Return to Transcripts main page
Live From...
Pyongyang Considers Testing Nuclear Weapons
Aired August 28, 2003 - 15:32 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 startled delegates from five other nations today.
Our chief White House correspondent, John King, is in Crawford, Texas.
Hi, John.
JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Kyra.
And the question for the Bush administration now is..
PHILLIPS: Yes, I didn't...
KING: ... North Korea bluffing or will it go forward and declare itself publicly to be a nuclear nation.
All this happened in Beijing. This is day two of the six-party talks. The goal of the talks from the White House perspective is to get North Korea to commit to irreversibly and verifiably setting aside its nuclear weapons program.
Instead, the deputy North Korean foreign minister, we are told by U.S. officials, came into the talks today and said that his country was prepared to publicly declare itself a nuclear power. It was also prepared to prove its nuclear capabilities through a nuclear test and was also prepared to prove to the world, again, if there was any doubt, that it had the means to deliver nuclear weapons.
Now, U.S. officials take that as a reference to North Korea's ballistic missile program. The question now is what does the Bush administration do? The talks are to continue tomorrow, and all parties have said they are interested in a second round of talks. That is one reason the administration so far is taking a very low-key approach to this.
The deputy White House press secretary, Claire Buchan, telling reporters a short time ago that while she would not comment on the specifics of the negotiations in Beijing, she did say -- quote -- "North Korea has a long history of making inflammatory comments that served to isolate it from the world."
So the Bush administration hope at this point is that North Korea is bluffing and that this is bluster designed to help it in these negotiations. But if this turns out to be true, and if North Korea went forward and declared itself to be a nuclear power, that would put President Bush in a very difficult position. He is publicly on record as saying he will not tolerate a nuclear North Korea. The president has also said that this is not a crisis, and it is something he believes can be resolved through diplomacy.
But, Kyra, if the North Koreans are serious and if they follow through on this, Mr. Bush will be facing quite a crisis, indeed.
PHILLIPS: John King from Crawford, Texas. Thanks, John.
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 August 28, 2003 - 15:32 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 startled delegates from five other nations today.
Our chief White House correspondent, John King, is in Crawford, Texas.
Hi, John.
JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Kyra.
And the question for the Bush administration now is..
PHILLIPS: Yes, I didn't...
KING: ... North Korea bluffing or will it go forward and declare itself publicly to be a nuclear nation.
All this happened in Beijing. This is day two of the six-party talks. The goal of the talks from the White House perspective is to get North Korea to commit to irreversibly and verifiably setting aside its nuclear weapons program.
Instead, the deputy North Korean foreign minister, we are told by U.S. officials, came into the talks today and said that his country was prepared to publicly declare itself a nuclear power. It was also prepared to prove its nuclear capabilities through a nuclear test and was also prepared to prove to the world, again, if there was any doubt, that it had the means to deliver nuclear weapons.
Now, U.S. officials take that as a reference to North Korea's ballistic missile program. The question now is what does the Bush administration do? The talks are to continue tomorrow, and all parties have said they are interested in a second round of talks. That is one reason the administration so far is taking a very low-key approach to this.
The deputy White House press secretary, Claire Buchan, telling reporters a short time ago that while she would not comment on the specifics of the negotiations in Beijing, she did say -- quote -- "North Korea has a long history of making inflammatory comments that served to isolate it from the world."
So the Bush administration hope at this point is that North Korea is bluffing and that this is bluster designed to help it in these negotiations. But if this turns out to be true, and if North Korea went forward and declared itself to be a nuclear power, that would put President Bush in a very difficult position. He is publicly on record as saying he will not tolerate a nuclear North Korea. The president has also said that this is not a crisis, and it is something he believes can be resolved through diplomacy.
But, Kyra, if the North Koreans are serious and if they follow through on this, Mr. Bush will be facing quite a crisis, indeed.
PHILLIPS: John King from Crawford, Texas. Thanks, John.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
