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North Korea Situation Rapidly Building Toward Critical Mass

Aired December 27, 2002 - 11:06   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: Turning now to another controversial story, North Korea, where the situation is rapidly building toward critical mass. Today, the communist country informed two nuclear inspectors with the U.N. they are no longer needed and will be expelled from that country. By all appearances, North Korea is racing toward becoming a nuclear power, say some. South Korea's new president is watching the situation with alarm.
CNN's Seoul bureau chief Sohn Jie-Ae has more on the view from South Korea.

SOHN JIE-AE, CNN SEOUL BUREAU CHIEF: Yes, Fredricka, here in South Korea, it's late in the evening. The news about North Korea kicking out inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency reached us late in the evening, but by tomorrow morning here in South Korea, South Koreans will probably wake up to the news, and will probably react with grave concern.

Now, North Korea said that the IAEA inspectors need to leave, because the IAEA inspectors, the mission in North Korea was to monitor the nuclear freeze, and now that North Korea is saying it's going to reactivate its facilities, the mission is over. What's even more disturbing in this letter is North Korea said it is getting ready to reactivate a laboratory within its nuclear facility, and this is a laboratory that many suspect has been used to reprocess the spent fuel rods coming out of the nuclear power plants to make weapons grade plutonium. So this is all the more disturbing news for South Korea and its new president in the coming days, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Sohn Jie-Ae, thank you very much from Seoul.

North Korea's actions come at a time when the Bush administration is trying to focus on Iraq.

CNN White House correspondent Dana Bash joins us from the White House.

Hi, Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka.

Well, the president is not here. He is at his retreat in Crawford, Texas, at his ranch there, but his advisers are here at the White House in a sign that there is growing concern about the situation in North Korea. The president's national security team is meeting at this hour here at the White House, his team led by national security adviser Condoleeza Rice. They're here to talk about the issue and what the U.S.'s next move should be.

So far, the Bush administration has made it very clear they have no intention of engaging in direct negotiations with North Korea, that if what North Korea is trying to do is get the U.S. to come to the table and start talks on a nonaggression packet, start talks on restarting fuel shipments, that they should -- quote -- "stop attempting to create a crisis." That's a quote from an administration official.

But the U.S. strategy so far has been to reach out to allies in the region, to talk to -- Secretary of State Colin Powell has talked in the past week to his counterparts in Russia, in Japan, in South Korea to discuss the issue, to try to figure out what to do, to try to get those countries to use their leverage with North Korea, to try to get them to stop ramping up their nuclear program. CNN is told that perhaps as early as next week, the U.S. will send an envoy to South Korea to go there face to face to discuss how to deal -- with what seems to be a growing problem with North Korea.

WHITFIELD: Dana Bash from the White House, 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




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Aired December 27, 2002 - 11:06   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Turning now to another controversial story, North Korea, where the situation is rapidly building toward critical mass. Today, the communist country informed two nuclear inspectors with the U.N. they are no longer needed and will be expelled from that country. By all appearances, North Korea is racing toward becoming a nuclear power, say some. South Korea's new president is watching the situation with alarm.
CNN's Seoul bureau chief Sohn Jie-Ae has more on the view from South Korea.

SOHN JIE-AE, CNN SEOUL BUREAU CHIEF: Yes, Fredricka, here in South Korea, it's late in the evening. The news about North Korea kicking out inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency reached us late in the evening, but by tomorrow morning here in South Korea, South Koreans will probably wake up to the news, and will probably react with grave concern.

Now, North Korea said that the IAEA inspectors need to leave, because the IAEA inspectors, the mission in North Korea was to monitor the nuclear freeze, and now that North Korea is saying it's going to reactivate its facilities, the mission is over. What's even more disturbing in this letter is North Korea said it is getting ready to reactivate a laboratory within its nuclear facility, and this is a laboratory that many suspect has been used to reprocess the spent fuel rods coming out of the nuclear power plants to make weapons grade plutonium. So this is all the more disturbing news for South Korea and its new president in the coming days, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Sohn Jie-Ae, thank you very much from Seoul.

North Korea's actions come at a time when the Bush administration is trying to focus on Iraq.

CNN White House correspondent Dana Bash joins us from the White House.

Hi, Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka.

Well, the president is not here. He is at his retreat in Crawford, Texas, at his ranch there, but his advisers are here at the White House in a sign that there is growing concern about the situation in North Korea. The president's national security team is meeting at this hour here at the White House, his team led by national security adviser Condoleeza Rice. They're here to talk about the issue and what the U.S.'s next move should be.

So far, the Bush administration has made it very clear they have no intention of engaging in direct negotiations with North Korea, that if what North Korea is trying to do is get the U.S. to come to the table and start talks on a nonaggression packet, start talks on restarting fuel shipments, that they should -- quote -- "stop attempting to create a crisis." That's a quote from an administration official.

But the U.S. strategy so far has been to reach out to allies in the region, to talk to -- Secretary of State Colin Powell has talked in the past week to his counterparts in Russia, in Japan, in South Korea to discuss the issue, to try to figure out what to do, to try to get those countries to use their leverage with North Korea, to try to get them to stop ramping up their nuclear program. CNN is told that perhaps as early as next week, the U.S. will send an envoy to South Korea to go there face to face to discuss how to deal -- with what seems to be a growing problem with North Korea.

WHITFIELD: Dana Bash from the White House, 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




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