Christopher Hill Remarks to Japanese Media

Remarks to Japanese Media

Christopher Hill, Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs
Okura Hotel
Tokyo. Japan
October 16, 2006

ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE HILL: I think, first of all you (journalists) need to go to bed. (Laughter.) It's very late, alright? Anyway, we had a very good conversation with Ken Sasae, and we discussed how to implement the resolution. And one thing we need to work on in detail is the issue of the cargo inspections. So when Secretary Rice comes here – and she will have in her delegations some people who are real experts on this – we'll be going over that, because I can see it's it a very important issue here. But I want to stress, really, that the U.S. and Japan are cooperating so closely on this resolution and really throughout the summer through this rather difficult period. So Secretary Rice will be continuing that, and it was a very good opportunity to talk to Sasae-san on what the Japanese issues are and what we all need to be prepared for. But we also discussed some initial preparations for a meeting that's anticipated with the Republic of Korea side. Tomorrow I'll be going to Seoul, because we want that also to be a very successful meeting. So, this evening was a good opportunity, and now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go to bed.

QUESTION: Will you meet Japanese officials tomorrow morning?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE HILL I think I will meet the Director-General for North American Affairs, Kawai-san. And then I have to get to Seoul so that I can back to Tokyo in time to greet Secretary Rice when she arrives. So, thank you very much; it's good to see you all.

Released on October 18, 2006

ENDS

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