Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
Nuclear Crisis
Aired July 24, 2003 - 08:33 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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Could North Korea soon have nuclear capabilities? The U.S. right now considering talks with Pyongyang because of that very prospect. North Korea admits that it's operating a nuclear plant at Yongbyon, and there are suspicions in the past few weeks that it may have a second secret facility, perhaps underground.
Ambassador Wendy Sherman, a former White House special adviser on North Korea, back with us here live in D.C. on AMERICAN MORNING.
Welcome back, Madam Ambassador. Good morning to you.
Part of the problem in this whole deal is trying to figure out what's posture, what's talk and what's not. Is the U.S. Government any closer right now to getting definitive word on what the ambitions nuclearwise are for the North Koreans?
AMB. WENDY SHERMAN, FMR. SPECIAL PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER ON NORTH KOREA: I think there's really only one way to test the intentions of North Korea, and that is to sit across a table from them and talk with them, to see whether they'll move back from this very dangerous path of a nuclear weapons program, and to see if step by step, they'll allow the inspectors back in, freeze their program, and then dismantle the entire program. We will never know whether they'll really do that unless we sit across a table with them, talk, and begin to test it.
HEMMER: Last time they talked face-to-face, it was April, several months ago. You know what came of it. Not much. Why would it be different now?
SHERMAN: Well, I'm not sure that it would be different now. The Bush administration has rightly wanted this to be a multilateral approach, because South Korea, Japan, China, and other countries have a lot at stake here in terms of what happens to North Korea.
But at the same time, we need to get talks under way, and not only discuss who sits at the table, but what's going to be on the table. So if talks happen again, which is rumored to occur sometime in the next few weeks, it's important that Assistant Secretary Jim Kelly come with instructions that allow him to not just simply say North Korea, you must stop, which of course it must, North Korea you must dismantle, which of course it must, but here's how to do it, here's what will happen if you do do it; now let's begin the serious talks of a negotiation to end this very dangerous situation.
HEMMER: Diplomatically, would you be willing to give North Korea the assurance that it would not come under U.S. attack, so long as it follows the instructions of dismantling the programs right now under way?
SHERMAN: What you're talking about is the security assurances that North Korea wants because above all else, the regime wants to survive. And that's why it looks to the United States for those assurances. And I think that it is important to give those assurances if North Korea, in fact, freezes its program, allows inspectors back in, then as long as talks go on, I would think we should be able to say that we will not take hostile action toward you, as long as these talks continue to produce positive results, and you step back and dismantle verifiably your entire nuclear weapons program.
HEMMER: Want to shift our attention if we could just for a moment here to Iraq. Want to get your views right now on these photos of the two sons. There seems to be a pretty good debate now taking part within the Defense Department. Would you do it? Would you release the photos and give the evidence to the Iraqi people that Uday and Qusay were killed two days ago?
SHERMAN: I think this is a very tough decision, because we're setting a precedent for what happens when American military is killed and whether photos of them are shown. And I'm not sure that even the photos will give the Iraqi people a real sense that these two have been killed, though I think there's every reason to believe that they have been killed.
So perhaps having witnesses come and see them, and letting the Iraqi people know, witnesses that they really understand, really believe in, that in fact Uday and Qusay have been killed may do the trick. I think this is a very tough decision for the Defense Department, and quite frankly, I'm glad I don't have to make it.
HEMMER: Yes, that's probably true. But in the end, you're always going to have doubters, are you not? You're never going to convince everybody.
SHERMAN: Absolutely, I think you will continue to have doubters, and that's why I think people have been reluctant, particularly the Army, to show these photos, because they're concerned about their own men. But Secretary Rumsfeld has said that the photos will be shown, and it will be interesting to see what shape they are shown in.
HEMMER: Very true. Possibly today. We'll wait and see. Ambassador Wendy Sherman, thanks for coming back. Always good to talk to you.
SHERMAN: Thank you. Good to be here.
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 July 24, 2003 - 08:33 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Could North Korea soon have nuclear capabilities? The U.S. right now considering talks with Pyongyang because of that very prospect. North Korea admits that it's operating a nuclear plant at Yongbyon, and there are suspicions in the past few weeks that it may have a second secret facility, perhaps underground.
Ambassador Wendy Sherman, a former White House special adviser on North Korea, back with us here live in D.C. on AMERICAN MORNING.
Welcome back, Madam Ambassador. Good morning to you.
Part of the problem in this whole deal is trying to figure out what's posture, what's talk and what's not. Is the U.S. Government any closer right now to getting definitive word on what the ambitions nuclearwise are for the North Koreans?
AMB. WENDY SHERMAN, FMR. SPECIAL PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER ON NORTH KOREA: I think there's really only one way to test the intentions of North Korea, and that is to sit across a table from them and talk with them, to see whether they'll move back from this very dangerous path of a nuclear weapons program, and to see if step by step, they'll allow the inspectors back in, freeze their program, and then dismantle the entire program. We will never know whether they'll really do that unless we sit across a table with them, talk, and begin to test it.
HEMMER: Last time they talked face-to-face, it was April, several months ago. You know what came of it. Not much. Why would it be different now?
SHERMAN: Well, I'm not sure that it would be different now. The Bush administration has rightly wanted this to be a multilateral approach, because South Korea, Japan, China, and other countries have a lot at stake here in terms of what happens to North Korea.
But at the same time, we need to get talks under way, and not only discuss who sits at the table, but what's going to be on the table. So if talks happen again, which is rumored to occur sometime in the next few weeks, it's important that Assistant Secretary Jim Kelly come with instructions that allow him to not just simply say North Korea, you must stop, which of course it must, North Korea you must dismantle, which of course it must, but here's how to do it, here's what will happen if you do do it; now let's begin the serious talks of a negotiation to end this very dangerous situation.
HEMMER: Diplomatically, would you be willing to give North Korea the assurance that it would not come under U.S. attack, so long as it follows the instructions of dismantling the programs right now under way?
SHERMAN: What you're talking about is the security assurances that North Korea wants because above all else, the regime wants to survive. And that's why it looks to the United States for those assurances. And I think that it is important to give those assurances if North Korea, in fact, freezes its program, allows inspectors back in, then as long as talks go on, I would think we should be able to say that we will not take hostile action toward you, as long as these talks continue to produce positive results, and you step back and dismantle verifiably your entire nuclear weapons program.
HEMMER: Want to shift our attention if we could just for a moment here to Iraq. Want to get your views right now on these photos of the two sons. There seems to be a pretty good debate now taking part within the Defense Department. Would you do it? Would you release the photos and give the evidence to the Iraqi people that Uday and Qusay were killed two days ago?
SHERMAN: I think this is a very tough decision, because we're setting a precedent for what happens when American military is killed and whether photos of them are shown. And I'm not sure that even the photos will give the Iraqi people a real sense that these two have been killed, though I think there's every reason to believe that they have been killed.
So perhaps having witnesses come and see them, and letting the Iraqi people know, witnesses that they really understand, really believe in, that in fact Uday and Qusay have been killed may do the trick. I think this is a very tough decision for the Defense Department, and quite frankly, I'm glad I don't have to make it.
HEMMER: Yes, that's probably true. But in the end, you're always going to have doubters, are you not? You're never going to convince everybody.
SHERMAN: Absolutely, I think you will continue to have doubters, and that's why I think people have been reluctant, particularly the Army, to show these photos, because they're concerned about their own men. But Secretary Rumsfeld has said that the photos will be shown, and it will be interesting to see what shape they are shown in.
HEMMER: Very true. Possibly today. We'll wait and see. Ambassador Wendy Sherman, thanks for coming back. Always good to talk to you.
SHERMAN: Thank you. Good to be here.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
