North Korea Demands American Apology

Apology denied.

The chief U.S. delegate to multilateral talks on ending North Korea’s nuclear weapons capability has sharply criticized Pyongyang’s demand for broader arms reduction talks. North Korea also wants a formal apology for what it considers an insult by the United States.

U.S. Ambassador Christopher Hill is flatly rejecting North Korea’s demand for a “more equitable footing” in six-party talks on ending Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons programs.

In a lecture to South Korean students Friday, Ambassador Hill was stinging in his response.

“It was not helpful. It was, frankly, not serious,” Mr. Hill says.

Ambassador Hill is the top U.S. delegate to the talks, which also involve Japan, Russia, China, and South Korea.

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South Korean officials say they will respond to the statement after they have fully interpreted it. For now, they have been repeating Seoul’s position of zero tolerance for nuclear weapons on the Korean peninsula.

Ambassador Hill, however, made it clear he has little patience for North Korean pronouncements.

“I think they ought to come to the table, and if they want to make sarcastic statements, they can make them to me. And stop with these silly press announcements,” Mr. Hill says.

Just in case you ever wanted to know how “Blow it out your ass” translated into diplo-speak.