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American Morning
Interview with Meredith Woo-Cumings
Aired January 06, 2003 - 09:04 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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush is back in the White House this morning. Top priority is the crisis in Iraq, the North Korea situation, and a new plan to jump start the economy. Let's check in with Suzanne Malveaux, who is standing by at the White House to bring us up to date on all of these things -- good morning, Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Paula. President Bush is expected to unveil his economic stimulus package in Chicago tomorrow. Later today, he'll be meeting with his cabinet members to discuss the details, but sources tell us it will be a $600 billion package over 10 years. A senior administration official telling us this morning that the center piece of this is going to be the elimination of the tax on stock dividends, that that official saying it is a matter of fairness, that dividends are taxed twice. Once as profits for corporations, secondly as income to shareholders.
Now, already, critics are saying that this is really not going to be effective as a stimulus. They say that it is only going to benefit the wealthiest Americans, the top 5 percent. A lot of people saying they do not believe this is going to work, certainly not in the short term.
Want to tell you a little bit more about some of the highlights. Also in the package, a tax break for businesses, additional tax breaks. Also, some tax cuts for individuals, an increase in the child tax credit, extended unemployment benefits, a decrease in the so- called marriage penalty, federal dollars for cash-strapped states, and president, the administration expecting that they'll get this through the House, but a much more difficult time through the Senate. We're going to see a lot of negotiations over this one -- Paula.
ZAHN: Suzanne, we'll have to come back to the North Korea situation for a moment. What is it that the White House expects to come out of these meetings with South Korea and Japan today?
MALVEAUX: Well, what they hope is that, really, the position will be just a little bit closer with Japan, South Korea, and the administration. South Korea is coming with a proposal, essentially, that is saying North Korea will give up its weapons programs, but we want some assurances from the United States that the administration will not attack North Korea. The administration is saying, We are not willing to talk, we are not willing to negotiate until we have some sort of evidence that North Korea is willing to give up its weapons program. What we are hoping -- what the administration is hoping, that there will be some sort of compromise, some sort of sign that yes, North Korea will demonstrate that it is serious about coming to the bargaining table, that it is serious about getting rid of its nuclear weapons program, and then the United States will be willing to talk, at least on a low level, with officials from Pyongyang.
ZAHN: I don't want to take away from the seriousness of what you were talking about, but we couldn't help but be captivated by your shot. I don't know if it is possible to widen your shot today. We just want to see how pretty the White House looks in this fresh fallen snow.
MALVEAUX: Isn't it gorgeous?
ZAHN: Oh, it is gorgeous. Well, I know you would probably rather be playing in it than working outside in it many hours a day. Appreciate the live update. Enjoy the cold weather pattern.
MALVEAUX: We did make a snowman.
ZAHN: You did?
MALVEAUX: We did.
ZAHN: Well, maybe later on in the morning you can show him to us. Thanks.
MALVEAUX: OK.
ZAHN: Joining us now for a closer look at the efforts to resolve the nuclear situation with North Korea, Meredith Woo-Cumings, political science professor at the University of Michigan. She joins us from Ann Arbor, Michigan this morning. Good to have you with us. Welcome.
MEREDITH WOO-CUMINGS, PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN: Good morning, Paula.
ZAHN: How grave do you think this situation is in North Korea right now?
WOO-CUMINGS: Well, Secretary Powell has said, and I think he is correct, that this is not a terribly serious crisis, but it is a very grave problem. And I hope that we will come to some kind of solution in the next couple of weeks. Of course, as you know, IAEA is meeting today, and the wise thing for IAEA to do at this point is to let the diplomatic and political negotiations and flurries of activities to run its course.
ZAHN: Do you think, down the road, though, that direct U.S.- North Korean talks are inevitable?
WOO-CUMINGS: Yes, I think that some kind of negotiation, some kind of discussion, some kind of talk -- it doesn't really matter what you call it, will be absolutely necessary to resolve the crisis, and to finally get to the bottom line, the bottom line would be that we restore the status quo ante, meaning that the North Koreans will once again mothball their plutonium producing plant, and in return for this, we will have to give them some guarantee. Now, this doesn't mean that we immediately conclude some kind of nonaggressions treaty, but we'll have to give them some kind of assurance that there will not be a first nuclear strike against North Korea.
ZAHN: What else do you think the North Koreans want?
WOO-CUMINGS: I think North Koreans really would like to have some kind of assurance of -- that there will be no preventive nuclear strike, as I said, but ultimately what they want, and this is what they've been wanting all throughout the '90s, is some kind of lifting of sanctions against North Korea and ultimately leading to normalization of relations with the United States. North Korea has always been consistent about this.
ZAHN: Let me ask you about the role you think South Korea is playing. It seems to be emerging as a major power broker, and there are those who suggest that this points to normalization of relations between North Korea and South Korea. Is that where this is headed?
WOO-CUMINGS: I think that what South Koreans want is a reconciliation. Now, the situation that is very different today than, let's say, 1994, when we had a crisis, very much like the current crisis, was that South Korea was part of the problem. South Korea was afraid that if there is a direct negotiation between North Korea and the United States, that North Korea might emerge as the sole spokesperson or representative of the Korean peninsula, thereby bypassing South Korea.
Now, the current administration, as well as President Elect Roh Moo-hyun, do not have that kind of insecurity. They feel that the best way to bring about peace and stability in the area is reconciliation between North and South Korea, and that will have to be predicated on creating structural linkage between North and South Korea, and through economic engagement.
And that means sending tourists up from South Korea to North Korea. That means making investment in special economic zones in North Korea. That means trying to deal with the energy crisis in North Korea by, quite possibly, building pipelines from Siberia to North Korea to South Korea. That might mean eventually bringing North Korea out of international isolation by encouraging it to join international financial organizations like the International Monetary Fund as well as the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank.
ZAHN: We are going to have to stop on that note. Meredith Woo- Cumings, very much appreciate your dropping by to be with us on American Morning this morning.
WOO-CUMINGS: 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
Aired January 6, 2003 - 09:04 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush is back in the White House this morning. Top priority is the crisis in Iraq, the North Korea situation, and a new plan to jump start the economy. Let's check in with Suzanne Malveaux, who is standing by at the White House to bring us up to date on all of these things -- good morning, Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Paula. President Bush is expected to unveil his economic stimulus package in Chicago tomorrow. Later today, he'll be meeting with his cabinet members to discuss the details, but sources tell us it will be a $600 billion package over 10 years. A senior administration official telling us this morning that the center piece of this is going to be the elimination of the tax on stock dividends, that that official saying it is a matter of fairness, that dividends are taxed twice. Once as profits for corporations, secondly as income to shareholders.
Now, already, critics are saying that this is really not going to be effective as a stimulus. They say that it is only going to benefit the wealthiest Americans, the top 5 percent. A lot of people saying they do not believe this is going to work, certainly not in the short term.
Want to tell you a little bit more about some of the highlights. Also in the package, a tax break for businesses, additional tax breaks. Also, some tax cuts for individuals, an increase in the child tax credit, extended unemployment benefits, a decrease in the so- called marriage penalty, federal dollars for cash-strapped states, and president, the administration expecting that they'll get this through the House, but a much more difficult time through the Senate. We're going to see a lot of negotiations over this one -- Paula.
ZAHN: Suzanne, we'll have to come back to the North Korea situation for a moment. What is it that the White House expects to come out of these meetings with South Korea and Japan today?
MALVEAUX: Well, what they hope is that, really, the position will be just a little bit closer with Japan, South Korea, and the administration. South Korea is coming with a proposal, essentially, that is saying North Korea will give up its weapons programs, but we want some assurances from the United States that the administration will not attack North Korea. The administration is saying, We are not willing to talk, we are not willing to negotiate until we have some sort of evidence that North Korea is willing to give up its weapons program. What we are hoping -- what the administration is hoping, that there will be some sort of compromise, some sort of sign that yes, North Korea will demonstrate that it is serious about coming to the bargaining table, that it is serious about getting rid of its nuclear weapons program, and then the United States will be willing to talk, at least on a low level, with officials from Pyongyang.
ZAHN: I don't want to take away from the seriousness of what you were talking about, but we couldn't help but be captivated by your shot. I don't know if it is possible to widen your shot today. We just want to see how pretty the White House looks in this fresh fallen snow.
MALVEAUX: Isn't it gorgeous?
ZAHN: Oh, it is gorgeous. Well, I know you would probably rather be playing in it than working outside in it many hours a day. Appreciate the live update. Enjoy the cold weather pattern.
MALVEAUX: We did make a snowman.
ZAHN: You did?
MALVEAUX: We did.
ZAHN: Well, maybe later on in the morning you can show him to us. Thanks.
MALVEAUX: OK.
ZAHN: Joining us now for a closer look at the efforts to resolve the nuclear situation with North Korea, Meredith Woo-Cumings, political science professor at the University of Michigan. She joins us from Ann Arbor, Michigan this morning. Good to have you with us. Welcome.
MEREDITH WOO-CUMINGS, PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN: Good morning, Paula.
ZAHN: How grave do you think this situation is in North Korea right now?
WOO-CUMINGS: Well, Secretary Powell has said, and I think he is correct, that this is not a terribly serious crisis, but it is a very grave problem. And I hope that we will come to some kind of solution in the next couple of weeks. Of course, as you know, IAEA is meeting today, and the wise thing for IAEA to do at this point is to let the diplomatic and political negotiations and flurries of activities to run its course.
ZAHN: Do you think, down the road, though, that direct U.S.- North Korean talks are inevitable?
WOO-CUMINGS: Yes, I think that some kind of negotiation, some kind of discussion, some kind of talk -- it doesn't really matter what you call it, will be absolutely necessary to resolve the crisis, and to finally get to the bottom line, the bottom line would be that we restore the status quo ante, meaning that the North Koreans will once again mothball their plutonium producing plant, and in return for this, we will have to give them some guarantee. Now, this doesn't mean that we immediately conclude some kind of nonaggressions treaty, but we'll have to give them some kind of assurance that there will not be a first nuclear strike against North Korea.
ZAHN: What else do you think the North Koreans want?
WOO-CUMINGS: I think North Koreans really would like to have some kind of assurance of -- that there will be no preventive nuclear strike, as I said, but ultimately what they want, and this is what they've been wanting all throughout the '90s, is some kind of lifting of sanctions against North Korea and ultimately leading to normalization of relations with the United States. North Korea has always been consistent about this.
ZAHN: Let me ask you about the role you think South Korea is playing. It seems to be emerging as a major power broker, and there are those who suggest that this points to normalization of relations between North Korea and South Korea. Is that where this is headed?
WOO-CUMINGS: I think that what South Koreans want is a reconciliation. Now, the situation that is very different today than, let's say, 1994, when we had a crisis, very much like the current crisis, was that South Korea was part of the problem. South Korea was afraid that if there is a direct negotiation between North Korea and the United States, that North Korea might emerge as the sole spokesperson or representative of the Korean peninsula, thereby bypassing South Korea.
Now, the current administration, as well as President Elect Roh Moo-hyun, do not have that kind of insecurity. They feel that the best way to bring about peace and stability in the area is reconciliation between North and South Korea, and that will have to be predicated on creating structural linkage between North and South Korea, and through economic engagement.
And that means sending tourists up from South Korea to North Korea. That means making investment in special economic zones in North Korea. That means trying to deal with the energy crisis in North Korea by, quite possibly, building pipelines from Siberia to North Korea to South Korea. That might mean eventually bringing North Korea out of international isolation by encouraging it to join international financial organizations like the International Monetary Fund as well as the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank.
ZAHN: We are going to have to stop on that note. Meredith Woo- Cumings, very much appreciate your dropping by to be with us on American Morning this morning.
WOO-CUMINGS: 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
