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CNN Sunday Morning
Russia Offers Way Out of Standoff With North Korea
Aired January 19, 2003 - 10:06 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.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: A diplomatic solution is in the works in North Korea's nuclear dispute. Russia has presented what it is calling a packaged plan that it hopes will diffuse the standoff. The question is how will Pyongyang and Washington receive that proposal? CNN White House correspondent, Dana Bash, joining us now with some early indications on that.
Hi, Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Heidi. Well, the president -- three members of the president's national security team were out on the Sunday talk shows this morning talking about both North Korea and Iraq, but with regard to North Korea, a very different tone than Iraq. In terms of North Korea, the administration is still saying that the most important thing is to talk to North Korea's neighbors, to use the neighbors who have clout, any clout that they have with North Korea to put the pressure on that country to stop its nuclear program. The U.S. has two envoys from the State Department in the region right now to do that.
And on the show this morning, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice talked about the importance of making sure that this is an international problem.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: This is not a problem between the United States and North Korea. This is a problem for all concerned countries, particularly in the region. The Chinese have huge stake -- a huge stake in how this is resolved. Russia has a stake, Japan and of course South Korea. And so, our approach has been not to allow North Korea to make this a crisis between the United States and North Korea, but rather to engage the international community and particularly the regional powers in managing this problem.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: Now, with regard to a comment coming out of South Korea yesterday that perhaps the U.S. was considering using military options or military action in North Korea, U.S. officials are saying that that's not true, that the U.S. seeks a peaceful solution. But as it would for any country around the world, the Pentagon does have contingency plans if for some reason the United States would have to invade. But for now, there is absolutely no plans to do that, say U.S. officials. COLLINS: All right. On to the situation now with Iraq, Dana, what is the White House reaction from that perspective?
BASH: Very, very different tone on Iraq, as you've seen over the past few weeks. But these national security advisers that have been out this morning have been very, very strong in their language with regard to Iraq, saying in very kind of defiant tones almost that the onus is not on the inspectors who are moving around Iraq trying to find weapons of mass destruction. The onus is on Saddam Hussein to come clean, that that is what the U.N. resolution says, that that is what the president said when he went before the U.N. in September, that it's imperative for Saddam Hussein to come clean. And they use actually similar terms both Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice saying that the inspectors are hunting and pecking around Iraq, but it's really not their problem. It's Saddam Hussein's problem.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICE: The question is not can they find something. The question is -- is Iraq prepared to disarm? And all of the evidence to date of false declaration, documents hidden, interfering with reconnaissance flights, trying to put restrictions on reconnaissance flights. All of the evidence is the Iraqis are not complying. Time is running out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: The talk all was about what U.S. officials are calling the last phase of dealing with Iraq and that, they say, will start after a week from Monday. That's January 27. That is when the U.N. inspector inspector's report is due at the U.N. to say what exactly they believe Saddam Hussein has said that he has, what he said he -- what he has omitted from -- or kept from the inspectors. And that, U.S. officials say, is very, very important in deciding how and when to proceed in dealing with Iraq. But U.S. officials this morning were making it very clear that if the U.N. Security Council doesn't believe that it is time to invade Iraq, and the U.S. does, that the U.S. feels that it has the authority to take it on its own and use what U.S. officials are calling the coalition of the willing to do that -- Heidi.
COLLINS: All right, Dana Bash, live from the White House today. Thanks.
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 19, 2003 - 10:06 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: A diplomatic solution is in the works in North Korea's nuclear dispute. Russia has presented what it is calling a packaged plan that it hopes will diffuse the standoff. The question is how will Pyongyang and Washington receive that proposal? CNN White House correspondent, Dana Bash, joining us now with some early indications on that.
Hi, Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Heidi. Well, the president -- three members of the president's national security team were out on the Sunday talk shows this morning talking about both North Korea and Iraq, but with regard to North Korea, a very different tone than Iraq. In terms of North Korea, the administration is still saying that the most important thing is to talk to North Korea's neighbors, to use the neighbors who have clout, any clout that they have with North Korea to put the pressure on that country to stop its nuclear program. The U.S. has two envoys from the State Department in the region right now to do that.
And on the show this morning, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice talked about the importance of making sure that this is an international problem.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: This is not a problem between the United States and North Korea. This is a problem for all concerned countries, particularly in the region. The Chinese have huge stake -- a huge stake in how this is resolved. Russia has a stake, Japan and of course South Korea. And so, our approach has been not to allow North Korea to make this a crisis between the United States and North Korea, but rather to engage the international community and particularly the regional powers in managing this problem.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: Now, with regard to a comment coming out of South Korea yesterday that perhaps the U.S. was considering using military options or military action in North Korea, U.S. officials are saying that that's not true, that the U.S. seeks a peaceful solution. But as it would for any country around the world, the Pentagon does have contingency plans if for some reason the United States would have to invade. But for now, there is absolutely no plans to do that, say U.S. officials. COLLINS: All right. On to the situation now with Iraq, Dana, what is the White House reaction from that perspective?
BASH: Very, very different tone on Iraq, as you've seen over the past few weeks. But these national security advisers that have been out this morning have been very, very strong in their language with regard to Iraq, saying in very kind of defiant tones almost that the onus is not on the inspectors who are moving around Iraq trying to find weapons of mass destruction. The onus is on Saddam Hussein to come clean, that that is what the U.N. resolution says, that that is what the president said when he went before the U.N. in September, that it's imperative for Saddam Hussein to come clean. And they use actually similar terms both Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice saying that the inspectors are hunting and pecking around Iraq, but it's really not their problem. It's Saddam Hussein's problem.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICE: The question is not can they find something. The question is -- is Iraq prepared to disarm? And all of the evidence to date of false declaration, documents hidden, interfering with reconnaissance flights, trying to put restrictions on reconnaissance flights. All of the evidence is the Iraqis are not complying. Time is running out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: The talk all was about what U.S. officials are calling the last phase of dealing with Iraq and that, they say, will start after a week from Monday. That's January 27. That is when the U.N. inspector inspector's report is due at the U.N. to say what exactly they believe Saddam Hussein has said that he has, what he said he -- what he has omitted from -- or kept from the inspectors. And that, U.S. officials say, is very, very important in deciding how and when to proceed in dealing with Iraq. But U.S. officials this morning were making it very clear that if the U.N. Security Council doesn't believe that it is time to invade Iraq, and the U.S. does, that the U.S. feels that it has the authority to take it on its own and use what U.S. officials are calling the coalition of the willing to do that -- Heidi.
COLLINS: All right, Dana Bash, live from the White House today. Thanks.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
