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CNN Live At Daybreak

North Korea Says U.S. Attack Would Start Total War

Aired February 06, 2003 - 06:12   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: Also on the front burner at the White House, North Korea. This morning, a statement by the communist state warns of an all-out war if the U.S. attacks its nuclear facility.
We head now to Seoul, South Korea where we find Mike Chinoy.

North Korea uses very strong language. Are they serious?

MIKE CHINOY, CNN SENIOR ASIA CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Carol, the North Koreans are raising the stakes in the crisis over their suspected nuclear weapons program, even as they continue to signal desire for accommodation with the United States. The official Korean news agency issued a statement saying that any preemptive U.S. strike against North Korea's Pyongyang nuclear facility would mean -- quote -- "total war."

This coincided with a statement from a North Korean Foreign Ministry official to British journalists visiting Pyongyang that the North Koreans reserve the right to mount their own preemptive attack if they felt threatened by the United States. And both of these statements coincided with the North Korean announcement that they had now resumed normal operations at the Pyongyang nuclear facility. That's prompted fears that they're moving even closer to producing atomic weapons.

These statements came shortly after word from the United States that the Bush administration was moving to reinforce the American military presence in the area around the Korean Peninsula, that includes keeping nearly 3,000 U.S. soldiers here in South Korea who had been due to be rotated out shortly. At the same time, there are plans to put B-1 and B-52 bombers on alert to be deployed to bases in the region where they would be much closer flying distance to North Korea should the situation take a turn for the worse.

The North Koreans are reacting in part to the American build up in Iraq. The North Korean regime is very nervous that once a war with Iraq is concluded that it may be the next target. They were not reassured by Defense Secretary Rumsfeld's characterization of the North Korean government as a terrorist regime, nor by British Prime Minister Tony Blair saying last week that after Iraq, North Korea would be next -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Mike Chinoy 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







Aired February 6, 2003 - 06:12   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Also on the front burner at the White House, North Korea. This morning, a statement by the communist state warns of an all-out war if the U.S. attacks its nuclear facility.
We head now to Seoul, South Korea where we find Mike Chinoy.

North Korea uses very strong language. Are they serious?

MIKE CHINOY, CNN SENIOR ASIA CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Carol, the North Koreans are raising the stakes in the crisis over their suspected nuclear weapons program, even as they continue to signal desire for accommodation with the United States. The official Korean news agency issued a statement saying that any preemptive U.S. strike against North Korea's Pyongyang nuclear facility would mean -- quote -- "total war."

This coincided with a statement from a North Korean Foreign Ministry official to British journalists visiting Pyongyang that the North Koreans reserve the right to mount their own preemptive attack if they felt threatened by the United States. And both of these statements coincided with the North Korean announcement that they had now resumed normal operations at the Pyongyang nuclear facility. That's prompted fears that they're moving even closer to producing atomic weapons.

These statements came shortly after word from the United States that the Bush administration was moving to reinforce the American military presence in the area around the Korean Peninsula, that includes keeping nearly 3,000 U.S. soldiers here in South Korea who had been due to be rotated out shortly. At the same time, there are plans to put B-1 and B-52 bombers on alert to be deployed to bases in the region where they would be much closer flying distance to North Korea should the situation take a turn for the worse.

The North Koreans are reacting in part to the American build up in Iraq. The North Korean regime is very nervous that once a war with Iraq is concluded that it may be the next target. They were not reassured by Defense Secretary Rumsfeld's characterization of the North Korean government as a terrorist regime, nor by British Prime Minister Tony Blair saying last week that after Iraq, North Korea would be next -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Mike Chinoy 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