Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live Today

White House: North Korea Acknowledges Secret Nuclear Weapons Program

Aired October 17, 2002 - 11:07   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: As terrorists in the Philippines hide in the shadows, a nuclear secret comes to light elsewhere in Asia. The White House says that North Korea has acknowledged that it has a secret nuclear weapons program. The admission changes the political landscape in east Asia and presents a new set of problems for the Bush administration.
Our State Department correspondent Andrea Koppel joins us now with more. Andrea, what have we been hearing about this?

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPT. CORRESPONDENT: Well, Leon, what I'm hearing is that the Bush administration is trying to downplay the situation. The last thing it needs or wants is another crisis on the Korean peninsula for many reasons, not the least of which is the fact that they have a U.N. resolution that they're trying to get through right now on Iraq, which is accusing Iraq of developing weapons of mass destruction program.

Nevertheless, the Bush administration, officials tell me, they were absolutely stunned, shocked to hear North Korean officials admit to the fact that they have an ongoing active nuclear weapons program.

What you are looking at right now is the site of what the old nuclear weapons program had been in Young (ph), North Korea. Now, the North Koreans have admitted to the Bush administration that they have another program that is uranium based. This one was plutonium based.

Having said that, the Bush administration is saying quite clearly that the agreement that the U.S. and the South Koreans made with North Korea in 1994 is off the table. That agreed framework in which an exchange for supposedly freezing its nuclear weapons program, it would be provided with two light water nuclear reactors and heavy fuel oil is no longer something that can continue.

State Department spokesman Richard Boucher issued a statement last night in which he made very clear that the perks the North Koreans had gotten and would have gotten if they had continued with discussions with the U.S. are now off the table.

Richard Boucher saying "The U.S. was prepared to offer economic and political steps to improve the lives of the North Korean people, provided the north were dramatically to alter its behavior across a range of issues. In light of our concerns about the north's nuclear weapons program, however, we are unable to pursue this approach." What the U.S. Is pursuing, however, is diplomacy. Yesterday, two senior State Department officials were dispatched to Beijing to meet with Chinese officials. They'll also be going on to Russia to France and to Britain, all declared nuclear powers, hoping that they'll be able to use their clout to -- any leverage they might have with North Korea to freeze its program. In addition, Leon, an official will be traveling to U.S. allies in Asia to Japan and South Korea in the hopes of really trying to coordinate what next and how to defuse this potential that's crisis on the Korean peninsula.

HARRIS: And still there's the question, why they waited 12 days before letting this information come out, but that's the topic we'll have to hit it another day.

Andrea Koppel, thank you very much.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com




Weapons Program>


Aired October 17, 2002 - 11:07   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: As terrorists in the Philippines hide in the shadows, a nuclear secret comes to light elsewhere in Asia. The White House says that North Korea has acknowledged that it has a secret nuclear weapons program. The admission changes the political landscape in east Asia and presents a new set of problems for the Bush administration.
Our State Department correspondent Andrea Koppel joins us now with more. Andrea, what have we been hearing about this?

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPT. CORRESPONDENT: Well, Leon, what I'm hearing is that the Bush administration is trying to downplay the situation. The last thing it needs or wants is another crisis on the Korean peninsula for many reasons, not the least of which is the fact that they have a U.N. resolution that they're trying to get through right now on Iraq, which is accusing Iraq of developing weapons of mass destruction program.

Nevertheless, the Bush administration, officials tell me, they were absolutely stunned, shocked to hear North Korean officials admit to the fact that they have an ongoing active nuclear weapons program.

What you are looking at right now is the site of what the old nuclear weapons program had been in Young (ph), North Korea. Now, the North Koreans have admitted to the Bush administration that they have another program that is uranium based. This one was plutonium based.

Having said that, the Bush administration is saying quite clearly that the agreement that the U.S. and the South Koreans made with North Korea in 1994 is off the table. That agreed framework in which an exchange for supposedly freezing its nuclear weapons program, it would be provided with two light water nuclear reactors and heavy fuel oil is no longer something that can continue.

State Department spokesman Richard Boucher issued a statement last night in which he made very clear that the perks the North Koreans had gotten and would have gotten if they had continued with discussions with the U.S. are now off the table.

Richard Boucher saying "The U.S. was prepared to offer economic and political steps to improve the lives of the North Korean people, provided the north were dramatically to alter its behavior across a range of issues. In light of our concerns about the north's nuclear weapons program, however, we are unable to pursue this approach." What the U.S. Is pursuing, however, is diplomacy. Yesterday, two senior State Department officials were dispatched to Beijing to meet with Chinese officials. They'll also be going on to Russia to France and to Britain, all declared nuclear powers, hoping that they'll be able to use their clout to -- any leverage they might have with North Korea to freeze its program. In addition, Leon, an official will be traveling to U.S. allies in Asia to Japan and South Korea in the hopes of really trying to coordinate what next and how to defuse this potential that's crisis on the Korean peninsula.

HARRIS: And still there's the question, why they waited 12 days before letting this information come out, but that's the topic we'll have to hit it another day.

Andrea Koppel, thank you very much.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com




Weapons Program>