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CNN Live Saturday
What Is Next for North Korea?
Aired April 26, 2003 - 12:24 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: What next for North Korea? Well, three-way talks in Beijing on the nuclear standoff didn't seem to go well. President Bush says North Korea is back to old ways, using the word "blackmail" to describe Pyongyang's demands. A South Korean team goes to North Korea on Sunday and plans to bring up Pyongyang's reported claim that it does indeed have a nuclear bomb.
And there's some suggestion the U.S. will consult allies about U.N. sanctions against North Korea. The U.S. representative to the Beijing talks is briefing allies in the region before heading back to Washington.
Here is Seoul bureau chief Sohn Jie-Ae.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SOHN JIE-AE, CNN SEOUL BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): After U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly finished off a series of debriefs in Seoul and headed to Tokyo on a similar mission, South Korea convened a national security council meeting to discuss the results of the Beijing talks and strategies for the upcoming inter- Korean cabinet-level meetings on Sunday.
Foremost on the agenda was the North's apparent admission to Kelly that it already possessed nuclear weapons. If true, a statement following the security council meeting said, this would be considered a grave violation of various international agreements North Korea signed, promising to keep the Korean peninsula nuclear-free.
The statement also said Seoul would strongly urge the North to change its position and give up its nuclear development plans in the upcoming inter-Korean talks.
Earlier, conservative South Korean media suggested calling off the meetings.
Inter-Korean talks primarily focus on joint projects, such as reunion of divided families, economic cooperation, and food aid for the North.
While the South will participate, there is no denying the mounting demand to increase pressure on the North.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think (UNINTELLIGIBLE) government in that sense should take a very firm position that unless two Koreas can somehow come to the conclusion on the nuclear issue, any substantial cooperation between two Koreas may not happen.
SOHN: As an opposition lawmaker, Park has written a book outlining his own road map for resolving the North's nuclear crisis based on a clear set of carrots and sticks.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We somehow need to send a strong message to the North that the continuation of this dangerous brinkmanship is against the interests of North Korea itself.
SOHN (on camera): North Korea resists discussing nuclear issues at inter-Korean talks. But with the recent developments in Beijing, there's a growing feeling here in Seoul that the time may have come to show North Korea just what carrots it could lose if it continues to play the nuclear game.
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 26, 2003 - 12:24 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN ANCHOR: What next for North Korea? Well, three-way talks in Beijing on the nuclear standoff didn't seem to go well. President Bush says North Korea is back to old ways, using the word "blackmail" to describe Pyongyang's demands. A South Korean team goes to North Korea on Sunday and plans to bring up Pyongyang's reported claim that it does indeed have a nuclear bomb.
And there's some suggestion the U.S. will consult allies about U.N. sanctions against North Korea. The U.S. representative to the Beijing talks is briefing allies in the region before heading back to Washington.
Here is Seoul bureau chief Sohn Jie-Ae.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SOHN JIE-AE, CNN SEOUL BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): After U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly finished off a series of debriefs in Seoul and headed to Tokyo on a similar mission, South Korea convened a national security council meeting to discuss the results of the Beijing talks and strategies for the upcoming inter- Korean cabinet-level meetings on Sunday.
Foremost on the agenda was the North's apparent admission to Kelly that it already possessed nuclear weapons. If true, a statement following the security council meeting said, this would be considered a grave violation of various international agreements North Korea signed, promising to keep the Korean peninsula nuclear-free.
The statement also said Seoul would strongly urge the North to change its position and give up its nuclear development plans in the upcoming inter-Korean talks.
Earlier, conservative South Korean media suggested calling off the meetings.
Inter-Korean talks primarily focus on joint projects, such as reunion of divided families, economic cooperation, and food aid for the North.
While the South will participate, there is no denying the mounting demand to increase pressure on the North.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think (UNINTELLIGIBLE) government in that sense should take a very firm position that unless two Koreas can somehow come to the conclusion on the nuclear issue, any substantial cooperation between two Koreas may not happen.
SOHN: As an opposition lawmaker, Park has written a book outlining his own road map for resolving the North's nuclear crisis based on a clear set of carrots and sticks.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We somehow need to send a strong message to the North that the continuation of this dangerous brinkmanship is against the interests of North Korea itself.
SOHN (on camera): North Korea resists discussing nuclear issues at inter-Korean talks. But with the recent developments in Beijing, there's a growing feeling here in Seoul that the time may have come to show North Korea just what carrots it could lose if it continues to play the nuclear game.
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
