Little known in his home country, the boyish-looking U.S. nuclear envoy has become something of a celebrity in China’s capital for his role in talks on North Korea’s atomic weapons program.
“He’s so charming and attractive,” said Li Kenna, a desk clerk at the five-star hotel where U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill stays. “He sometimes asks me how I am in the mornings. He’s one of our nicest guests.”
Hill – who has faced down Slobodan Milosevic and barricaded himself against mobs in Macedonia as a negotiator in the Bosnia and Kosovo crises – has been making visits to Beijing for years, with troops of reporters flying in from South Korea and Japan to cover his wrangling with North Korea over a deal that would rid the communist country of its nuclear weapons program. [Full Text]