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CNN Live At Daybreak
'International News Desk'
Aired December 08, 2003 - 05:33 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: China's premier is in the United States this morning and he will be talking trade and politics.
We want to get more on the international beat from our senior international editor, David Clinch -- good morning.
DAVID CLINCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Carol, good morning.
How are you doing?
Well, while we have been paying attention and the rest of the world been paying a lot of attention, quite rightfully, to what's going on in Iraq, two pretty important things going on in Asia that we haven't been paying too much attention to. North Korea busy building nuclear weapons, or at least claiming to; and China busy becoming a huge superpower, economic if not political.
Those two things coming together today. This week, the Chinese premier is in the United States. He'll meet with President Bush tomorrow. He'll ring the opening bell on the New York Stock Exchange today. That's a hint of how important the stock exchange is taking them economically.
But on North Korea, some interesting things out there. The "New York Times" is reporting today that the United States has agreed with Japan and South Korea to ask China, basically, to pitch a new set of proposals to North Korea to try and persuade North Korea to get rid of its nuclear weapons program.
Not too many details in the report, and, in fact, the report indicates that there's not too many details in the proposal itself. It basically boils down to the idea that the United States might be prepared to give some kind of non-aggression pact to North Korea, but only in return for watertight inspections of North Korea's nuclear weapons program; in effect, not the IAEA, not the U.N., but perhaps American inspectors on the ground in North Korea.
COSTELLO: In North Korea?
CLINCH: Now...
COSTELLO: Is that really likely to happen?
CLINCH: Well, a U.S. official is quoted by the "Times" as saying today that that would probably be a deal breaker for the North Koreans. But on the other hand, there seems to be significant signs that both sides are very keen to move on from this. And the Chinese playing a key role there. So we'll keep an eye on the Chinese premier in Washington today, or in New York today and in Washington tomorrow.
Now, again, out in the region towards Asia and Afghanistan, a really thorny issue for the United States over the weekend. A bombing, an errant bombing killed nine children in Afghanistan. Now, you know, there have been errant bombings before, but this one is parti -- hit a particularly sour note in Afghanistan, just at a key time. This week there's a so-called loya jirga meeting in Kabul, all the leaders...
COSTELLO: Which is their governor council per se.
CLINCH: All the governing council, exactly, meeting from all over Afghanistan, trying to confirm this new constitution, for what will be, we're led to believe will be called the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Trying to move on to an official government to replace what is still the provisional government of President Karzai.
Well, in the midst of this, this bombing has got tensions even higher. The U.S. playing a very difficult game there, trying to win hearts and minds, but also trying to catch the Taliban and the al Qaeda who are still out there.
Now, talking about hearts and minds, we talk a lot in Iraq about -- we saw Nic's report on the insurgents there. A lot of these attacks still going on. The United States, particularly in northern Iraq, we followed this general, General Patreas, following him around the Kurdish areas, actually getting down on the ground, meeting with local leaders and not just meeting with them, but acting and doing. And there's a picture of him here basically opening a village that was destroyed by Saddam Hussein's forces 15 or so years ago.
Kurds were moved out, Arabs were moved in. The United States came in as the occupying power, helping the Kurds to not only rebuild their village, but, again, make a connection with the U.S. forces there.
So there is a connection as well as the attacks that are going on.
COSTELLO: Well, it's nice to see positive pictures between the Americans and the Iraqis for once.
CLINCH: Yes, some very happy Iraqis right there.
COSTELLO: And a happy American, too.
CLINCH: Yes.
COSTELLO: Which sometimes we don't see together very often.
CLINCH: That's true.
COSTELLO: David Clinch, many thanks.
CLINCH: OK.
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 December 8, 2003 - 05:33 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: China's premier is in the United States this morning and he will be talking trade and politics.
We want to get more on the international beat from our senior international editor, David Clinch -- good morning.
DAVID CLINCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Carol, good morning.
How are you doing?
Well, while we have been paying attention and the rest of the world been paying a lot of attention, quite rightfully, to what's going on in Iraq, two pretty important things going on in Asia that we haven't been paying too much attention to. North Korea busy building nuclear weapons, or at least claiming to; and China busy becoming a huge superpower, economic if not political.
Those two things coming together today. This week, the Chinese premier is in the United States. He'll meet with President Bush tomorrow. He'll ring the opening bell on the New York Stock Exchange today. That's a hint of how important the stock exchange is taking them economically.
But on North Korea, some interesting things out there. The "New York Times" is reporting today that the United States has agreed with Japan and South Korea to ask China, basically, to pitch a new set of proposals to North Korea to try and persuade North Korea to get rid of its nuclear weapons program.
Not too many details in the report, and, in fact, the report indicates that there's not too many details in the proposal itself. It basically boils down to the idea that the United States might be prepared to give some kind of non-aggression pact to North Korea, but only in return for watertight inspections of North Korea's nuclear weapons program; in effect, not the IAEA, not the U.N., but perhaps American inspectors on the ground in North Korea.
COSTELLO: In North Korea?
CLINCH: Now...
COSTELLO: Is that really likely to happen?
CLINCH: Well, a U.S. official is quoted by the "Times" as saying today that that would probably be a deal breaker for the North Koreans. But on the other hand, there seems to be significant signs that both sides are very keen to move on from this. And the Chinese playing a key role there. So we'll keep an eye on the Chinese premier in Washington today, or in New York today and in Washington tomorrow.
Now, again, out in the region towards Asia and Afghanistan, a really thorny issue for the United States over the weekend. A bombing, an errant bombing killed nine children in Afghanistan. Now, you know, there have been errant bombings before, but this one is parti -- hit a particularly sour note in Afghanistan, just at a key time. This week there's a so-called loya jirga meeting in Kabul, all the leaders...
COSTELLO: Which is their governor council per se.
CLINCH: All the governing council, exactly, meeting from all over Afghanistan, trying to confirm this new constitution, for what will be, we're led to believe will be called the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Trying to move on to an official government to replace what is still the provisional government of President Karzai.
Well, in the midst of this, this bombing has got tensions even higher. The U.S. playing a very difficult game there, trying to win hearts and minds, but also trying to catch the Taliban and the al Qaeda who are still out there.
Now, talking about hearts and minds, we talk a lot in Iraq about -- we saw Nic's report on the insurgents there. A lot of these attacks still going on. The United States, particularly in northern Iraq, we followed this general, General Patreas, following him around the Kurdish areas, actually getting down on the ground, meeting with local leaders and not just meeting with them, but acting and doing. And there's a picture of him here basically opening a village that was destroyed by Saddam Hussein's forces 15 or so years ago.
Kurds were moved out, Arabs were moved in. The United States came in as the occupying power, helping the Kurds to not only rebuild their village, but, again, make a connection with the U.S. forces there.
So there is a connection as well as the attacks that are going on.
COSTELLO: Well, it's nice to see positive pictures between the Americans and the Iraqis for once.
CLINCH: Yes, some very happy Iraqis right there.
COSTELLO: And a happy American, too.
CLINCH: Yes.
COSTELLO: Which sometimes we don't see together very often.
CLINCH: That's true.
COSTELLO: David Clinch, many thanks.
CLINCH: OK.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
