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One Last Chance for North Korea
Aired January 06, 2003 - 13:07 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: One last chance for North Korea. The U.N.'s nuclear agency says the North Koreans can abandon their atomic weapons program and let inspectors back into the country, or the matter goes to the Security Council for action. The governing board of the International Atomic Energy Agency met in Vienna as two days of meetings on the controversy began in Washington.
State Department correspondent Andrea Koppel joins us now live -- Andrea.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPT. CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right, Kyra. The meetings here at the State Department set to get under way this hour. The South Korean's envoy, the deputy foreign minister, arrived at the State Department just a few minutes ago. He'll be meeting with a senior State Department official, Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly. Later this afternoon, Kelly will be meeting with the Japanese and then things will wrap up tomorrow with a three-way meeting.
Now, the purpose of the meetings here at the State Department, to try to come up with some sort of common language, some kind of strategy that the United States and its allies can use to try to diffuse the situation, the crisis that's been brewing on the Korean peninsula.
Now the problem is, they're coming at it from two different ways. The United States taking a somewhat more modest approach, saying that the best way to de-escalate the situation right now is to get all of the U.S. allies on the same page, to get the rhetoric out there on the same page. They feel, privately telling me that they think there's been somewhat of a missing link here, that the allies are missing the picture as to why we are where we are today. The U.S. saying that it's because the North Koreans basically broke the 1994 agreement and have not frozen their nuclear weapons program.
Now, on the other side of the picture, the South Koreans are bringing with them a proposal for the U.S. and North Korea to compromise, in other words, to get the north to freeze its nuclear weapons program and the U.S. to offer a nonaggression treaty. This is something that the U.S. has said is just not on the table right now. And, in fact, Kyra, the U.S. position was echoed today in Vienna, when the IAEA board of governors met and said the North Koreans have one last chance to comply, to let back in inspectors and to freeze their weapons program or else, or they'll move things to the United Nations and let them take it up there.
PHILLIPS: Andrea, could that mean U.N.-backed military action, or maybe further sanctions against North Korea?
KOPPEL: We really don't know. And certainly, those are two of the obvious options that are out there right now. Obviously, for the United States, which is planning a possible military invasion of Iraq, this doesn't come at an opportune moment. U.S. officials say that they could handle confrontation on two fronts at the same time, but this is clearly not the right time as far as the U.S., or, for that matter, the international community is concerned.
PHILLIPS: All right, Andrea Koppel, live from the State Department, 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
Aired January 6, 2003 - 13:07 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: One last chance for North Korea. The U.N.'s nuclear agency says the North Koreans can abandon their atomic weapons program and let inspectors back into the country, or the matter goes to the Security Council for action. The governing board of the International Atomic Energy Agency met in Vienna as two days of meetings on the controversy began in Washington.
State Department correspondent Andrea Koppel joins us now live -- Andrea.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPT. CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right, Kyra. The meetings here at the State Department set to get under way this hour. The South Korean's envoy, the deputy foreign minister, arrived at the State Department just a few minutes ago. He'll be meeting with a senior State Department official, Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly. Later this afternoon, Kelly will be meeting with the Japanese and then things will wrap up tomorrow with a three-way meeting.
Now, the purpose of the meetings here at the State Department, to try to come up with some sort of common language, some kind of strategy that the United States and its allies can use to try to diffuse the situation, the crisis that's been brewing on the Korean peninsula.
Now the problem is, they're coming at it from two different ways. The United States taking a somewhat more modest approach, saying that the best way to de-escalate the situation right now is to get all of the U.S. allies on the same page, to get the rhetoric out there on the same page. They feel, privately telling me that they think there's been somewhat of a missing link here, that the allies are missing the picture as to why we are where we are today. The U.S. saying that it's because the North Koreans basically broke the 1994 agreement and have not frozen their nuclear weapons program.
Now, on the other side of the picture, the South Koreans are bringing with them a proposal for the U.S. and North Korea to compromise, in other words, to get the north to freeze its nuclear weapons program and the U.S. to offer a nonaggression treaty. This is something that the U.S. has said is just not on the table right now. And, in fact, Kyra, the U.S. position was echoed today in Vienna, when the IAEA board of governors met and said the North Koreans have one last chance to comply, to let back in inspectors and to freeze their weapons program or else, or they'll move things to the United Nations and let them take it up there.
PHILLIPS: Andrea, could that mean U.N.-backed military action, or maybe further sanctions against North Korea?
KOPPEL: We really don't know. And certainly, those are two of the obvious options that are out there right now. Obviously, for the United States, which is planning a possible military invasion of Iraq, this doesn't come at an opportune moment. U.S. officials say that they could handle confrontation on two fronts at the same time, but this is clearly not the right time as far as the U.S., or, for that matter, the international community is concerned.
PHILLIPS: All right, Andrea Koppel, live from the State Department, 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
