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CNN Live Today
White House Monitoring North Korean Situation
Aired December 26, 2002 - 11:00 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.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Escalating tension over North Korea's nuclear plans, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency calls the situation very worrisome.
Today, North Korea continued moving fuel rods to a nuclear reactor that could be restarted within a month. It's the latest development in the standoff with the Bush administration.
CNN White House correspondent Dana Bash joins us live with the latest -- hi, Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka. Well, that is right. It is something that the Bush administration is monitoring carefully. President Bush is actually, at this hour, on his way to Crawford, Texas. That's where he has his ranch. He'll spend time there through the new year, and no doubt that he will be keeping close tabs on the situation, much as he did from Camp David over the Christmas holiday.
Now, the Bush administration is working with their allies in the region. South Korea, Japan, China, talking with them. Secretary of State Colin Powell spent a lot of time over the past few days on the phone with his counterparts in that part of the world, trying to use them to put pressure, to use their leverage with North Korea to try to get them to cease and desist with their nuclear program.
Now, Mohammed ElBaradei, he is the head of the IAEA, as you mentioned before, he was on CNN this morning calling the situation very serious, and he said that North Korea is trying to play politics with its nuclear program.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOHAMMED ELBARADEI, CHIEF INSPECTOR, IAEA: I think they are trying to use their nuclear capability, which is supposed to be for peaceful ends, to achieve strategic and political objectives, which is totally unacceptable. It is basically a policy of nuclear brinkmanship, and that's what they're trying to do, that if we do not get what we think we should be getting, we are going to use our peaceful nuclear program for questionable activities.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: Now, that is a game of brinkmanship that, so far, the U.S. has refused to enter into directly, saying that they are not going to come to the table, not going to talk directly at this point with North Korea, that they will not be blackmailed into doing that. U.S. officials believe that North Korea is using this situation, trying to restart its nuclear program to get the United States to the table to start negotiations on a nonaggression pact, and to talk about restarting its fuel and oil shipments, things that that country needs pretty badly. But the U.S. is saying that North Korea must stick to the pact that it signed in 1994, promising not to restart its nuclear program, and the United States says they're not going to, at least now, talk directly but they are making clear that they want a peaceful resolution -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, Dana. Thanks very much from the White House.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired December 26, 2002 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Escalating tension over North Korea's nuclear plans, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency calls the situation very worrisome.
Today, North Korea continued moving fuel rods to a nuclear reactor that could be restarted within a month. It's the latest development in the standoff with the Bush administration.
CNN White House correspondent Dana Bash joins us live with the latest -- hi, Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka. Well, that is right. It is something that the Bush administration is monitoring carefully. President Bush is actually, at this hour, on his way to Crawford, Texas. That's where he has his ranch. He'll spend time there through the new year, and no doubt that he will be keeping close tabs on the situation, much as he did from Camp David over the Christmas holiday.
Now, the Bush administration is working with their allies in the region. South Korea, Japan, China, talking with them. Secretary of State Colin Powell spent a lot of time over the past few days on the phone with his counterparts in that part of the world, trying to use them to put pressure, to use their leverage with North Korea to try to get them to cease and desist with their nuclear program.
Now, Mohammed ElBaradei, he is the head of the IAEA, as you mentioned before, he was on CNN this morning calling the situation very serious, and he said that North Korea is trying to play politics with its nuclear program.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOHAMMED ELBARADEI, CHIEF INSPECTOR, IAEA: I think they are trying to use their nuclear capability, which is supposed to be for peaceful ends, to achieve strategic and political objectives, which is totally unacceptable. It is basically a policy of nuclear brinkmanship, and that's what they're trying to do, that if we do not get what we think we should be getting, we are going to use our peaceful nuclear program for questionable activities.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: Now, that is a game of brinkmanship that, so far, the U.S. has refused to enter into directly, saying that they are not going to come to the table, not going to talk directly at this point with North Korea, that they will not be blackmailed into doing that. U.S. officials believe that North Korea is using this situation, trying to restart its nuclear program to get the United States to the table to start negotiations on a nonaggression pact, and to talk about restarting its fuel and oil shipments, things that that country needs pretty badly. But the U.S. is saying that North Korea must stick to the pact that it signed in 1994, promising not to restart its nuclear program, and the United States says they're not going to, at least now, talk directly but they are making clear that they want a peaceful resolution -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, Dana. Thanks very much from the White House.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
