Christopher Hill, it turns out, does his best work by moonlight. The U.S. Assistant Secretary of State and chief negotiator at the six-party North Korean nuclear talks had a Chinese draft proposal in hand that could jump-start the long-stalled negotiations…
So at a lavish Mid-Autumn Festival party on Sept. 17 hosted by Chinese Vice Foreign Minister and chief negotiator Wu Dawei, Hill went to work. According to a U.S. official, in between the Dynasty-brand wine, mooncakes and calls to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who was in New York buttonholing foreign ministers as they attended the U.N. World Summit, Hill nailed down agreements that the others would not help North Korea get its reactor until Pyongyang’s nuclear warheads and fissile material were eliminated. Confident that the U.S. line would be backed, Hill lit a cigar and indulged in some moongazing.
That was how the six-party talks were saved: China provided the foundation, and Hill and Rice closed the deal.