Remarks to Local Press in Mongolia on Six-Party Talks

QUESTION: (Inaudible) What is your opinion of the current status of the Six-Party Talks?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY HILL: What is my opinion of the current status of the Six-Party Talks? I think we are reaching a very important point in the talks. We are arranging to have the North Korean funds that were in the bank in Macao returned to North Korea. I don't think that has happened yet, but I think it will happen very soon. And what is very critical, we need to see North Korea begin again to implement its obligations under the February agreement.

So if we get through this important period, this juncture, I think that will give us some momentum, if you will, some reason to be optimistic about the next phase. It is very important that we succeed in this process. We cannot have a situation where we have failed, where North Korea somehow refuses to give up these weapons. I hope this will be a good weekend. I know it is an important weekend. So I hope it will also be a good weekend.

QUESTION: (Inaudible)

ASSISTANT SECRETARY HILL: I think the Six-Party Talks is a process involving several phases. So the current phase is to get North Korea to shut down its nuclear facilities. But then we have to go to subsequent phases, which will involve the dismantling of these nuclear facilities -- actually first disabling them and then taking them apart, making them totally unusable for the future. And, finally, the most important phase is that North Korea has some nuclear material already, and we want them to abandon that nuclear material.

Now they have agreed to do that according to the September 2005 agreement. But what we need to have happen is for them to implement that agreement. I believe there are many good reasons for why North Korea should get off that track and onto the track of developing its economy. And there is much to be offered in the Six-Party process for North Korea if they are prepared to give up their nuclear weapons.

QUESTION: Are you looking at Mongolian banks in order to get the money to North Korea?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY HILL: We are not doing that with Mongolian banks.

QUESTION: (Inaudible)

ASSISTANT SECRETARY HILL: I think at this time we have a plan involving Russia, and my hope is that it will succeed in the very near future. But one thing I have talked about with some of the political leadership here was that sometimes when we have bilateral negotiations with some of the other countries, including when I met with the DPRK, we have gone to a third country to have these discussions. And maybe some time we should come to Mongolia and have those discussions here.

QUESTION: (Inaudible) Will the Six-Party Talks continue?

ANSWER: Yes, we would expect that after we begin to implement this February agreement -- where the North Koreans will shut down their nuclear complex in Yongbyon -- we would expect to have additional Six-Party meetings very soon and probably have a Six-Party ministerial as called for in the February agreement. So we look forward to some very active diplomacy even this summer, as early as July.