U.S. leader in North Korea nuclear talks visits Maxwell

U.S. Ambassador Christopher Hill speaks at Air University on Wednesday about servicemembers' role in the East Asia Pacific area and his role in the North Korea nuclear disarmament process. (Air Force photo by Melanie Rodgers)

Photo Details / Download Hi-Res

U.S. leader in North Korea nuclear talks visits Maxwell

Published Oct. 31, 2008
By Scott Knuteson
Air University Public Affairs

MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. -- The head of the U.S. delegation to the Six-Party Talks on the North Korean nuclear issue spoke at Air War College on Wednesday and held a press conference here following the event.

Ambassador Christopher Hill, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, said the relationship the State Department and Air War College have is important for diplomatic success in a difficult, complex world.

"We try to work closely with our services in uniform," he said. "Throughout the East Asia Pacific area, we deal with members of the U.S. Air Force."

The Air Force is active, he added, in developing relationships with allies worldwide.

"I think one of the things [Air War College] does so well is to bring so many different representatives here from other countries," he told the room of reporters, some from as far away as Japan. "There are a number of foreign students here."

The time international students spend at Air University and in the surrounding community is crucial to the impression they take back to their countries, the ambassador said.

"When they go back to their country and people say, 'What's America like?' their experiences in America will be derived in many cases from what they have done here in Montgomery," he said.

The ambassador spoke to the Air War College student body and later addressed smaller seminars.

"The thing I've been discussing, of course, is the Six-Party Talks," he said.

"I try to help students understand some of the practical applications [of diplomacy]," he said of his nearly annual visits to Air University, where Air War College is only one of several schools for professional military education.

The ambassador has been at the head of talks aimed at North Korea's nuclear disarmament. The talks, which have been ongoing since 2003, involve Russia, North and South Korea, China, and Japan.

North Korea has only recently agreed to shut down its nuclear facilities in part because of a deal to supply the reclusive government with fuel oil.

Ambassador Hill has been involved in the negotiations since early 2005.