Hill foresees no big changes in 6-way denuke process under Obama+

TOKYO, Dec. 3 Kyodo - Top U.S. nuclear negotiator Christopher Hill indicated Wednesday that he does not foresee ''big changes'' in the six-party talks on denuclearizing North Korea after U.S. President-elect Barack Obama takes office in January.

Hill also told Kyodo News in Tokyo that he is not particularly worried about
establishing a written six-way protocol for verifying North Korea's declaration
of its nuclear programs as he is more concerned about ''getting to the actual
verification process.''
Hill struck a negative note on the possibility of major progress on the issue
of past abductions of Japanese citizens to North Korea in the near future,
while declining to comment on the closely watched issue of the health of North
Korean leader Kim Jong Il.
''I can't speak for President Obama because I don't think he's addressed this
issue yet, but I don't know of any reason to expect any big changes in it,''
Hill said, referring to the six-way negotiations in which the United States and
North Korea are the key players.
The U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs said
he understands that considerable attention is now focused on what the specific
contents of the verification protocol would be, including whether to put in
writing North Korea's commitment to allow inspectors to take samples from its
nuclear facilities.
''But my concern is not so much the protocol. My concern is getting to the
actual verification process and not having...disagreements where the North
Koreans tell us, 'No, we never agreed to that,''' Hill said.
While he did not elaborate, the comments may be taken as a reflection of a
resolve to secure in the upcoming six-nation session effective measures to
advance the process of denuclearizing North Korea that Obama's administration
can take up.
Taking samples from nuclear facilities as a means to verify Pyongyang's
declaration has been a thorny issue between the United States and North Korea,
while the six parties' chief delegates are aiming to put together a written
verification protocol when they meet in Beijing, likely next week.
On the abduction issue, Hill said, ''I am not aware of any new development on
this... Usually with these things, you have to wait till it actually happens
and so I don't want to be saying that I expect something good in the near
future.''
Japan has refused to join other parties in the six-way talks in providing
energy aid worth a total of 1 million tons of fuel oil to North Korea in
exchange for denuclearization steps, saying it will not do so unless progress
is made on the abduction issue.
Hill expressed his understanding over Japan's current position owing to the
gravity of the abduction issue, adding that he ''can imagine a number of areas
where Japan's capabilities would be extremely helpful to this denuclearization
process'' in the future.
Concerning the health of North Korea's Kim, who has reportedly been seriously
ill, he said the U.S. government is ''well aware of'' the issue but declined to
elaborate, saying he has ''nothing I want to say publicly'' on the matter.
Hill arrived in Japan on Tuesday to hold a series of talks with his Japanese
and South Korean counterparts Akitaka Saiki and Kim Sook, respectively, prior
to a meeting with North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan in Singapore
on Thursday.
The multilateral talks on denuclearizing North Korea also involve host China
and Russia.