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American Morning
Bush: North Korea's Nuclear Weapons Confession 'Troubling'
Aired October 18, 2002 - 08:10 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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to turn our attention now to that very disturbing situation in North Korea. President Bush says North Korea's nuclear weapons confession is "troubling." But the White House doesn't plan to confront the crisis in the way that it's treating Iraq. After all, Saddam Hussein, the administration says, is in a category by himself.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: He sits in the Middle East in a very volatile region and to imagine this homicidal dictator with a nuclear weapon is something that we simply could not tolerate. But I don't want to downplay the importance of what has happened in North Korea or to talk about the dangers. There are clearly dangers with a regime of that type. We do believe that we have other ways to deal with North Korea.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: The Bush administration has dispatched a high level delegation to China. We have a live report from there in just a minute.
But Mike Chinoy is standing by from there.
First, let's check in with Suzanne Malveaux, who is at the White House -- good morning, Suzanne.
I understand the administration is trying to downplay this revelation. Are they considering military action at all?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's an option. It's one of the things that U.S. officials say they are not ruling out, the possibility of getting the United Nations involved. There have already been letters from members of Congress suggesting that perhaps there should be greater action.
But I'll tell you, Paula, it's really about high level diplomacy at this point, really getting U.S. allies to put the pressure on North Korea to comply. As you had mentioned, there are assistant secretaries of state that are in Beijing. They're going to be going to Japan as well as Russia to make the case.
The president is involved. He's going to be meeting with the Chinese president, Jiang Zemin, next Friday at his Crawford ranch. That was previously scheduled, but you can bet this is going to be a critical part of their talks. He's also going to be meeting with the leaders of Japan, as well as South Korea, at an economic summit in Mexico next weekend.
And there's also the economic options, the leverage, as well. The United States is considering the possibility of on a short-term basis cutting fuel assistance from North Korea for non-humanitarian needs, considering and putting the pressure on other governments not to give them technology or sophisticated equipment and also really putting pressure on China and Russia, major trade partners with North Korea, China in particular, for food and for fuel.
So it's diplomacy. It's economics. The very last resort would be military -- Paula.
ZAHN: Let's talk about the economics just very quickly, Suzanne. There is a widespread feeling, by treading the editorial pages, that it's going to cost a lot to buy compliance here. What are they talking about in terms of foreign aid?
MALVEAUX: Well, you're absolutely right, it is going to be a lot. And you're talking about trading partners. You're talking about Russia. You're talking about China. The United States really wants to put pressure on them to pull back that fuel and really negotiate when it comes to what they are willing to give up.
North Korea, as you know, very dependent on those countries as well as the United States. There had been some movement from North Korean officials that they were coming into line, coming into step. But, again, this really a setback, the United States hoping to put that kind of economic pressure on them to comply.
ZAHN: Thanks so much, Suzanne.
Let's turn to Mike Chinoy now, who has been to North Korea 12 times in the past decade alone.
What do you think is North Korea's game here?
MIKE CHINOY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Paula, the North Koreans, based on all the times I've been there, have made it very clear that regime survival is the key thing. The North Koreans saw the collapse of communism everywhere else and they saw South Korea booming and the U.S. very hostile. And so the North Koreans historically, over the last 15 years or so, have tried to use their military programs, their nuclear program in the early '90s, their missile program in the late '90s, as leverage, essentially signaling to the U.S. that they would be willing to trade those programs for what they call a change in America's hostile policy.
And even as they have been developing this new secret nuclear program, if you look at the official North Korean media, just in the past couple of weeks, it's very, very interesting. They say, I've got the Korean Central News Agency here from at the end of August. It says that, If there is any security issue over which the U.S. should worry, it's attributable to the Bush administration's hostile policy towards the DPRK." That's North Korea. "The DPRK has clarified more than once that if the U.S. will drop its hostile policy and have dialogue, North Korea will have dialogue with the U.S. to clear the U.S. of its worries over security."
So that's led, for example, South Korea's national security
adviser to say on Friday that the North Koreans may, with this admission, be putting this nuclear program on the table and actually trying to use it to say we'll negotiate with the United States if you are willing to cease this hostile policy.
The North has been very upset about being lumped with the axis of evil and very nervous to see the Bush administration talk about regime change in Iraq. The North Korean fear is they might be next. And that explains to some degree why they're trying to protect themselves in this way -- Paula.
ZAHN: Thanks for the overview, Mike.
Mike Chinoy reporting from China this morning. Suzanne Malveaux, thanks for your live update from the White House, as well.
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
'Troubling'>
Aired October 18, 2002 - 08:10 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to turn our attention now to that very disturbing situation in North Korea. President Bush says North Korea's nuclear weapons confession is "troubling." But the White House doesn't plan to confront the crisis in the way that it's treating Iraq. After all, Saddam Hussein, the administration says, is in a category by himself.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: He sits in the Middle East in a very volatile region and to imagine this homicidal dictator with a nuclear weapon is something that we simply could not tolerate. But I don't want to downplay the importance of what has happened in North Korea or to talk about the dangers. There are clearly dangers with a regime of that type. We do believe that we have other ways to deal with North Korea.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: The Bush administration has dispatched a high level delegation to China. We have a live report from there in just a minute.
But Mike Chinoy is standing by from there.
First, let's check in with Suzanne Malveaux, who is at the White House -- good morning, Suzanne.
I understand the administration is trying to downplay this revelation. Are they considering military action at all?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's an option. It's one of the things that U.S. officials say they are not ruling out, the possibility of getting the United Nations involved. There have already been letters from members of Congress suggesting that perhaps there should be greater action.
But I'll tell you, Paula, it's really about high level diplomacy at this point, really getting U.S. allies to put the pressure on North Korea to comply. As you had mentioned, there are assistant secretaries of state that are in Beijing. They're going to be going to Japan as well as Russia to make the case.
The president is involved. He's going to be meeting with the Chinese president, Jiang Zemin, next Friday at his Crawford ranch. That was previously scheduled, but you can bet this is going to be a critical part of their talks. He's also going to be meeting with the leaders of Japan, as well as South Korea, at an economic summit in Mexico next weekend.
And there's also the economic options, the leverage, as well. The United States is considering the possibility of on a short-term basis cutting fuel assistance from North Korea for non-humanitarian needs, considering and putting the pressure on other governments not to give them technology or sophisticated equipment and also really putting pressure on China and Russia, major trade partners with North Korea, China in particular, for food and for fuel.
So it's diplomacy. It's economics. The very last resort would be military -- Paula.
ZAHN: Let's talk about the economics just very quickly, Suzanne. There is a widespread feeling, by treading the editorial pages, that it's going to cost a lot to buy compliance here. What are they talking about in terms of foreign aid?
MALVEAUX: Well, you're absolutely right, it is going to be a lot. And you're talking about trading partners. You're talking about Russia. You're talking about China. The United States really wants to put pressure on them to pull back that fuel and really negotiate when it comes to what they are willing to give up.
North Korea, as you know, very dependent on those countries as well as the United States. There had been some movement from North Korean officials that they were coming into line, coming into step. But, again, this really a setback, the United States hoping to put that kind of economic pressure on them to comply.
ZAHN: Thanks so much, Suzanne.
Let's turn to Mike Chinoy now, who has been to North Korea 12 times in the past decade alone.
What do you think is North Korea's game here?
MIKE CHINOY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Paula, the North Koreans, based on all the times I've been there, have made it very clear that regime survival is the key thing. The North Koreans saw the collapse of communism everywhere else and they saw South Korea booming and the U.S. very hostile. And so the North Koreans historically, over the last 15 years or so, have tried to use their military programs, their nuclear program in the early '90s, their missile program in the late '90s, as leverage, essentially signaling to the U.S. that they would be willing to trade those programs for what they call a change in America's hostile policy.
And even as they have been developing this new secret nuclear program, if you look at the official North Korean media, just in the past couple of weeks, it's very, very interesting. They say, I've got the Korean Central News Agency here from at the end of August. It says that, If there is any security issue over which the U.S. should worry, it's attributable to the Bush administration's hostile policy towards the DPRK." That's North Korea. "The DPRK has clarified more than once that if the U.S. will drop its hostile policy and have dialogue, North Korea will have dialogue with the U.S. to clear the U.S. of its worries over security."
So that's led, for example, South Korea's national security
adviser to say on Friday that the North Koreans may, with this admission, be putting this nuclear program on the table and actually trying to use it to say we'll negotiate with the United States if you are willing to cease this hostile policy.
The North has been very upset about being lumped with the axis of evil and very nervous to see the Bush administration talk about regime change in Iraq. The North Korean fear is they might be next. And that explains to some degree why they're trying to protect themselves in this way -- Paula.
ZAHN: Thanks for the overview, Mike.
Mike Chinoy reporting from China this morning. Suzanne Malveaux, thanks for your live update from the White House, as well.
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
'Troubling'>
