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It is considered bad form in diplomatic circles to offend the other side without a very good reason, a convention that makes it all the more puzzling that the U.S. chief negotiator in talks on North Korea¡¯s nuclear program refused to see his counterpart from Pyongyang this week.
Christopher Hill was in Tokyo since April 9 for the two-day Northeast Asia Cooperation Dialogue (NEACD), as was the North Korean chief nuclear negotiator Kim Kye-gwan. But although the two were in the same hall, they did not exchange so much as a handshake throughout the entire conference. Officials from South Korea, China, and Japan struggled to arrange a post-conference sit down between the two parties, but in vain. Hill stuck to his announcement on arrival that he had no plans to meet with Kim.
Hill argues there is no point in further bilateral meetings unless the North returns to the stalled six-nation talks. North Korea insists it cannot return until the U.S. lifts financial sanctions imposed over Pyongyang¡¯s alleged counterfeiting of dollar bills. The U.S. appears to have decided that cranking up the pressure is more efficient now it believes the North driven into a corner than engaging with the Stalinist country.
But the manner in which it has demonstrated this is unlikely to be effective. Hill has snubbed North Korea¡¯s second ranking diplomat, who was willing to meet him without any conditions attached, humiliating the man and forcing him to return home empty-handed. Kim is left with no good explanation when he reports to the North Korean leadership. The episode has also left a sour taste in the mouths of the other nations in the talks, all of whose delegation chiefs were in Tokyo, sending a message that their influence counts for little in Washington¡¯s eyes.
Press coverage of the event confirms that perception, homing on the fact that a widely expected meeting between the two sides foundered on Hill¡¯s refusal. So far, sulking has been a North Korean specialty. Now it seems the U.S. has decided to give it a try.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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