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CNN Live At Daybreak
Talks on North Korea's Nuclear Program Wrap Up
Aired August 29, 2003 - 05:04 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.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Now to a different type of terror, the threat of nuclear weapons. Talks on North Korea's nuclear program wrapped up today with vague assurances for future talks.
Mike Chinoy has been covering the talks in Beijing.
He joins us live by video phone -- hello, Mike.
MIKE CHINOY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Carol.
Well, the talks ended with no agreement on when or where the six nations might reconvene, although there was an agreement in principle that they would talk again. However, U.S. administration officials are saying that the U.S. is nonetheless pleased by the way this meeting has gone. They recognize that the North Koreans are difficult customers, but that the recommendation of the U.S. delegation here to President Bush and his colleagues back in Washington will be that the United States should continue to stay the course, to continue to pursue this diplomatic avenue.
U.S. officials have said this was true even though North Korea, during the course of the meeting, openly declared that it had nuclear weapons and it was seriously considering the possibility of conducting a nuclear test. The U.S. officials saying that that does not make a diplomatic solution impossible and, in fact, might help clarify just where things stand.
Of particular importance, U.S. officials say, is this multinational context, because the other countries, apart from North Korea, attending -- China, Russia, Japan and South Korea -- got to hear the North Koreans themselves say that they had nuclear weapons and that, U.S. officials say, has underscored the danger to the whole region of the North's nuclear program.
Going forward, though, the big question, U.S. officials say, is whether after this meeting, the North Koreans, having spent over 30 years trying to develop a nuclear capability, are really willing to consider giving that capability up. We simply don't know the answer. But for the moment, the Bush administration, U.S. officials say, will pursue this diplomatic track -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Mike Chinoy reporting live from Beijing 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 August 29, 2003 - 05:04 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Now to a different type of terror, the threat of nuclear weapons. Talks on North Korea's nuclear program wrapped up today with vague assurances for future talks.
Mike Chinoy has been covering the talks in Beijing.
He joins us live by video phone -- hello, Mike.
MIKE CHINOY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Carol.
Well, the talks ended with no agreement on when or where the six nations might reconvene, although there was an agreement in principle that they would talk again. However, U.S. administration officials are saying that the U.S. is nonetheless pleased by the way this meeting has gone. They recognize that the North Koreans are difficult customers, but that the recommendation of the U.S. delegation here to President Bush and his colleagues back in Washington will be that the United States should continue to stay the course, to continue to pursue this diplomatic avenue.
U.S. officials have said this was true even though North Korea, during the course of the meeting, openly declared that it had nuclear weapons and it was seriously considering the possibility of conducting a nuclear test. The U.S. officials saying that that does not make a diplomatic solution impossible and, in fact, might help clarify just where things stand.
Of particular importance, U.S. officials say, is this multinational context, because the other countries, apart from North Korea, attending -- China, Russia, Japan and South Korea -- got to hear the North Koreans themselves say that they had nuclear weapons and that, U.S. officials say, has underscored the danger to the whole region of the North's nuclear program.
Going forward, though, the big question, U.S. officials say, is whether after this meeting, the North Koreans, having spent over 30 years trying to develop a nuclear capability, are really willing to consider giving that capability up. We simply don't know the answer. But for the moment, the Bush administration, U.S. officials say, will pursue this diplomatic track -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Mike Chinoy reporting live from Beijing 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
