Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

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QUESTION:  North Korea.  Could you give us your evaluation of the situation, what the Secretary is doing and how you see the events from North Korea over the last couple of days?

MR. REEKER:  Well, certainly, North Korea's actions over the past three days raise serious concerns by disrupting the arrangements that the International Atomic Energy Agency has in terms of monitoring of nuclear material and facilities at Yongbyon.  This also belies North Korea's announced justification that they want to produce electricity.  Spent fuel rods, I would point out, have no relevance for the generation of electricity,

So we continue to be in very close contact with the International Atomic Energy Agency as well as with our friends and allies, including, of course, South Korea, on these latest moves by the North Koreans. 

We call upon North Korea to respond to the IAEA's repeated calls and requests to hold urgently needed discussions on the safeguard issues at Yongbyon and to allow IAEA to replace or restore the seals and cameras that the North has damaged.

Over the weekend, Secretary Powell has been in touch with a number of his counterparts, with the South Korean Foreign Minister Ch'oe, the Japanese Foreign Minister Kawaguchi, Foreign Minister Tang of China, Russian Foreign Minister Ivanov, and this morning the Secretary spoke again with Foreign Minister Ivanov as well as with Foreign Minister De Villepin of France and Foreign Secretary Straw of the United Kingdom.

The international community is in agreement that North Korea's actions are a challenge to all responsible nations and the international community is making clear that North Korea's relations with the outside world hinge on the elimination of its nuclear programs.  North Korea only deepens its international isolation with these recent actions. 

So, as we've said before, we seek a peaceful resolution of the situation that North Korea has created by its pursuit of a nuclear weapons program, and we're going to continue the consultations with friends and allies that I've just discussed.

Any other questions on this subject?

Yes, ma'am.

QUESTION:  Yes.  Are we negotiating?  Why aren't we negotiating?  Should we be considering military action? 

MR. REEKER:  I think I've made quite clear, as we have before, that it's North Korea's responsibility to, first of all, eliminate its nuclear weapons program verifiably, and more immediately, to focus on talking to the IAEA about reestablishing that which North Korea has dismantled in terms of seals and cameras and other safeguards. 

We will not give in to blackmail.  The international community will not enter into dialogue in response to threats or broken commitments, and we're not going to bargain or offer inducements for North Korea to live up to the treaties and agreements that it has signed. 

The violation of these international agreements will have consequences for North Korea before the United Nations.  And so we call upon them to respond to the request of the IAEA to hold the needed discussions, allow replacement and restoration of seals and cameras that the North has damaged, and we will continue to consult about this with our allies and at the United Nations, I'm sure.  Everyone in the international community is seized with the issue and we will be following it very closely.

Yes, Elise.

QUESTION:  Are you going to be seeking any type of action in the Security Council to hold North Korea accountable for these violations of the Nonproliferation Treaty?

MR. REEKER:  I think, clearly, that remains to be seen as we watch this over coming days and continue to be in touch with friends and allies.  That includes Security Council members.  As I noted, the Secretary has had a number of conversations about North Korea just in the last few hours, in fact, and certainly over the weekend as these events have unfolded. 

We're in close contact with the IAEA to confirm exactly what steps North Korea has taken and to keep monitoring that situation.  And obviously, this is an issue that will be of interest to the United Nations because North Korea is in violation of many of its international commitments, including the International Atomic Energy Agency Safeguards Agreement, the Nonproliferation Treaty, the North-South Agreement on Denuclearization, as well as the Agreed Framework with us. 

So these are serious issues and we want to follow it very closely and we've made quite clear that North Korea is only deepening its own isolation by taking these recent actions.

Arshad.

QUESTION:  What is your reaction to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mamedov's statement that essentially blaming the United States for North Korea's recent actions and suggesting that President Bush's comment calling North Korea part of an "axis of evil" may have helped precipitate a series of bad behavior by Pyongyang?

MR. REEKER:  In terms of the Russians, and I certainly noticed their statement today by the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman reflecting the international consensus that North Korea's relations with the outside world hinge on the elimination of its nuclear weapons program in a visible and verifiable manner.  As I indicated, the Secretary's been in close contact with Foreign Minister Ivanov.  They spoke this morning.  They had spoken earlier over the weekend following their meetings, of course, here in Washington at the end of last week. 

So I think the entire international community, including Russia, is quite unified and clear in the view that North Korea has to take its responsibilities seriously to live up to its international agreements and needs to respond to the International Atomic Energy Agency, as I outlined, and needs to verifiably, visibly, eliminate its nuclear weapons program.

QUESTION:  You don't reject Mamedov's suggestion that President Bush is somehow responsible or to blame for North Korea's actions?

MR. REEKER:  I think that's totally absurd.  North Korea has taken its actions quite clearly in violation of a number of international agreements and North Korea is the country responsible for deepening its isolation with the recent actions.  The international community is not going to respond to this kind of blackmail.  North Korea is capable of taking the appropriate actions to end and eliminate its nuclear weapons program and to work with the IAEA to restore the cameras and seals that they've damaged, and that would be a first sign of trying to reengage with the international community.

We have made quite clear, as you know, that the United States had been prepared to take bold new steps with North Korea and to help North Korea come out of its isolation.  But with the disclosure of their nuclear weapons program, we've also been quite clear that it's not possible to move forward in those steps that we had been prepared to take.

Yes, sir.

QUESTION:  The discussions that you refer to that North Korea should get involved in are only with the IAEA and nobody else?  I'm a little confused.  You referred earlier to a statement --

MR. REEKER:  Well, North Korea took steps in recent days to damage and dismantle certain verification mechanisms that they have agreed to in terms of their relationship with the International Atomic Energy Agency, and they need to respond to the request from IAEA to discuss the safeguards in that regard.

QUESTION:  I see.  So those are the only discussions that should occur now with North Korea, between North Korea and the IAEA?  You're ruling out any other negotiations, discussions with North Korea by the United States or any of its other four partners?  Is that the --

MR. REEKER:  Again, I think I already answered the question when I told you that the United States and others in the international community are not going to sort of give in to blackmail.  North Korea knows what steps it needs to take if they want to engage with the international community.  We don't enter into dialogue with someone as a response to threats or broken commitments, and we're not going to bargain or offer inducements for North Korea to live up to treaties and agreements that they've signed.

QUESTION:  Without -- I mean, I understand that no inducements or bargaining are allowed by -- under US policy by the United States or the countries in the region.  But are you also saying that you don't want any diplomatic contacts of any kind with North Korea until it restores these monitoring devices?

MR. REEKER:  I think any contacts that any country chooses to have should be to reiterate the points that we're all in agreement upon in the international community.  You've seen the statement from the Russians, the statements from other governments.  We've been coordinating, consulting very closely with friends and allies.  I've listed for you the countries where Secretary Powell has been in contact with his counterparts.  And there is a strong unanimous consensus among these countries and in the international community that North Korea needs to live up to its commitments, and we've talked about what those commitments are.  And breaking such commitments is not the way to try to engage with the international community.  Threats and broken commitments are not what we'll respond to.

QUESTION:  But are you convinced that there is also a strong consensus against any negotiations or discussions or diplomatic contacts with North Korea?

MR. REEKER:  Every country has to make their own decisions about their diplomatic contacts and discussions.  And what we've been quite clear, just as our messages from here are quite clear, is that the North Koreans need to hear the concerns of the international community and respond to the IAEA and do what they need to do; that is, end their nuclear weapons program verifiably and visibly.  And that's a message we think everyone in the international community should be and, in fact, is passing to North Korea through whatever form that discussion should take.

QUESTION:  I'm sorry just to keep following up on this.  Senator Lugar seemed to disagree over the weekend and said that there has to, at some point, be negotiations.  Is that -- is he -- tell me, is he misinformed or wrong or -- ?

MR. REEKER:  I didn't see Senator Lugar's remarks.  I doubt very much that he's misinformed.  I think what we're all working on is discussing with allies and friends the concerns we have about the steps that North Korea has taken which fly in the face of their own interests, isolate them further from the rest of the international community, and violate a number of commitments that they have made. 

I'm not exactly sure what you are suggesting one should negotiate.  We don't enter into a dialogue based on threats and broken commitments, and so we are not going to respond to any blackmail.  We have made quite clear that we were prepared to respond to North Korea, prepared to move forward with North Korea in a bold new way until they decided to take the actions that they have, including beginning a nuclear weapons program, and now violating their commitments to the IAEA.

QUESTION:  A follow-up to Steve's question.  Is the New York channel still open?  Can we confirm that?  And did you have some diplomatic exchange through New York channel in recent days and in the future?

MR. REEKER:  By New York channel you're describing the ability to discuss with North Korean representatives in New York through their UN Mission and ours anything with North Korea.  Of course that is open if they choose to discuss or care to pass messages through that.  I'm not aware of any particular discussions that have taken place in that regard in recent days.

QUESTION:   Another topic?

MR. REEKER:  Let's just make sure that we haven't exhausted this.

Yes, ma'am.

We'll come back to you.

QUESTION:  North Korea.  Are you, then, expecting other countries, maybe neighboring countries, to break the isolation first and then US will step in or maybe IAEA, and then --

MR. REEKER:  I think I've made quite clear what we in the international community are calling upon North Korea to do in terms of engaging with the IAEA in discussions on how to replace or restore the seals and equipment that they have damaged in recent days and the steps that they need to take.

If you go back to the statements from KEDO, if you go back to other statements from ministries around the world, everybody is in unison on this that North Korea needs to take these steps.  That's what will help North Korea move away from its complete isolation in the international community.  And we are in very close touch with friends and neighbors, many in the region --  Japan, South Korea, Russia, China -- as well as with others in the international community, and certainly at the United Nations we'll be very seized with this matter.

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