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CNN Live At Daybreak
Diplomatic Shuffle Going on Regarding Standoff Over North Korea
Aired January 21, 2003 - 05:06 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.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Right now a delicate diplomatic shuffle is going on regarding the stand-off over North Korea's nuclear plans. American, Russian and Australian diplomats are working for a solution. That as representatives from North and South Korea open four days of meetings in Seoul.
Our Tom Mintier is there and brings us up to date -- good morning.
TOM MINTIER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
If there is to be a breakthrough on the North Korean situation, it may come from the most unlikely of sources, from the Russians, not the Americans. The Russian deputy foreign minister, after spending several days in Pyongyang, has returned to Beijing. Now, before he left Pyongyang, he met with Kim Jong Il, the North Korean leader. They met for several hours. Now, while when he landed in Beijing he would not talk about the details of the meeting, he did sound a bit optimistic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEXANDER LOSYUKOV, RUSSIAN ENVOY: There was a number of contacts in Pyongyang very useful and rather constructive. And I'll have to report about the results of my conversations in Pyongyang to the president. But generally speaking, I think that there is some optimism and the problem can be resolved providing the preparedness of the sides involved.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MINTIER: One of those both sides is the United States and so far there had seemed to be an unwillingness to talk to North Korea. But the U.S. Undersecretary of State John Bolton is in Seoul tonight meeting with South Korean officials and when he arrived here he said that the U.S. was willing to talk to North Korea, to bring them in compliance with what other agreements were already in place.
So this seems to be some sort of possible precondition. We'll have to wait and see just how willing the U.S. is to have talks with North Korea and what the agenda of those talks might be. There are other talks that are going on here in Seoul right now for the next four days. North Korean officials at a cabinet level and South Korean officials will be sitting down for the successful South-North dialogue. That's going to be going on here in Seoul. Now, the South has already promised to bring up the nuclear issue right away and the North has already indicated they don't want to talk about it. So we'll have to wait and see in the next few days whether, indeed, the issue is on the table here in Seoul or not -- Carol.
COSTELLO: And I know you'll be there.
Tom Mintier reporting live from Seoul, South Korea this morning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Korea>
Aired January 21, 2003 - 05:06 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Right now a delicate diplomatic shuffle is going on regarding the stand-off over North Korea's nuclear plans. American, Russian and Australian diplomats are working for a solution. That as representatives from North and South Korea open four days of meetings in Seoul.
Our Tom Mintier is there and brings us up to date -- good morning.
TOM MINTIER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
If there is to be a breakthrough on the North Korean situation, it may come from the most unlikely of sources, from the Russians, not the Americans. The Russian deputy foreign minister, after spending several days in Pyongyang, has returned to Beijing. Now, before he left Pyongyang, he met with Kim Jong Il, the North Korean leader. They met for several hours. Now, while when he landed in Beijing he would not talk about the details of the meeting, he did sound a bit optimistic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEXANDER LOSYUKOV, RUSSIAN ENVOY: There was a number of contacts in Pyongyang very useful and rather constructive. And I'll have to report about the results of my conversations in Pyongyang to the president. But generally speaking, I think that there is some optimism and the problem can be resolved providing the preparedness of the sides involved.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MINTIER: One of those both sides is the United States and so far there had seemed to be an unwillingness to talk to North Korea. But the U.S. Undersecretary of State John Bolton is in Seoul tonight meeting with South Korean officials and when he arrived here he said that the U.S. was willing to talk to North Korea, to bring them in compliance with what other agreements were already in place.
So this seems to be some sort of possible precondition. We'll have to wait and see just how willing the U.S. is to have talks with North Korea and what the agenda of those talks might be. There are other talks that are going on here in Seoul right now for the next four days. North Korean officials at a cabinet level and South Korean officials will be sitting down for the successful South-North dialogue. That's going to be going on here in Seoul. Now, the South has already promised to bring up the nuclear issue right away and the North has already indicated they don't want to talk about it. So we'll have to wait and see in the next few days whether, indeed, the issue is on the table here in Seoul or not -- Carol.
COSTELLO: And I know you'll be there.
Tom Mintier reporting live from Seoul, South Korea this morning.
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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