |
| Why blurring the lines puts PCVs in danger When the National Call to Service legislation was amended to include Peace Corps in December of 2002, this country had not yet invaded Iraq and was not in prolonged military engagement in the Middle East, as it is now. Read the story of how one volunteer spent three years in captivity from 1976 to 1980 as the hostage of a insurrection group in Colombia in Joanne Marie Roll's op-ed on why this legislation may put soldier/PCVs in the same kind of danger. Latest: Read the ongoing dialog on the subject. |
Read the stories and leave your comments.
Some postings on Peace Corps Online are provided to the individual members of this group without permission of the copyright owner for the non-profit purposes of criticism, comment, education, scholarship, and research under the "Fair Use" provisions of U.S. Government copyright laws and they may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner. Peace Corps Online does not vouch for the accuracy of the content of the postings, which is the sole responsibility of the copyright holder.
Story Source: Baltimore Sun
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; Figures; COS - Cameroon; Diplomacy; COS - Korea
PCOL33692
31