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CNN Live At Daybreak
Wake-Up Call: North Korean Nukes
Aired January 03, 2003 - 06:35 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: North Korea is again calling for direct talks with the U.S. over nuclear issues. Pyongyang's ambassador to China held a rare news conference in Beijing this morning. He blames the outbreak of the nuclear crises on what he calls Washington's hostile stance towards North Korea, and he accuses Washington of using Cold War tactics.
The White House policy is to isolate the communist nation from the rest of the world until it abandons its nuclear ambitions.
We want to hear about the buzz in Washington after this morning's news conference from North Korea's ambassador to China. And for that, we join our Elise Labott, who is live on the telephone from D.C.
Hi -- Elise.
ELISE LABOTT, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT PRODUCER: Good morning, Fredricka.
Well, if you talk to U.S. officials, it's exactly as you said. They say that it has to be the other way around. If North Korea abandons its nuclear weapons program first, then the U.S. will talk.
Secretary Powell, other officials, keep saying the Bush administration was ready to have negotiations with no preconditions. Assistant Secretary Jim Kelly went to Pyongyang in October to begin a dialogue, and that's when North Korea admitted to its secret nuclear weapons program. This violated the agreed framework which both countries signed in 1994, prompting the U.S. to suspend those fuel shipments it was sending under that agreement. And so, the U.S. is putting the blame squarely on the north.
Now, the north wants the U.S. to sign this non-aggression pact, saying it has no hostile intent against Pyongyang. They want some economic assistance, and the U.S. is saying, yes, we can negotiate. We can help bring the north out of its isolation. The possibilities are endless. But we're not going to do it with a gun to our head. You stop your nuclear weapons program, and then we'll sit down and talk.
So, the U.S. says it's in the north's court -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: And, Elise, you know, South Koreans are saying they really don't like the approach that the U.S. is taking to further isolate North Korea. So, how are these talks involving China and Japan and even South Korea are going to help on the diplomatic front? LABOTT: Well, as you said, there's an intense round of (UNINTELLIGIBLE) diplomacy going on, the South Korean foreign minister and China right now. In a couple of days, a South Korean official will travel to Moscow for talks, and then we have those talks in Washington next week with Japan and South Korea to coordinate policy.
But if you talk to U.S. officials, the press is blowing this whole thing out of proportion. They say the media is twisting their words, that they really are on the same page with South Korea, Japan, China. And the U.S. is saying, listen to what Secretary Powell is saying, that the U.S. does want to resolve this peacefully. Don't pay attention to what you read in the papers.
And this week, they even forwarded some transcripts of the State Department briefings to Seoul to make sure their words weren't misinterpreted -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, Elise Labott, thank you very much for that inside scoop from Washington.
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 January 3, 2003 - 06:35 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: North Korea is again calling for direct talks with the U.S. over nuclear issues. Pyongyang's ambassador to China held a rare news conference in Beijing this morning. He blames the outbreak of the nuclear crises on what he calls Washington's hostile stance towards North Korea, and he accuses Washington of using Cold War tactics.
The White House policy is to isolate the communist nation from the rest of the world until it abandons its nuclear ambitions.
We want to hear about the buzz in Washington after this morning's news conference from North Korea's ambassador to China. And for that, we join our Elise Labott, who is live on the telephone from D.C.
Hi -- Elise.
ELISE LABOTT, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT PRODUCER: Good morning, Fredricka.
Well, if you talk to U.S. officials, it's exactly as you said. They say that it has to be the other way around. If North Korea abandons its nuclear weapons program first, then the U.S. will talk.
Secretary Powell, other officials, keep saying the Bush administration was ready to have negotiations with no preconditions. Assistant Secretary Jim Kelly went to Pyongyang in October to begin a dialogue, and that's when North Korea admitted to its secret nuclear weapons program. This violated the agreed framework which both countries signed in 1994, prompting the U.S. to suspend those fuel shipments it was sending under that agreement. And so, the U.S. is putting the blame squarely on the north.
Now, the north wants the U.S. to sign this non-aggression pact, saying it has no hostile intent against Pyongyang. They want some economic assistance, and the U.S. is saying, yes, we can negotiate. We can help bring the north out of its isolation. The possibilities are endless. But we're not going to do it with a gun to our head. You stop your nuclear weapons program, and then we'll sit down and talk.
So, the U.S. says it's in the north's court -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: And, Elise, you know, South Koreans are saying they really don't like the approach that the U.S. is taking to further isolate North Korea. So, how are these talks involving China and Japan and even South Korea are going to help on the diplomatic front? LABOTT: Well, as you said, there's an intense round of (UNINTELLIGIBLE) diplomacy going on, the South Korean foreign minister and China right now. In a couple of days, a South Korean official will travel to Moscow for talks, and then we have those talks in Washington next week with Japan and South Korea to coordinate policy.
But if you talk to U.S. officials, the press is blowing this whole thing out of proportion. They say the media is twisting their words, that they really are on the same page with South Korea, Japan, China. And the U.S. is saying, listen to what Secretary Powell is saying, that the U.S. does want to resolve this peacefully. Don't pay attention to what you read in the papers.
And this week, they even forwarded some transcripts of the State Department briefings to Seoul to make sure their words weren't misinterpreted -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, Elise Labott, thank you very much for that inside scoop from Washington.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
