Chris Hill Resignation Watch

[Update:   Here, at Channel News Asia, Kim Sook seems to be saying that the North Koreans are refusing to hand over their declaration until the Americans de-list North Korea first.  Remember — State’s best chance of successfully de-listing North Korea means giving Congress notice of its decision in late June and taking advantage of the August recess to wrong-foot its congressional opponents.  As a practical matter,  that means North Korea won’t be de-listed  until August, but of course, that’s perfect timing for the North Koreans.  That way, they get their concessions, but the country’s attention will be elsewhere  the next time they renege.  It’s not bad timing for the Administration, either.  As every honest observer admits by now, both the North Koreans and the Bush Administration are just running out the clock now.  I’d say they’re overplaying their hand yet again, but I’ve learned never to bet against the spinelessness of our State Department.]

If ever I’ve seen a statement  so pregnant with cryptic significance, I don’t know when:

The United States does not seem to be ready to provide North Korea with what the communist nation wants in return for its next moves toward denuclearization, a South Korean envoy said Sunday.  Kim Sook, Seoul’s chief nuclear negotiator, said Pyongyang will not turn in the long-overdue declaration until Washington is all set to take steps to remove the North from the list of terrorism-sponsoring countries.

“In my view, the U.S. needs more time, while North Korea’s preparations are almost done,” he told a press briefing.  [….]

The U.S. has promised to take initial steps to remove the North from the terror list as soon as it submits a “complete and correct” declaration, which officials in Washington view as a litmus test for Pyongyang’s will to abandon its nuclear program.

Kim said that the upcoming measures by North Korea and the U.S. will be taken on an “action-for-action” basis under the six-party deal signed last year.  But the delisting requires approval from the Congress, and some U.S. lawmakers express worries that the declaration might not be complete.  [Yonhap]

Yes, the opposition to de-listing the North is building, but  how much?  I do believe  it’s building as time passes and North Korea continues to demonstrate its bad faith in increasingly stark terms.  The way the State Department handled the Al-Kibar story certainly didn’t help.  The fact  of Jack Pritchard’s return from Pyongyang with North Korean disclaimers of any serious interest in disarmament deserves to be a game-changer, if for no other reason than the fact that Pritchard himself is such a strong advocate of dealing with these guys, and the fact that he pulls a lot of weight with the center-left foreign policy establishment.  That said, I haven’t heard any gossip that claims to have authoritatively counted the votes in either house of Congress.  If you have strong views on this,  by all means  exercise your rights to tell your congressman and senator.