SOUTH KOREA: UNITED STATES OFFICIAL JOHN BOLTON GIVES PRESS CONFERENCE ON NORTH KOREA

Record ID: 337897

  • Title: SOUTH KOREA: UNITED STATES OFFICIAL JOHN BOLTON GIVES PRESS CONFERENCE ON NORTH KOREA
  • Date: 1st August 2003
  • Summary: (W2) SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (JULY 31, 2003) (REUTERS) 1. MV U.S. UNDERSECRETARY OF STATE JOHN BOLTON IS SEATED FOR SPEECH; SLV AUDIENCE 0.12 2. (SOUNDBITE) (English) BOLTON SAYING "For many in North Korea, life is a hellish nightmare. As reported by the State Department report on human rights, we believe that some four hundred thousand persons died in prison there since 1972 and starvation and executions were common." 0.29 3. MV MEMBERS OF EAST ASIA INSTITUTE 0.35 4. (SOUNDBITE) (English) BOLTON SAYING "While communist dictatorships were collapsing or reforming across the globe, there was even hope that Kim Il-sung's North Korea would follow suit. When power was passed to Kim Jong-Il, the world hoped he would be more enlightened and recognise the benefit of participating the global community as opposed to threatening and blackmailing." 0.57 5. MV AUDIENCE 1.02 6. (SOUNDBITE) (English) BOLTON SAYING "We believe that appropriate and timely action by the Security Council would compliment our efforts on the multilateral track in Beijing. Just as important, it would send a signal to the rest of the world that the council takes its responsibilities seriously." 1.18 7. MV AUDIENCE 1.25 8. (SOUNDBITE) (English) BOLTON SAYING "Kim Jong-il and his supporters have defied the unanimous will of the international community. But, if Pyongyang thought the international community would simply ignore its threats, it was mistaken." 1.38 9. MV HEAD TABLE/BOLTON SPEAKING WITH MEMBERS OF EAST ASIA INSTITUTE 1.44 (W2)SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (JULY 30, 2003) (REUTERS) 10. MV BOLTON MEETING SOUTH KOREAN FOREIGN MINISTER YOON YOUNG-KWAN (7 SHOTS) 2.25 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 16th August 2003 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA
  • Country: South Korea
  • Reuters ID: LVA4PGPTER7KNSVBTR61JDT601PG
  • Story Text: U.S. official says North Korea is a "hellish nightmare".

    Top U.S. arms negotiator John Bolton described
    North Korea on Thursday (July 31) s a "hellish nightmare"
    and said the communist state had accelerated its arms
    proliferation programmes in the past year.

    In a speech to the East Asia Institute, the
    undersecretary of state also said North Korean leader Kim
    Jong-il was mistaken if he thought his threats to develop
    and proliferate nuclear weapons would weaken U.S. and
    international resolve to halt Pyongyang's atomic ambitions.

    Bolton, widely seen as a Bush administration "hawk" on
    North Korea, also painted a bleak picture of life for the
    average North Korean with Kim at the helm.

    "For many in North Korea, life is a hellish nightmare."
    he said.

    Bolton, on a three-country Asian tour that will take
    him next to Tokyo, said the United States and its allies
    were working hard to persuade North Korea to start
    multilateral talks on ending its nuclear weapons programme.

    But he also said two other tracks should be pursued,
    too. He said the U.N. Security Council needed to take
    "appropriate and timely action" to send a signal to the
    world it took the North Korean crisis seriously. The crisis
    began last October when Washington said Pyongyang had said
    it had a covert nuclear programme.

    Bolton, who visited China before arriving in Seoul,
    said 11 countries would continue their efforts to try to
    thwart North Korean exports of weapons and other illicit
    goods.


  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register