UPDATE FRIDAY NIGHT: For coverage of the event, please click here.
Members of the Bowdoin community will be among the first to hear from America's lead negotiator at the six-party negotiations in Beijing regarding the recent deal with North Korea. Christopher Hill '74, an assistant secretary of state, will deliver a specially scheduled Common Hour today regarding the denuclearization talks in Beijing.
The talk will take place at 12:30 p.m. in Kresge Auditorium. The event is open to students, faculty, and staff only.
Hill's visit to Bowdoin comes just three days after reaching a deal with the North Korean delegation. According to Tuesday's New York Times, the pact requires the North Korean government to disable its nuclear reactors and reprocessing facilities.
In addition, the agreement stipulates that North Korea give international inspectors access to its nuclear facilities to ensure compliance with the deal. In return for freezing its current production of plutonium, the United States, South Korea, China, and Russia will provide North Korea with food and fuel aid totaling approximately $400 million. Japan did not agree to provide aid to North Korea, citing additional issues that must be worked out.
The agreement was greeted with instant criticism from both Democrats and Republicans. Democrats asserted that the current agreement is no better than the one available to the United States four years ago before North Korea conducted nuclear tests. Voices from the right contended that the U.S. agreement allows for loopholes and that the American delegation should have insisted upon the complete dismantling of the country's nuclear program.
According to Vice President for Communications and Public Affairs Scott Hood, there will likely be local media on campus to talk to Hill.
"We have alerted the Portland and local news media, and we expect other news media to show up to speak with him," Hood said in an e-mail to the Orient.
The Orient will likely speak with Hill. Should that interview occur, a report will be posted on the Orient's Web site (orient.bowdoin.edu) as soon as it is available.
In addition to his Common Hour lecture, Hill will also give two talks for the Career Planning Center. One will discuss careers in the Department of State; the other will cover mediation and negotiation.
Hill was last on campus in April of 2006, discussing developments in the denuclearization of North Korea and the growing influence of Asia. Hill graduated from Bowdoin with an A.B. in economics. He went on to serve in the Peace Corps in Cameroon. Hill has also served as ambassador to a number of countries and as special envoy to Kosovo.