Paul Kerr reminds me why Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Christopher Hill remains my favorite US diplomat:
Q: Can’t you at least get a Yongbyon freeze? That would seem to be a…
HILL: Oh, you think that’s easy? [Laughter] I’ll tell you what — put that boom microphone down and you get it done and I’ll buy you a beer. [link]
That was from the same Beijing trip that led Hill to tell reporters that initial pre-Christmas talks with the North Koreans contained “nothing … to fill me up with a sense of holiday spirit.”