JAPAN:U.S UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE JOHN BOLTON HOPES THAT UNITED NATIONS WILL TAKE ISSUE OF NORTH KOREA'S NUCLEAR WEAPONS TO UN SECURITY COUNCIL
Record ID:
223042
JAPAN:U.S UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE JOHN BOLTON HOPES THAT UNITED NATIONS WILL TAKE ISSUE OF NORTH KOREA'S NUCLEAR WEAPONS TO UN SECURITY COUNCIL
- Title: JAPAN:U.S UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE JOHN BOLTON HOPES THAT UNITED NATIONS WILL TAKE ISSUE OF NORTH KOREA'S NUCLEAR WEAPONS TO UN SECURITY COUNCIL
- Date: 24th January 2003
- Summary: (U3) TOKYO, JAPAN (JANUARY 24, 2003)(REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. WIDE OF U.S. UNDER-SECRETARY OF STATE JOHN BOLTON AT PODIUM FOR NEWS CONFERENCE 0.06 2. SMV REPORTER TAKING NOTES 0.10 3. SCU (SOUNDBITE)(English) BOLTON SAYING: "All the options are on the table, but the question of sanctions is something that we have no immediate intentions of seeking. The resolution to this matter largely lies in North Korea's hands and, if it would take concrete steps to give up its nuclear weapons programme, that would be a good place to start." 0.29 4. SMV REPORTERS LISTENING AND TAKING NOTES 0.32 5. SCU (SOUNDBITE)(English) BOLTON SAYING: "It is not a matter of a quid pro quo negotiation, it is a matter involving the fundamental transformation of the relationship that we have been calling the bold initiative for some time. Now, what that requires is a substantial transformation by the North Koreans. It's not going to be a situation where we enter into negotiations that reward bad behaviour, such as the pursuit of a nuclear weapons programme, or where we follow their blackmail playbook." 1.04 6. VARIOUS, MORE OF REPORTERS TAKING NOTES / CLOSE-UP OF NOTEBOOK (2 SHOTS) 1.14 7. SCU (SOUNDBITE)(English) BOLTON SAYING: "You know, with North Korea, you don't have much assurance of anything, since so many of their facilities are camouflaged. Our best estimate is that they have not begun reprocessing, but I think it's the common view, and certainly that of the IAEA, that if they were to begin reprocessing it would be a matter of months before they could run the spent fuel rods through and begin extracting plutonium. "Of course, we also don't know everything there is to know about the uranium enrichment programme, and that and the capability of North Koreans to get weapons grade uranium is just as much concern as their ability to extract weapons grade plutonium." 1.58 8. WIDE OF NEWS CONFERENCE AND BOLTON SPEAKING AT THE PODIUM 2.03 9. SCU (SOUNDBITE)(English) BOLTON SAYING: "Well, let me say that we have very convincing evidence that Iraq maintains an extensive programme for the production and weaponisation of weapons of mass destruction and long range ballistic missiles that have been forbidden to it since the time of the Gulf War ceasefire resolution 687 in 1991. The issue before the Security Council and international community now is not what the inspectors have found or not found, the issue is whether Iraq is in compliance with the long string of Security Council resolutions requiring that its weapons of mass destruction be eliminated" 2.50 10. SMV U.S. EMBASSY OFFICIALS LISTENING 2.53 11. WIDE OF NEWS CONFERENCE 2.57 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 8th February 2003 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: TOKYO, JAPAN
- Country: Japan
- Reuters ID: LVA1JV2XMV4R9CONJZ783GCGHPVP
- Story Text: Washington's top arms control diplomat has said the
United States is still optimistic that the United Nations
nuclear watchdog will refer the issue of North Korea's weapons
programme to the United Nations Security Council.
John Bolton, United States Under-secretary of State, said
the United States was not in a hurry to push for economic
sanctions.
The United States expects the United Nations to take up
North Korea's nuclear arms programme soon, but won't press for
swift sanctions against Pyongyang, U.S. Under-secretary of
State John Bolton said on Friday (January 24).
Bolton, Washington's top arms control diplomat, said on
Wednesday (January 22) that he expected the U.N. nuclear
watch-dog, the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) to
refer the issue to the U.N. Security Council this week.
Diplomats in Vienna, where the IAEA is based, said no
consensus had been reached and that Russia in particular was
reluctant to escalate the crisis by sending it to the Security
Council, which has the power to punish Pyongyang with economic
sanctions, or even military action.
Asked about the possibility of economic sanctions, Bolton
said:
"All the options are on the table, but the question of
sanctions is something that we have no immediate intentions of
seeking. The resolution to this matter lies greatly in North
Korea's hands and, if it would take concrete steps to give up
its nuclear weapons programme, that would be a good place to
start."
Earlier in the day, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko
Kawaguchi said Tokyo favoured a cautious approach to the idea
of imposing economic sanctions.
Bolton said the United States was willing to put into
writing assurances that it did not intend to invade North
Korea.
Washington was also willing to seek a new basis for ties
with Pyongyang, if the communist state dismantled its nuclear
arms programme and took other steps regarding conventional
forces and human rights, he said.
"It is not a matter of a quid pro quo negotiation, it is a
matter involving the fundamental transformation of the
relationship that we have been calling the bold initiative for
some time. Now, what that requires is a substantial
transformation by North Koreans. It is not going to be a
situation where we enter into negotiations that reward bad
behaviour, such as the pursuit of a nuclear weapons programme
or where we follow their blackmail playbook," he told
reporters in Tokyo, the last stop in his trip to Asia.
Tensions rose on the Korean peninsula after U.S. officials
said in October that Pyongyang was pursuing a nuclear arms
programme in violation of a 1994 pact and escalated when North
Korea withdrew from a global nuclear non-proliferation treaty
two weeks ago. Bolton said it was difficult to tell whether
Pyongyang had started reprocessing fuel rods.
"With North Korea, you don't have much assurance of
anything, since so many of their facilities are camouflaged.
Our best estimate is that they have not begun reprocessing,
but I think it is the common view, and certainly that of the
IAEA, that if they were to begin reprocessing, it would be a
matter of months before they could run the spent fuel rods
through and begin extracting plutonium. We also don't know
everything there is to know about their uranium enrichment
programme. That and the capability of North Koreans to get
weapons grade uranium is just as much
concern as extracting weapons grade plutonium," Bolton added.
As for Iraq, Bolton said the U.S. was convinced of Iraq's
maintenance of weapons of mass destruction and would reveal
this evidence at an appropriate time.
"Let me say that we have very convincing evidence that
Iraq maintains an extensive programme for the production and
weaponisation of weapons of mass destruction and long range
ballistic missiles that have been forbidden to it since the
Gulf War ceasefire resolution 687 in 1991. The issue before
the Security Council and international community now is not
what the inspectors have found or not found. The issue is
whether Iraq is in compliance with the long string of Security
Council resolutions requiring that its weapons of mass
destruction be eliminated," he said.
U.N. inspectors have spent two months searching for
evidence of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons in Iraq,
which denies possessing them.
Washington accuses Baghdad of violating U.N. resolutions
by hiding weapons of mass destruction and has threatened to
attack if Iraq does not disarm
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