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CNN Sunday Morning

New York Times: North Korea Built Second Nuclear Plant

Aired July 20, 2003 - 08:09   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.


THOMAS ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR; Now to the crisis on the Korean Peninsula, where nuclear tensions are building. "The New York Times" is reporting there's strong evidence North Korea has built a second nuclear plant for producing high quality plutonium, the critical component of nuclear weapons. A U.S. official calls the latest development, quote, "very worrisome," an assessment echoed earlier this morning by Prime Minister Tony Blair.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLAIR: We want to resolve the issue of North Korea and its nuclear weapons program and the export of nuclear technology, by peaceful and constructive dialogue. That is our aim and that is what we wish to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Blair is in South Korea for talks with President Roh Moon-Hyun.

Well, a new CNN/"Time" poll conducted before this story surfaced shows most Americans view North Korea as a threat but differ on how immediate that danger is. Twenty-one percent see North Korea as an immediate threat, while 61 percent consider the threat long term but not immediate. Only 15 percent view North Korea as no threat at all.

Now when asked how should the U.S. handle North Korea? Sixty-two percent of those polled say Washington should only use diplomatic force. About one-third say military force.

Well, CNN crews in Seoul are closely watching this developing story this morning on the peninsula. For the latest, we want to hear from Seoul bureau chief Sohn Jie-Ae, she joins us now by the telephone.

SOHN JIE-AE, CNN BUREAU CHIEF, SEOUL: Good morning.

ROBERTS: I guess, the latest from there is what this morning? How is this being handled how? How are people reacting?

SOHN: Well, they are reacting positively to a meeting between the British Prime Minister Tony Blair and the South Korean President Roh Moon-Hyun. They came out of meetings saying that the South Korean problem was serious but they that they thought a peaceful resolution to the issue was still the most important thing. Mr. Blair talked about their multilateral framework being used to resolve the issue. All parties involved trying to tell North Korea that it is not acceptable to develop nuclear weapons. It is not acceptable to export nuclear technology. And if North Korea does agree to these terms, then the international community is ready to step in and to help North Korea get out of its isolation and to become a different type of country, as he said. So it does look like there were some positive moods that came out of the meeting between the two leaders.

ROBERTS: So we are hearing from British Prime Minister Tony Blair, what he has to say. Also senior Bush administration official quoted in the "New York Times" today saying that they are "very worrisome," but still the evidence here not conclusive.

What about South Korean and Japanese analysts? What are they saying about this? How are people really acting in those areas?

SOHN: Well, they're closely monitoring what's coming out of Washington at this point. But South Korean President Roh Moon-Hyun did say after in his press conference with Mr. Blair that he thought the situation right now was more stable than it was six, seven months ago. And he dismissed the notion that it was a crisis.

He based his assessment of the position today on the fact that a lot of the countries involve all agree a peaceful resolution is the best policy. An so he thinks that at this point, there is -- it is a positive outlook that he has on the peaceful resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue.

ROBERTS: There's also talk about this second secret plant that could be operating, unsure where but some say buried in the mountains. What more do we know on that?

SOHN: Well, South Korean officials have not confirmed this yet. They've monitored the reports coming out of the United States. But at this point they're saying that they have -- they don't have any information to confirm this and they're being very cautious. This is very in very in line with what South Korean officials had been handling the situation in the months since the -- it flared up late last year. South Korean officials are being very slow to confirm facts, they're being very, very cautious. And so this will be another way for them not to -- to try to not heat up the situation from what it already is.

ROBERTS: Seoul bureau chief, Sohn Jie-Ae, thank you very much.

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 20, 2003 - 08:09   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THOMAS ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR; Now to the crisis on the Korean Peninsula, where nuclear tensions are building. "The New York Times" is reporting there's strong evidence North Korea has built a second nuclear plant for producing high quality plutonium, the critical component of nuclear weapons. A U.S. official calls the latest development, quote, "very worrisome," an assessment echoed earlier this morning by Prime Minister Tony Blair.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLAIR: We want to resolve the issue of North Korea and its nuclear weapons program and the export of nuclear technology, by peaceful and constructive dialogue. That is our aim and that is what we wish to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Blair is in South Korea for talks with President Roh Moon-Hyun.

Well, a new CNN/"Time" poll conducted before this story surfaced shows most Americans view North Korea as a threat but differ on how immediate that danger is. Twenty-one percent see North Korea as an immediate threat, while 61 percent consider the threat long term but not immediate. Only 15 percent view North Korea as no threat at all.

Now when asked how should the U.S. handle North Korea? Sixty-two percent of those polled say Washington should only use diplomatic force. About one-third say military force.

Well, CNN crews in Seoul are closely watching this developing story this morning on the peninsula. For the latest, we want to hear from Seoul bureau chief Sohn Jie-Ae, she joins us now by the telephone.

SOHN JIE-AE, CNN BUREAU CHIEF, SEOUL: Good morning.

ROBERTS: I guess, the latest from there is what this morning? How is this being handled how? How are people reacting?

SOHN: Well, they are reacting positively to a meeting between the British Prime Minister Tony Blair and the South Korean President Roh Moon-Hyun. They came out of meetings saying that the South Korean problem was serious but they that they thought a peaceful resolution to the issue was still the most important thing. Mr. Blair talked about their multilateral framework being used to resolve the issue. All parties involved trying to tell North Korea that it is not acceptable to develop nuclear weapons. It is not acceptable to export nuclear technology. And if North Korea does agree to these terms, then the international community is ready to step in and to help North Korea get out of its isolation and to become a different type of country, as he said. So it does look like there were some positive moods that came out of the meeting between the two leaders.

ROBERTS: So we are hearing from British Prime Minister Tony Blair, what he has to say. Also senior Bush administration official quoted in the "New York Times" today saying that they are "very worrisome," but still the evidence here not conclusive.

What about South Korean and Japanese analysts? What are they saying about this? How are people really acting in those areas?

SOHN: Well, they're closely monitoring what's coming out of Washington at this point. But South Korean President Roh Moon-Hyun did say after in his press conference with Mr. Blair that he thought the situation right now was more stable than it was six, seven months ago. And he dismissed the notion that it was a crisis.

He based his assessment of the position today on the fact that a lot of the countries involve all agree a peaceful resolution is the best policy. An so he thinks that at this point, there is -- it is a positive outlook that he has on the peaceful resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue.

ROBERTS: There's also talk about this second secret plant that could be operating, unsure where but some say buried in the mountains. What more do we know on that?

SOHN: Well, South Korean officials have not confirmed this yet. They've monitored the reports coming out of the United States. But at this point they're saying that they have -- they don't have any information to confirm this and they're being very cautious. This is very in very in line with what South Korean officials had been handling the situation in the months since the -- it flared up late last year. South Korean officials are being very slow to confirm facts, they're being very, very cautious. And so this will be another way for them not to -- to try to not heat up the situation from what it already is.

ROBERTS: Seoul bureau chief, Sohn Jie-Ae, thank you very much.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com