Comments to Reporters Upon Arrival to Japan

ASSISTANT SECRETARY HILL: Well, I’m going to go in and brief Mr. Sasae on my visit to Pyongyang. I spoke with him yesterday and gave him a briefing on the telephone, but I wanted to see him and go into more of the details.

QUESTION: Do you have a sense that the U.S. decision to have you over to Pyongyang could potentially lead to a loss or a shrinkage of political and public support for the Six-Party process from Japan?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY HILL: Well, I think, first of all, Secretary Rice sent me there because I was in the region. I was talking to the other participants, to China, to South Korea, also Japan, and we felt it was important to make sure that as we get ready to restart the process that we have some consultations with the North Koreans. I think it's very much in Japan's interest that we did that. And, certainly, when Secretary Rice talked to Foreign Minister Aso, I think she conveyed that as well. I think it's very much in Japan's interest to get moving on denuclearization, because this is the means by which I think we can create the kind of process where, not only denuclearization can be addressed, but also other issues of great interest to Japan and to the U.S.

And so I raised a number of issues while I was there, not just denuclearization. But, certainly, I talked about other bilateral relationships, including the DPRK relationship with Japan, and specifically addressed the issue of abductions. I think anytime you can meet directly with DPRK officials and raise the issue of the abductions and insist that we find a resolution to that, I think that's good -- especially for the families of the people who were abducted. I think it's good to try to address this with diplomacy, and that's what I've been doing.

So I'm not worried about it leading to any reduction in our relationship. On the contrary, I think Japan and the U.S. are two extremely important partners in this process. And I think the closer we can work together, the better for achieving all our objectives. And that's why I'm here.

QUESTION: Do you have any timeframe to [inaudible] Six-Party Talks?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY HILL: I think we will probably try to get going in -- I want to say early July -- but I think it's going to depend on a few factors. But maybe early July is about right. What we're trying to get to is a ministerial, which we’d like to have in the late July timeframe. And to do that we've got to get going with the Six Parties. But in order to have the Six-Party meeting, we have to make sure that we move quickly on the February undertaking.

So we’re pleased that the IAEA will be getting in on Tuesday. We hope really to pick up the pace. There's a lot of work to do. And that's why I think it was very necessary to get out here and do these consultations, including in this very brief trip I took to Pyongyang.

QUESTION: Were there any comments from North Korea about abduction issue?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY HILL: Well, they’ve heard me say this so many times, because every time I see them I talk about the abduction issue. So what I told them was no surprise to them. They've heard me many times. I can't say I got any answer that would lead to a resolution of the problem. But they certainly understand the importance that we attach to the abduction issue, but also to the broader issue of Japan's relationship with the DPRK, because Japan is a very major player --

the world’s second-largest economy. It's a country with global interests, and for the DPRK it also happens to be a neighbor. So I think it's in their interest to find a way to deal with Japan, and I don't see myself as mediating in that process. I think Japan has really excellent diplomats who can do their own talking. But I think it was an opportunity, really, once again to raise these issues.

QUESTION: Have you briefed the Chinese, and what was their reaction if you did?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY HILL: I briefed through our embassy, so I don't have a reaction from the Chinese. I do know that we informed them just before I went on this trip. We wanted to keep it very quiet, and it came up at the last minute. You know we had to scramble around to get an airplane at the last minute, so there wasn't much time to inform anybody much in advance. But the Chinese were very supportive of the idea. I spoke to our embassy last night to tell them some of the results of the trip, and those have since been conveyed to Mr. Wu Dawei. And I have not heard a follow-up on that.

QUESTION: Are the three-week timeframe for the possible shutdown of the nuclear facility still [inaudible]?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY HILL: Oh yes. Oh yes. Stay tuned. Stay tuned. You know, part of what we're doing is focusing on what needs to happen, what needs to happen quickly. I know some people think we’re in a hurry. Americans are always in a hurry, all right? We’re always in a hurry. We always want to get through things and get moving.

And shutting down the reactor does not solve all our problems. It's just the beginning. But in order to solve all our problems, we're going to have to make this beginning and get through this step and move on to other steps. So that's why we want to get going with this.

Unfortunately, we lost time this spring, and we really think now is the time to pick up that pace. We had some good discussions on this, and we've learned in the Six-Party process that you have to be a little patient, and you can't always assume that things happen when you think they're going to happen. But I think we're going to be okay in getting this thing shut down. I've really got to get moving, because I've got Ken Sasae waiting for me.

QUESTION: Are you going back to Washington after this?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY HILL: Yes, I’m definitely going back to Washington. I promise you that.

QUESTION: Yesterday you mentioned 110 pounds of plutonium. But is that based on North Korean declaration?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY HILL: No, but they will have a declaration, and we discussed that -- on the need to have very precise listing. But they have to be verified, too.

I've got to go.