Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
North Korea's Nuclear Plans Taking Center Stage in Washington
Aired January 06, 2003 - 07:32 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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: North Korea's nuclear plans are taking center stage in Washington this morning. South Korean diplomats may put a proposal on the table aimed at defusing the crisis during meetings the U.S. and Japan in Washington today.
Let's turn to State Department correspondent Andrea Koppel, who will give us a preview of what might come out of those meetings -- Andrea, good morning.
Happy new year.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Happy new year to you, Paula.
That proposal expected to include a South Korean recommendation for the United States and North Korea to compromise to end this nuclear impasse, with the U.S. agreeing to a non-aggression pact in exchange for the North Koreans agreeing to again put their nuclear weapons program on ice.
The U.S. position, however, been there, done that. They say this is exactly what they negotiated back in 1994. It's the North Koreans that broke that agreement and in order for this impasse to end, the U.S. is saying that the South Koreans and the Japanese should convince North Korea to freeze its nuclear weapons program first. The U.S. continuing to play hard ball.
One senior administration official said that the U.S. strategy over the next two days, to keep the U.S. allies on the reservation. They feel that the message that has been out there has been twisted. They say we need to remember how we got here, that it was the North Koreans who had a secret nuclear weapons program, Paula, all along, while it had said it had frozen it in exchange for U.S. deliveries of heavy fuel oil and also those two light water nuclear reactors -- Paula.
ZAHN: Andrea, just help us understand some of the pressure the administration is under now as you talk about what might come out of these meetings at a time when war talk against Iraq is heating up.
KOPPEL: Absolutely. Now, that is something, when you talk to officials publicly and privately they say will not affect their decision-making on North Korea. But clearly they cannot afford a major crisis on the Korean Peninsula at the same time that you have plans for a possible military invasion of Iraq.
The U.S. believes, however, Paula, that this dangerous game of brinkmanship is necessary because they say if they were to allow this to drag out, if they were to get back into negotiations with North Korea, the North Koreans could continue to develop nuclear weapons and the fear really is that North Korea, who now is believed to have one or two nuclear weapons, could have as many as six, seven or eight, and that they could use that as an ace in the hole and threaten to proliferate those nuclear weapons around the world -- Paula.
ZAHN: Andrea, thanks so much.
Appreciate that update.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Washington>
Aired January 6, 2003 - 07:32 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: North Korea's nuclear plans are taking center stage in Washington this morning. South Korean diplomats may put a proposal on the table aimed at defusing the crisis during meetings the U.S. and Japan in Washington today.
Let's turn to State Department correspondent Andrea Koppel, who will give us a preview of what might come out of those meetings -- Andrea, good morning.
Happy new year.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Happy new year to you, Paula.
That proposal expected to include a South Korean recommendation for the United States and North Korea to compromise to end this nuclear impasse, with the U.S. agreeing to a non-aggression pact in exchange for the North Koreans agreeing to again put their nuclear weapons program on ice.
The U.S. position, however, been there, done that. They say this is exactly what they negotiated back in 1994. It's the North Koreans that broke that agreement and in order for this impasse to end, the U.S. is saying that the South Koreans and the Japanese should convince North Korea to freeze its nuclear weapons program first. The U.S. continuing to play hard ball.
One senior administration official said that the U.S. strategy over the next two days, to keep the U.S. allies on the reservation. They feel that the message that has been out there has been twisted. They say we need to remember how we got here, that it was the North Koreans who had a secret nuclear weapons program, Paula, all along, while it had said it had frozen it in exchange for U.S. deliveries of heavy fuel oil and also those two light water nuclear reactors -- Paula.
ZAHN: Andrea, just help us understand some of the pressure the administration is under now as you talk about what might come out of these meetings at a time when war talk against Iraq is heating up.
KOPPEL: Absolutely. Now, that is something, when you talk to officials publicly and privately they say will not affect their decision-making on North Korea. But clearly they cannot afford a major crisis on the Korean Peninsula at the same time that you have plans for a possible military invasion of Iraq.
The U.S. believes, however, Paula, that this dangerous game of brinkmanship is necessary because they say if they were to allow this to drag out, if they were to get back into negotiations with North Korea, the North Koreans could continue to develop nuclear weapons and the fear really is that North Korea, who now is believed to have one or two nuclear weapons, could have as many as six, seven or eight, and that they could use that as an ace in the hole and threaten to proliferate those nuclear weapons around the world -- Paula.
ZAHN: Andrea, thanks so much.
Appreciate that update.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Washington>
