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CNN Live Saturday
U.S. Gears Up for Talks in Beijing on North Korea
Aired April 19, 2003 - 12:36 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.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN ANCHOR: As the U.S. steps up the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, it is also gearing up for talks next week in Beijing on North Korea's suspected nuclear arms program. Those talks are still on, but may be sidelined due to a botched translation, if you can believe it, of a Pyongyang statement about plutonium. Sohn Jie-Ae explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SOHN JIE-AE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It caused a major flap. North Korea announcing in English that it was in the final phase of successfully reprocessing more than 8,000 spent fuel rods at the Yongbyon nuclear complex. The announcement infuriated Washington, which said it was considering calling off talks with North Korean officials scheduled in Beijing next week.
At the end of the day, officials in Seoul and Washington say it could all be a misunderstanding. A translation mistake. South Korean and U.S. officials discovered the translation mistake when they went back and examined the Korean language version of Pyongyang's announcement. North Korea could have inadvertently overstated work done on those spent fuel rods. South Korean officials say they see no reason to change the upcoming talks in Beijing between North Korea, the United States, and China.
Saturday morning, North Korea also extended an olive branch to the south, calling for the resumption of south/north cabinet level talks, even suggesting dates in late April. These talks to focus on inter-Korean issues, such as economic aid and ongoing projects between the two countries. South Korea has been excluded from the upcoming talks in Beijing, which the north depicts as primarily being between the U.S. and North Korea. Washington wants a region-wide conversation.
COLIN POWELL, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We have been in contact with our friends in the region, Japan, South Korea, China, and Russia, about the need for there to be comprehensive discussions with the North Koreans.
SOHN: Likely to be on the agenda at next week's meetings in Beijing, another push to allow international inspectors in North Korea to figure out precisely what has been done with those spent fuel rods, an effort to head off any further confusion.
Sohn Jie-Ae, CNN, Seoul.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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 19, 2003 - 12:36 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN ANCHOR: As the U.S. steps up the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, it is also gearing up for talks next week in Beijing on North Korea's suspected nuclear arms program. Those talks are still on, but may be sidelined due to a botched translation, if you can believe it, of a Pyongyang statement about plutonium. Sohn Jie-Ae explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SOHN JIE-AE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It caused a major flap. North Korea announcing in English that it was in the final phase of successfully reprocessing more than 8,000 spent fuel rods at the Yongbyon nuclear complex. The announcement infuriated Washington, which said it was considering calling off talks with North Korean officials scheduled in Beijing next week.
At the end of the day, officials in Seoul and Washington say it could all be a misunderstanding. A translation mistake. South Korean and U.S. officials discovered the translation mistake when they went back and examined the Korean language version of Pyongyang's announcement. North Korea could have inadvertently overstated work done on those spent fuel rods. South Korean officials say they see no reason to change the upcoming talks in Beijing between North Korea, the United States, and China.
Saturday morning, North Korea also extended an olive branch to the south, calling for the resumption of south/north cabinet level talks, even suggesting dates in late April. These talks to focus on inter-Korean issues, such as economic aid and ongoing projects between the two countries. South Korea has been excluded from the upcoming talks in Beijing, which the north depicts as primarily being between the U.S. and North Korea. Washington wants a region-wide conversation.
COLIN POWELL, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We have been in contact with our friends in the region, Japan, South Korea, China, and Russia, about the need for there to be comprehensive discussions with the North Koreans.
SOHN: Likely to be on the agenda at next week's meetings in Beijing, another push to allow international inspectors in North Korea to figure out precisely what has been done with those spent fuel rods, an effort to head off any further confusion.
Sohn Jie-Ae, CNN, Seoul.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
