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American Morning

Interview With Former Ambassador Wendy Sherman

Aired April 25, 2003 - 07:14   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.


HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: U.S. officials say North Korea claims to have at least one nuclear weapon, and plans to prove it to the world. The admission came during talks in Beijing that were intended to diffuse the nuclear threat on the Korean peninsula, but the result was anything but.
Secretary of State Colin Powell says the U.S. won't be blackmailed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: They should not leave this series of discussions that have been held in Beijing with the slightest impression that the United States and its partners and the nations in the region will be intimidated by bellicose statements or by threats.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: What's behind this new tough talk from Pyongyang?

Ambassador Wendy Sherman of the Albright Group was a special advisor on North Korea during the Clinton administration. She's joining us this morning from Washington.

Hello to you, Wendy.

AMB. WENDY SHERMAN, FMR. WHITE HOUSE ADVISOR ON NORTH KOREA: Good morning, Heidi.

COLLINS: Let me ask you now, we're talking about North Korea possessing one nuclear weapon, or saying that they do. Are these empty threats, or could there actually be a preemptive strike against the United States?

SHERMAN: The United States intelligence community has believed for some time now that North Korea has at least one, if not two, nuclear weapons made out of plutonium that was stored before the United States closed down their graphite-moderated reactor in 1994. And it is serious that they have nuclear weapons.

But what is more serious is, is if they have reprocessed spent fuel into plutonium which could make five or six weapons, because when you have one or two, you're less likely to use them or sell them. When you have five or six, you have many more options.

COLLINS: Let's talk about this memo now. We're hearing from the Associated Press that there might be a memo circulating at the Pentagon discussing the possibility of regime change. But yet, President Bush has said all along that he doesn't plan any military action against North Korea. What does this sort of thing do to the North Korean people?

SHERMAN: I think that all kinds of memos circulate through administration, but clearly someone wanted this one out on the air. And all North Korea can take from these signs is that President Bush doesn't mean what he says. I'd urge North Korea to listen very closely to the president, to Secretary Powell, who have said they want to pursue diplomacy, that of course all options remain on the table, as they should, but military action is not in their sights at the moment.

COLLINS: The language that Secretary Powell used about not being bullied on this whole discussion, it kind of indicates that things didn't go smoothly. Do you think that there will be more talks planned?

SHERMAN: Well, I think this morning or yesterday, depending on how you look at time, we had an important step in that Foreign Minister Li of China met with Jim Kelly, met with Li Gun of North Korea, got a brief sort of handshake and an agreement to continue to pursue liaising with each other, I think trying to lay the groundwork for possible future talks, which I hope will occur even in this very difficult vitriolic kind of rhetoric.

COLLINS: Back in August of 1998, North Korea launched a stage 3 rocket, which they tested. And if it had succeeded, we know that it could have reached the Western United States. Did that immediately sort of raise the game when that happened?

SHERMAN: Absolutely. It raised the game, because quite frankly, our intelligence community was surprised that they had a three-stage rocket. And the reason these rockets are important had it been successful is because it becomes an inter-continental ballistic missile that could carry nuclear weapons to the United States. Missiles are not great things as conventional weapons, but more importantly, they can carry nuclear weapons. So it certainly did raise the stakes.

COLLINS: Former special advisor to the president on North Korea, Wendy Sherman -- thanks so much for being with us this morning.

SHERMAN: Thank you, Heidi.

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 April 25, 2003 - 07:14   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: U.S. officials say North Korea claims to have at least one nuclear weapon, and plans to prove it to the world. The admission came during talks in Beijing that were intended to diffuse the nuclear threat on the Korean peninsula, but the result was anything but.
Secretary of State Colin Powell says the U.S. won't be blackmailed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: They should not leave this series of discussions that have been held in Beijing with the slightest impression that the United States and its partners and the nations in the region will be intimidated by bellicose statements or by threats.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: What's behind this new tough talk from Pyongyang?

Ambassador Wendy Sherman of the Albright Group was a special advisor on North Korea during the Clinton administration. She's joining us this morning from Washington.

Hello to you, Wendy.

AMB. WENDY SHERMAN, FMR. WHITE HOUSE ADVISOR ON NORTH KOREA: Good morning, Heidi.

COLLINS: Let me ask you now, we're talking about North Korea possessing one nuclear weapon, or saying that they do. Are these empty threats, or could there actually be a preemptive strike against the United States?

SHERMAN: The United States intelligence community has believed for some time now that North Korea has at least one, if not two, nuclear weapons made out of plutonium that was stored before the United States closed down their graphite-moderated reactor in 1994. And it is serious that they have nuclear weapons.

But what is more serious is, is if they have reprocessed spent fuel into plutonium which could make five or six weapons, because when you have one or two, you're less likely to use them or sell them. When you have five or six, you have many more options.

COLLINS: Let's talk about this memo now. We're hearing from the Associated Press that there might be a memo circulating at the Pentagon discussing the possibility of regime change. But yet, President Bush has said all along that he doesn't plan any military action against North Korea. What does this sort of thing do to the North Korean people?

SHERMAN: I think that all kinds of memos circulate through administration, but clearly someone wanted this one out on the air. And all North Korea can take from these signs is that President Bush doesn't mean what he says. I'd urge North Korea to listen very closely to the president, to Secretary Powell, who have said they want to pursue diplomacy, that of course all options remain on the table, as they should, but military action is not in their sights at the moment.

COLLINS: The language that Secretary Powell used about not being bullied on this whole discussion, it kind of indicates that things didn't go smoothly. Do you think that there will be more talks planned?

SHERMAN: Well, I think this morning or yesterday, depending on how you look at time, we had an important step in that Foreign Minister Li of China met with Jim Kelly, met with Li Gun of North Korea, got a brief sort of handshake and an agreement to continue to pursue liaising with each other, I think trying to lay the groundwork for possible future talks, which I hope will occur even in this very difficult vitriolic kind of rhetoric.

COLLINS: Back in August of 1998, North Korea launched a stage 3 rocket, which they tested. And if it had succeeded, we know that it could have reached the Western United States. Did that immediately sort of raise the game when that happened?

SHERMAN: Absolutely. It raised the game, because quite frankly, our intelligence community was surprised that they had a three-stage rocket. And the reason these rockets are important had it been successful is because it becomes an inter-continental ballistic missile that could carry nuclear weapons to the United States. Missiles are not great things as conventional weapons, but more importantly, they can carry nuclear weapons. So it certainly did raise the stakes.

COLLINS: Former special advisor to the president on North Korea, Wendy Sherman -- thanks so much for being with us this morning.

SHERMAN: Thank you, Heidi.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.