米朝国交回復への道は着々と。

ＮＹフィル、来年2月に北朝鮮で初公演NYTimesはNew York Philharmonic to Play In N.Korea: Paper

では、六カ国協議でおなじみのヒルさんのご発言をどうぞ。

"It would signal that North Korea is beginning to come out of its shell, which everyone understands is a long-term process," Christopher Hill, the Bush administration's lead negotiator with North Korea, told the newspaper.

"It does represent a shift in how they view us, and it's the sort of shift that can be helpful as we go forward in nuclear weapons negotiations."

The daunting logistics of sending 250 people and bulky instruments to impoverished North Korea were being overcome with help from the U.S. State Department, South Korean companies and the Korea Society.

The concert is set for February 26 at the end of the Philharmonic's planned tour of China, the paper said, with the orchestra expected to stay in Pyongyang for two nights to do some teaching and attend a ceremonial dinner.

~中略
"It would be a mistake to hand Kim Jong-il a propaganda coup," Richard Allen, a former national security adviser, and Chuck Downs, both board members of the U.S. Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, wrote on October 28 in The New York Times.

Hill said "in a very theoretical way" any kind of opening would lend legitimacy to North Korea's government.

"But not opening up has not had any positive effect in bringing North Korea out of its shell," Hill said.

ヒル氏は、「北朝鮮がついにその殻からでてくる前兆だ。彼らが我々に対する見方を変えた証拠で、これは核開発停止交渉にとってもいい話だ。」とNYTIMESに語った。250名の団員とかさばる楽器を貧困にあえぐ北朝鮮に送るにあたって、米国政府・韓国企業・コリアン協会が援助する。コンサートは楽団の中国公演の後の2月26日に予定され、２晩滞在し歓迎会に出席し、指導も行う。
米国前国家安全アドバイザーのリチャード・アレン氏とチャック・ダウン氏は、これは金正日氏にプロパガンダの機会を与えるものだと批判する。ヒル氏は、どんな対外開放も北朝鮮政府に正当性を与えるだろうと語りつつ、「しかし、交渉を閉じても北朝鮮を殻から出す効果はなかった」と言った。

あ〜あ〜日本の頭越しに、着々と米朝交渉はすすんでしまうのであった。