The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2007

participated, although Hill at that time was not allowed to have substantive discussions with Kim. On some occasions, North Korea has refused to par- ticipate in Track II events, even when they offer a face- saving way of engaging with counterparts. When Pyongyang does want to participate, the National Committee on American Foreign Policy and the Korea Society have sponsored seminars in New York that pro- vide a venue where North Korean diplomats can have informal talks with U.S. counterparts. The U.S.-U.N. Association has provided a setting for influential members of the Washington policy communi- ty to meet with Iranian officials and academics, as has Carnegie’s Moscow Office. The Nixon Center, in con- junction with the International Institute for Strategic Studies and the Geneva Center for Democratic Control of Armed Forces, organizes sessions in Geneva for U.S.- Iran dialogue. In the past two years, however, Iranian government officials have refused to attend such events unless American officials do so as well. By contrast with Democratic administrations, Repub- lican administrations tend to be more inclined to dis- count the views of NGOs. This is because the bulk of the activist organizations lean toward the other end of the political spectrum, approaching nonproliferation from a disarmament perspective. They and the organizations to which they belong adhere strongly to the original bargain of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty: namely, that non- nuclear weapon states gave up any pursuit of nuclear weapons in exchange for the five original nuclear weapon states agreeing to disarm eventually. The disarmament advocates argue that the acknowledged nuclear weapon states, by modernizing their own nuclear arsenals, lose the moral authority to demand that Iran and North Korea forgo dual-use nuclear technology. Keeping Activists at Arm’s Length “NGO outreach” is an established part of the State Department’s public diplomacy. Before major multilat- eral forums, the State Department (and formerly the F O C U S J U LY- A U G U S T 2 0 0 7 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 47 Interim Accommodations for Corporate and Government Markets Apartments, Townhouses & Single Family Homes “FOR THE EXECUTIVE ON THE MOVE” finder5@IX.netcom.com Locations throughout Northern Virginia and D.C. Units fully furnished, equipped and accessorized Many “Walk to Metro” locations Pet Friendly 5105-L Backlick Road, Annandale, Virginia Tel: (703) 354-4070 Fax: (703) 642-3619 Executive Lodging Alternatives