Comments to Reporters While Transiting Narita Airport

ASSISTANT SECRETARY HILL: Well, I don’t have any update information. I think the Chinese, as of yesterday afternoon, knew what they had to try to get done. So I hope they are able to get that done in a few days. Then I would expect us to get back in a week or two and to get back to the real task, which is to get on with this denuclearization agreement. So let’s hope the Chinese can figure this out. It’s proving to be a much more complex task to get funds back to North Korea. It’s a country that has a very, very limited financial sector, limited ability to do normal wire transfers, that sort of thing. So it’s proving to be quite difficult.

QUESTION: I believe Mr. Glaser is visiting to Beijing?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY HILL: I know that’s being discussed...I haven’t heard that it was confirmed or not.

QUESTION: Do you have any plan to go back to Beijing?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY HILL: As soon as we reconvene the talks, maybe in a week or two.

QUESTION: But as long as the financial issue isn’t solved, you’re not going back?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY HILL: Well, I think the problem is the North Koreans have made very clear they won’t talk about other things until they do the financial issue. For them it’s a question of whether we are fulfilling our part of the February understandings. So the problem is there’s not a lot to talk about – from their point of view – until they get this done. But I’m pretty convinced we’ll get it done. I’m pretty convinced we can get back on track, and we certainly have time to complete all the sixty-day actions.

QUESTION: Russia and the DPRK are holding meetings in Moscow today about the debt issue. Do you think it might help things?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY HILL: I don’t know. I know they owe the Russians a lot of money. Unfortunately, they owe a number of countries a lot of money. And the best thing they can do is get rid of these nuclear weapons and see if they can begin the task of rejoining the international community.

So, thank you very much. Good to see you.