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CNN Live At Daybreak
Wake-Up Call: Avoiding War With North Korea
Aired January 07, 2003 - 06:04 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.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Another topic of high interest, the North Korean nuclear crisis. Today, North Korea warned the international community against imposing sanctions like those on Iraq.
Quoting here: "Sanctions mean a war and the war knows no mercy. The U.S. should opt for dialogue with the DPRK, not for war, clearly aware that it will have to pay a very high price for such reckless acts."
For his part, President Bush is urging calm.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Talking is one thing, but we expect people to honor obligations. And for Kim Jong Il to be a credible member of the world community, he's got to understand that he's got to do what he says he's going to do. I believe this will be resolved peacefully, and I believe it can be resolved diplomatically.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: OK, let's talk about this controversy. CNN State Department correspondent Andrea Koppel is on the phone this morning for our "Wake-Up Call."
Good morning -- Andrea.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.
VAUSE: Hey, the North Koreans are threatening war if more sanctions are levied against their country. What does this actually mean for the United States?
KOPPEL: Well, first of all, North Korea is the most heavily- sanctioned regime in the world. It's been surviving on food aid for years, and really the only thing left to cut off would be humanitarian food, and that isn't likely to happen.
So in point of fact, what you have here is North Korean saber- rattling. It's what it does best. It's talking tough, because it's desperately trying to make the international community nervous and to force the U.S. back to the negotiating table without sacrificing its nuclear card, where it hopes to extract more sanctions from the U.S. But you've already heard President Bush say time and again, the U.S. is not going to go to the negotiating table until North Korea puts its nuclear program on ice.
VAUSE: We're in our second day now of talks with the South Korean delegation in Washington. Is there any hope of any diplomatic break here? What can we actually expect there?
KOPPEL: No breakthroughs, John, or any real major announcements. Some say this is merely a diplomatic placeholder. But in point of fact what you have are Japanese and South Korean allies very nervous. They, after all, are in North Korea's back and front yards, and they are extremely concerned that this could escalate to a possible war.
And so, South Korean delegates arrived with a proposal -- a compromise proposal in which the U.S. would give North Korea what it wants -- that is some kind of a nonaggression pact or an agreement not to attack the north, which President Bush, by the way, just said he wouldn't, yesterday. And in exchange, North Korea would freeze its program.
The fact of the matter is, the U.S. has told South Korea, and Japan for that matter, that this is not a negotiation, that South Korea (sic) has to take the first step. And in fact, the U.S. is trying to use its allies -- South Korea, Japan, Russia and China -- to talk to the North Koreans and say, look, you guys have to make the first move, and if you do, then you can expect the following steps to follow from the U.S. side.
VAUSE: OK, Andrea Koppel, thanks for waking up early and talking to us on DAYBREAK.
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 7, 2003 - 06:04 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Another topic of high interest, the North Korean nuclear crisis. Today, North Korea warned the international community against imposing sanctions like those on Iraq.
Quoting here: "Sanctions mean a war and the war knows no mercy. The U.S. should opt for dialogue with the DPRK, not for war, clearly aware that it will have to pay a very high price for such reckless acts."
For his part, President Bush is urging calm.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Talking is one thing, but we expect people to honor obligations. And for Kim Jong Il to be a credible member of the world community, he's got to understand that he's got to do what he says he's going to do. I believe this will be resolved peacefully, and I believe it can be resolved diplomatically.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: OK, let's talk about this controversy. CNN State Department correspondent Andrea Koppel is on the phone this morning for our "Wake-Up Call."
Good morning -- Andrea.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.
VAUSE: Hey, the North Koreans are threatening war if more sanctions are levied against their country. What does this actually mean for the United States?
KOPPEL: Well, first of all, North Korea is the most heavily- sanctioned regime in the world. It's been surviving on food aid for years, and really the only thing left to cut off would be humanitarian food, and that isn't likely to happen.
So in point of fact, what you have here is North Korean saber- rattling. It's what it does best. It's talking tough, because it's desperately trying to make the international community nervous and to force the U.S. back to the negotiating table without sacrificing its nuclear card, where it hopes to extract more sanctions from the U.S. But you've already heard President Bush say time and again, the U.S. is not going to go to the negotiating table until North Korea puts its nuclear program on ice.
VAUSE: We're in our second day now of talks with the South Korean delegation in Washington. Is there any hope of any diplomatic break here? What can we actually expect there?
KOPPEL: No breakthroughs, John, or any real major announcements. Some say this is merely a diplomatic placeholder. But in point of fact what you have are Japanese and South Korean allies very nervous. They, after all, are in North Korea's back and front yards, and they are extremely concerned that this could escalate to a possible war.
And so, South Korean delegates arrived with a proposal -- a compromise proposal in which the U.S. would give North Korea what it wants -- that is some kind of a nonaggression pact or an agreement not to attack the north, which President Bush, by the way, just said he wouldn't, yesterday. And in exchange, North Korea would freeze its program.
The fact of the matter is, the U.S. has told South Korea, and Japan for that matter, that this is not a negotiation, that South Korea (sic) has to take the first step. And in fact, the U.S. is trying to use its allies -- South Korea, Japan, Russia and China -- to talk to the North Koreans and say, look, you guys have to make the first move, and if you do, then you can expect the following steps to follow from the U.S. side.
VAUSE: OK, Andrea Koppel, thanks for waking up early and talking to us on DAYBREAK.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
