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North Korea Adds Another Spark to Potentially Explosive Situation

Aired December 27, 2002 - 13:34   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.


KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: North Korea adds yet another spark to the potentially explosive situation there. It's kicking U.N. monitoring inspectors out as it plans to reactivate a lab that could be used to make nuclear weapons. How can the rest of the world hold North Korea accountable?
Well, CNN's senior U.N. correspondent Richard Roth joins us now live to talk more about that.

How do you hold North Korea accountable?

RICHARD ROTH, CNN SR. U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Well, the nations of the United Nations, and especially the Security Council, want to pursue diplomacy. The risk is just too great. The North Korean army a million strong, very aggressive, is across that demilitarized zone that Barbara Starr mentioned. Of course, North Korean artillery and other weapons could easily hit South Korea and elsewhere. It's a much more delicate situation even than what's going on in Iraq.

And of course that armistice agreement that Barbara Starr mentioned, that is not a full peace treaty. And thus, North Korea has also used the armistice as part of its bellicose rhetoric in the last 10 years by saying occasionally, to much fanfare, that it is ripping up that armistice. Not, much, indeed happens after that. North Korea would like a peace treaty, and they certainly want a lot of economic aid, and financing and energy and oil, and that's why they're putting up a lot of tough talk and movements, such as threatening to kick out inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency, who have been watching, or trying to watch over their nuclear reactor programs.

PHILLIPS: So, Richard, let's talk about U.N. inspectors in North Korea and how it is different from the inspectors in Iraq. And is North Korea being held to the same standard as Iraq when it comes to inspections and the threat of weapons?

ROTH: Well, this is very interesting, of course, it's been four years since inspectors were in Iraq. Now they're in, and they're basically getting to go wherever they want to go on a no-notice basis. In North Korea, the inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency, a subsidiary organization of the U.N. have been in there, but they've had limited access to monitor what is going on in North Korea. There's about two inspectors who go in for six-week rotation periods. They have been at various sites there, and then they come out and rotate.

Currently, there are three who happen to be there. The IAEA saying they'll stay put for now, despite what North Korea said. But basically, if you talk to the IAEA, despite this lauded framework agreement of 1994, the IAEA have just not been able to do what it wants to do, and it's had limited access to various sites, despite 21 rounds of talks. The North Koreans have not been cooperative in letting the inspectors go where they want to go. That's different than what we see right now in Baghdad.

Each country, Iraq and North Korea, labeled the "axis of evil" by President Bush in their own way have been very difficult to deal with international arms inspectors.

PHILLIPS: So then you'd tend to wonder, OK, how will inspectors be able to keep an eye on North Korea? We've talked about this monitoring equipment being shut off, but is all of it been shut off, or are there still cameras here and there?

ROTH: They will be shut off. It will be impossible, says the IAEA, to get even a limited sense of what's going on in North Korea, similar to four-year break after December of 1998 in Baghdad, in Iraq. When they're in there, they have seals they put on various equipment, so even if they leave, they can come back and tell whether something has been tampered with, very similar to what happened in Iraq. They're connected to wires and things like that, and they can tell if there's been an adjustment. But North Korea has not allowed the IAEA to go to or sites and plants to tell the past history of the past nuclear program to determine if there's been uranium enrichment or reprocessing for plutonium based upon old reactor fuel.

In the past, North Korea has said they're breaking the seals, the first step, the second step maybe in what could be a very big crisis.

PHILLIPS: We'll definitely following every single step. Richard Roth, thank you.

President Bush is in Texas, where he'll spend part of the a long weekend considering nuclear developments in what he calls the "axis of evil, Iraq, Iran and North Korea.

Our White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux is in Crawford, Texas, near the president's ranch -- Suzanne.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, we were just briefed by White House spokesperson Scott McClellan, just moments ago, giving us an update on North Korea. We're told the president has been briefed by his intelligence and security teams this morning, that he's monitoring the situation. We also understand there was a meeting at the White House with the top advisers, including his security adviser Condoleezza Rice, as well as the Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz to discuss U.S. strategy when it comes to North Korea.

Going to read a quick statement here that Scott McClellan just gave moments ago. He said, "We call on North Korea to reverse its current course and take steps necessary to come into compliance with the safeguards agreement, and to eliminate its nuclear weapons program in a manner that's verifiable." He also went on to say that the United States will not enter talks, will not negotiate with North Korea until it has proven that its frozen its nuclear weapons program, that the administration will continue to work with its allies, putting diplomatic and economic pressure on North Korea's Kim Jung Il, that they'll continue to talk with Russia, Japan, South Korea, as well as China. We're told that sometimes next week, we can expect an administration envoy to be sent to South Korea. We've also heard from the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency Mohammed Al Baradei who says if North Korea does not come into compliance in the next two weeks, if he does not see a change, that they'll convene the U.N. Security Council to figure out what steps they'll take next with North Korea, at the same time dealing with Iraq -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Suzanne Malveaux, thank you.

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




Situation>


Aired December 27, 2002 - 13:34   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: North Korea adds yet another spark to the potentially explosive situation there. It's kicking U.N. monitoring inspectors out as it plans to reactivate a lab that could be used to make nuclear weapons. How can the rest of the world hold North Korea accountable?
Well, CNN's senior U.N. correspondent Richard Roth joins us now live to talk more about that.

How do you hold North Korea accountable?

RICHARD ROTH, CNN SR. U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Well, the nations of the United Nations, and especially the Security Council, want to pursue diplomacy. The risk is just too great. The North Korean army a million strong, very aggressive, is across that demilitarized zone that Barbara Starr mentioned. Of course, North Korean artillery and other weapons could easily hit South Korea and elsewhere. It's a much more delicate situation even than what's going on in Iraq.

And of course that armistice agreement that Barbara Starr mentioned, that is not a full peace treaty. And thus, North Korea has also used the armistice as part of its bellicose rhetoric in the last 10 years by saying occasionally, to much fanfare, that it is ripping up that armistice. Not, much, indeed happens after that. North Korea would like a peace treaty, and they certainly want a lot of economic aid, and financing and energy and oil, and that's why they're putting up a lot of tough talk and movements, such as threatening to kick out inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency, who have been watching, or trying to watch over their nuclear reactor programs.

PHILLIPS: So, Richard, let's talk about U.N. inspectors in North Korea and how it is different from the inspectors in Iraq. And is North Korea being held to the same standard as Iraq when it comes to inspections and the threat of weapons?

ROTH: Well, this is very interesting, of course, it's been four years since inspectors were in Iraq. Now they're in, and they're basically getting to go wherever they want to go on a no-notice basis. In North Korea, the inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency, a subsidiary organization of the U.N. have been in there, but they've had limited access to monitor what is going on in North Korea. There's about two inspectors who go in for six-week rotation periods. They have been at various sites there, and then they come out and rotate.

Currently, there are three who happen to be there. The IAEA saying they'll stay put for now, despite what North Korea said. But basically, if you talk to the IAEA, despite this lauded framework agreement of 1994, the IAEA have just not been able to do what it wants to do, and it's had limited access to various sites, despite 21 rounds of talks. The North Koreans have not been cooperative in letting the inspectors go where they want to go. That's different than what we see right now in Baghdad.

Each country, Iraq and North Korea, labeled the "axis of evil" by President Bush in their own way have been very difficult to deal with international arms inspectors.

PHILLIPS: So then you'd tend to wonder, OK, how will inspectors be able to keep an eye on North Korea? We've talked about this monitoring equipment being shut off, but is all of it been shut off, or are there still cameras here and there?

ROTH: They will be shut off. It will be impossible, says the IAEA, to get even a limited sense of what's going on in North Korea, similar to four-year break after December of 1998 in Baghdad, in Iraq. When they're in there, they have seals they put on various equipment, so even if they leave, they can come back and tell whether something has been tampered with, very similar to what happened in Iraq. They're connected to wires and things like that, and they can tell if there's been an adjustment. But North Korea has not allowed the IAEA to go to or sites and plants to tell the past history of the past nuclear program to determine if there's been uranium enrichment or reprocessing for plutonium based upon old reactor fuel.

In the past, North Korea has said they're breaking the seals, the first step, the second step maybe in what could be a very big crisis.

PHILLIPS: We'll definitely following every single step. Richard Roth, thank you.

President Bush is in Texas, where he'll spend part of the a long weekend considering nuclear developments in what he calls the "axis of evil, Iraq, Iran and North Korea.

Our White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux is in Crawford, Texas, near the president's ranch -- Suzanne.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, we were just briefed by White House spokesperson Scott McClellan, just moments ago, giving us an update on North Korea. We're told the president has been briefed by his intelligence and security teams this morning, that he's monitoring the situation. We also understand there was a meeting at the White House with the top advisers, including his security adviser Condoleezza Rice, as well as the Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz to discuss U.S. strategy when it comes to North Korea.

Going to read a quick statement here that Scott McClellan just gave moments ago. He said, "We call on North Korea to reverse its current course and take steps necessary to come into compliance with the safeguards agreement, and to eliminate its nuclear weapons program in a manner that's verifiable." He also went on to say that the United States will not enter talks, will not negotiate with North Korea until it has proven that its frozen its nuclear weapons program, that the administration will continue to work with its allies, putting diplomatic and economic pressure on North Korea's Kim Jung Il, that they'll continue to talk with Russia, Japan, South Korea, as well as China. We're told that sometimes next week, we can expect an administration envoy to be sent to South Korea. We've also heard from the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency Mohammed Al Baradei who says if North Korea does not come into compliance in the next two weeks, if he does not see a change, that they'll convene the U.N. Security Council to figure out what steps they'll take next with North Korea, at the same time dealing with Iraq -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Suzanne Malveaux, thank you.

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




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