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North Korean Nukes: Washington Talks
Aired January 06, 2003 - 14:12 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: In Washington, diplomats also are debating ways to diffuse the North Korean situation.
Our State Department correspondent Andrea Koppel following their moves. She's here to fill us in.
Andrea, let's talk about the U.S. reaction to the IAEA resolution.
ANDREA KOPPEL, STATE DEPT. CORRESPONDENT: Well, the U.S. Officials I have spoken with say they are, quote, delighted with the IAEA resolution. They say that the text reflects exactly what the U.S. had hoped it would, and they feel that the fact that you have the entire board, 35 members, all reaching the same consensus, sends a very powerful message to North Korea, that it has to come into compliance or it will move on to U.N. Security Council -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Now, the Number of meetings going on at the State Department, what can you tell us about those?
KOPPEL: That's exactly right. This is the start of two days worth of meetings with the Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly and representatives from the South Korean government and a representative from the Japanese government. Obviously close U.S. allies in Asia obviously all deeply concerned about the situation on the peninsula, hoping to coordinate their strategy as they try to mediate a diplomatic solution to all of this.
But -- and this is a big but -- Kyra their strategies for how to achieve that are very different. The U.S. believes that this should happen as the IAEA says with North Korea taking the first step. The U.S. looking to its allies to coordinate that message. While the South Koreans are going to be telling during their meeting here at the State Department, Mr. Kelly, that they believe that the U.S. should compromise with North Korea, that they should enter into this security arrangement, nonaggression pact, in exchange for the north freezing its nuclear weapons program. That, U.S. officials say, is just a nonstarter.
PHILLIPS: So, Andrea, President Bush here definitely playing hardball with North Korea? Why do they believe this is the way to go?
KOPPEL: Well, you know it is a very delicate diplomatic situation right now. The north is known for its brinkmanship, and desperate regimes are known to take desperate measures. But the officials I have spoken with believe that there is no other option right now, that this is a regime known for dragging out negotiations, and point of fact the north, the U.S. says, lied in 1994, that it was going to freeze its program, and didn't do it, and that if the U.S. does not play hardball with North Korea right now and call their bluff, you could have the north producing as many as six, seven or eight nuclear weapons. As one official put it, you don't trade one or two nuclear weapons, but you might do that if you had more, and the U.S. is deeply concerned that the north would proliferate those nuclear weapons.
PHILLIPS: State Department correspondent Andrea Koppel, 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 - 14:12 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: In Washington, diplomats also are debating ways to diffuse the North Korean situation.
Our State Department correspondent Andrea Koppel following their moves. She's here to fill us in.
Andrea, let's talk about the U.S. reaction to the IAEA resolution.
ANDREA KOPPEL, STATE DEPT. CORRESPONDENT: Well, the U.S. Officials I have spoken with say they are, quote, delighted with the IAEA resolution. They say that the text reflects exactly what the U.S. had hoped it would, and they feel that the fact that you have the entire board, 35 members, all reaching the same consensus, sends a very powerful message to North Korea, that it has to come into compliance or it will move on to U.N. Security Council -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Now, the Number of meetings going on at the State Department, what can you tell us about those?
KOPPEL: That's exactly right. This is the start of two days worth of meetings with the Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly and representatives from the South Korean government and a representative from the Japanese government. Obviously close U.S. allies in Asia obviously all deeply concerned about the situation on the peninsula, hoping to coordinate their strategy as they try to mediate a diplomatic solution to all of this.
But -- and this is a big but -- Kyra their strategies for how to achieve that are very different. The U.S. believes that this should happen as the IAEA says with North Korea taking the first step. The U.S. looking to its allies to coordinate that message. While the South Koreans are going to be telling during their meeting here at the State Department, Mr. Kelly, that they believe that the U.S. should compromise with North Korea, that they should enter into this security arrangement, nonaggression pact, in exchange for the north freezing its nuclear weapons program. That, U.S. officials say, is just a nonstarter.
PHILLIPS: So, Andrea, President Bush here definitely playing hardball with North Korea? Why do they believe this is the way to go?
KOPPEL: Well, you know it is a very delicate diplomatic situation right now. The north is known for its brinkmanship, and desperate regimes are known to take desperate measures. But the officials I have spoken with believe that there is no other option right now, that this is a regime known for dragging out negotiations, and point of fact the north, the U.S. says, lied in 1994, that it was going to freeze its program, and didn't do it, and that if the U.S. does not play hardball with North Korea right now and call their bluff, you could have the north producing as many as six, seven or eight nuclear weapons. As one official put it, you don't trade one or two nuclear weapons, but you might do that if you had more, and the U.S. is deeply concerned that the north would proliferate those nuclear weapons.
PHILLIPS: State Department correspondent Andrea Koppel, 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
