Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

QUESTION: Can we go back to Iraq for a moment? Russia has said today that there really shouldn't be an American assessment before the inspectors' assessment of the report, and yesterday Russia, or the Deputy Foreign Minister, was quoted as saying Russia is not going to put pressure on North Korea to do what the United States wants it to do.

I'm just wondering what kind of diplomatic efforts you've got in Russia going on. We know that the Foreign Minister is coming here on Friday for the Quartet, but I'm sure you're talking to them.

MR. BOUCHER:

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And as far as the issue of North Korea, I think if you look around -- what we said yesterday with the Japanese, what we have said consistently, what's been said by the Russians, the Chinese in their own meetings and their own fora -- everybody insists that denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is an essential part of moving forward. The European Union, in fact, had quite a clear statement on that and the Secretary repeated those statements yesterday to make clear that for North Korea to expect more interaction with the world, more benefits from the world, it had to get rid of these programs that violate its previous agreements and obligations.

QUESTION: In that connection, did you see the The Washington Times story this morning about --

MR. BOUCHER: I saw a lot of stories this morning.

QUESTION: -- China supposedly helping the North Koreans, providing ---

MR. BOUCHER: The question of some chemicals, perhaps. I'm afraid that given the kind of information that the story is reportedly purportedly based on, I won't be in a position to talk about it since it would involve intelligence matters for me to talk about any particular transfers or procurements.

I think we have made clear that North Korea's program to enrich uranium is a clear and serious violation of its previous commitments and obligations, not only to the International Atomic Energy Agency, to us under the Agreed Framework, also to the South Koreans and the Joint South-North Declaration, and, finally, to the world under the Nonproliferation Treaty. So any activity designed to further a program of nuclear enrichment is a clear violation of all its obligations and we have said that those programs need to be eliminated or we can't move forward in these relationships.

QUESTION: Right. But it's a violation for suppliers as well as recipients, isn't it?

MR. BOUCHER: Again, I can't talk about any particular contract, supplier or otherwise.

QUESTION: You're not identifying them. But I say without identifying them, they are getting held.

MR. BOUCHER: The question of nuclear suppliers group controls, the people who participate in that is a little different and a little more complicated, but --

QUESTION: No, but the missiles --

MR. BOUCHER: But yes, basically, anybody who is providing nuclear equipment, nuclear weapons-type supplies to North Korea, would be violating its obligations, as well.

QUESTION: Right.

QUESTION: Intelligence reports aside, are you satisfied that China is not assisting North Korea's nuclear weapons programs?

MR. BOUCHER: I couldn't make a judgment on that without having to base it on intelligence sources. I'm not in a position to do that.

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