16 December 2002
Transcript: U.S., Japan Cooperating Closely on Security Matters
(Powell also says "there are problems" with Iraqi arms declaration)
(5030)
Secretary of State Colin Powell said that the United States and Japan
are working closely together on issues such as North Korea, Iraq, and
the war on terrorism.
Powell spoke to reporters at the State Department December 16 along
with Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz during a break in
their meetings with their Japanese counterparts -- Japan's Minister
for Foreign Affairs Yoriko Kawaguchi and Minister of State for Defense
and Director-General of the Defense Agency Shigeru Ishiba -- in the
U.S.-Japan Two Plus Two Ministerial.
Powell described the recent announcement that North Korea would resume
operation and construction of its nuclear facilities as a "regrettable
step backward." He said both United States and Japan "call on the DPRK
(Democratic People's Republic of Korea) to reconsider this decision."
Powell said the United States is "not on the verge of war" with North
Korea. However, he said, it is incumbent upon North Korea to end its
development of nuclear weapons.
Deputy Secretary of Defense Wolfowitz added that "the real threat to
North Korea is its collapsing economy," not the United States.
Asked by reporters about the Iraqi declaration on its weapons
programs, Powell said "We said at the very beginning that we
approached it with skepticism, and the information I have received so
far is that that skepticism is well founded. There are problems with
the declaration."
He said the United States is sharing the problems it sees with the
United Nations inspection agencies, and is in discussions with the
other permanent members of the U.N. Security Council.
[W]e will withhold making a final judgment or final statement until we
have completed our analysis, completed our discussions with UNMOVIC
and IAEA and our colleagues on the permanent membership of the
Security Council," he said, "and then statements will be forthcoming,
I expect, toward the end of the week after Dr. Blix makes his
presentation to the Security Council on Thursday."
Powell said if Iraq does not cooperate with U.N. weapons inspections
or again violates a U.N. resolution, "then I believe the international
community has an obligation to act and do whatever is necessary to
disarm Iraq of its weapons of mass destruction, and that includes the
use of military force."
"With respect to what Japan might or might not do ... I would not
speculate other than to say that we are in the closest coordination,"
he added.
Powell called Japan "a good friend and close ally in the international
coalition against terrorism."
"We appreciate the sense of commitment our Japanese friends conveyed
today as we continue this very important campaign," he said.
Powell and Wolfowitz were joined at the press availability by the
Japanese foreign minister and defense minister. The four officials
were to continue discussions afterwards as part of the U.S.-Japan
Two-Plus-Two Ministerial Meeting.
Following is the transcript of the December 16 press availability:
(begin transcript)
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
December 16, 2002
PRESS AVAILABILITY
Two Plus Two Ministerial with U.S. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell,
U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, Minister for Foreign
Affairs of Japan, Her Excellency Yoriko Kawaguchi, and Director
General, Defense Agency of Japan, His Excellency Shigeru Ishiba
December 16, 2002
Loy Henderson Auditorium
Washington, D.C.
(1:15 p.m. EST)
SECRETARY POWELL: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Deputy
Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz and I have just completed very
good meetings with our colleagues, Japanese Foreign Minister Kawaguchi
and Minister of State for Defense Ishiba. Our meetings took place in
the context of the US-Japan Security Consultative Committee, also
known as the Two Plus Two.
As you may recall, we were not able to meet last year because of the
September 11th attacks, so I am very pleased that we were able today
to resume our meetings.
We spent much of our time discussing the war on terrorism. Japan has
been a good friend and close ally in the international coalition
against terrorism and we appreciate the sense of commitment our
Japanese friends conveyed today as we continue this very important
campaign.
We also discussed the full range of issues that come within the scope
of our security alliance. On the situation in Iraq, we agreed on the
need for full Iraqi compliance with all United Nations Security
Council resolutions. We also agreed to coordinate closely should Iraq
fail to cooperate with the international community.
We also agreed that North Korea's December 12th announcement that it
would restart its nuclear power generation and construction program is
a regrettable step backward for the DPRK. We call on the DPRK to
reconsider this decision.
We noted that the international community, including Russia, China and
the European Union, is united in calling for a denuclearized Korean
Peninsula. As President Bush has said repeatedly, the United States
seeks a peaceful resolution to this problem. We have no intention of
attacking North Korea. Quite the contrary, we have been working with
the Japanese and the South Koreans and the Russians and the Chinese in
reaching out to North Korea to try to assist them with their problems
of poverty, with their economic problems. And that effort to move
forward in dialogue with North Korea has been stopped and put back by
North Korea's actions with respect to enriching uranium. And their
announcement to also open up Yongbyon has complicated our efforts to
reach out to North Korea.
North Korea must respect international nonproliferation regimes and
honor its commitments under the NPT, its IAEA Safeguards Agreement,
the South-North Joint Declaration on the Denuclearization of the
Korean Peninsula, and the US-North Korea Agreed Framework.
We strongly support IAEA Director General El Baradei's call on North
Korea not to take any unilateral actions that might further complicate
the IAEA's ability to verify the North's inventory of nuclear
material. North Korea's decision to lift the freeze on its nuclear
facilities flies in the face of the international consensus that the
North Korean regime must fulfill all its commitments and, in
particular, dismantle its covert nuclear weapons program in a complete
and verifiable manner.
The United States will not enter into dialogue in response to threats
or broken commitments and we will not bargain or offer inducements for
North Korea to live up to the treaties and agreements it has signed.
We seek a peaceful resolution and will continue the closest
consultation with our friends in the region, and especially with
Japan.
We also had a productive discussion of missile defense in which we
agreed that missile defense is an increasingly viable and attractive
option, given the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and
their means of delivery. Deputy Secretary Wolfowitz and I welcome the
important role missile defense plays in Japan's strategic
considerations and look forward to continuing to work closely with
Japan on this issue.
My colleagues and I also discussed issues pertaining to the stationing
of U.S. Forces in Japan. Mr. Wolfowitz and I reiterated our commitment
that American forces would be good neighbors, good guests in Japan,
and especially in Okinawa. We welcome progress in relocating Marine
Corps Air Station Futenma to another site in Okinawa and we also
discussed the plan to eliminate PCB wastes at our bases. These
measures should reduce the impact of our military presence in Japan.
Finally, we all agreed to consider ways of further strengthening our
security relationship so that our alliance can be an even more vibrant
and responsive element in our efforts to pursue regional and global
stability. And we look forward to continuing our discussions over
lunch, and now I would invite my colleague, Foreign Minister
Kawaguchi, to say a few words.
FOREIGN MINISTER KAWAGUCHI: Thank you. What I wish to say was entirely
covered by Secretary Powell and so there isn't much need to repeat.
Let me say that this was the first Two Plus Two, the first Security
Consultative Committee meeting in two years.
(Pause for microphone check.)
FOREIGN MINISTER KAWAGUCHI: Well, this is the first Two Plus Two for
SCC in two years, and as we've had the 9/11 terrorist attacks, as well
as Iraqi and North Korean issues in the intervening period, it was,
therefore, most useful to have had this discussion with this timing
now.
We conducted our discussions in a very friendly and congenial
atmosphere, very much reflective of our alliance, and we engaged in
very substantive discussions and we found this very useful.
We discussed various matters, but in our meeting today we confirmed
that while a peaceful resolution is desirable for the weapons of mass
destruction issue of Iraq, our countries will cooperate and coordinate
even more closely should the international community need to take
further action in accordance with the UN resolution.
With regard to the North Korean issue, which includes the nuclear and
missile issues as well, we will closely coordinate our positions in
order to work with perseverance for their peaceful resolution. And we
reaffirmed that it is important for Japan, the United States and the
Republic of Korea to maintain close coordination, and that North
Korea, in response to the message of the international community,
needs to, in the first place, dismantle their nuclear weapons related
program. It is important for North Korea to fully understand that
point.
As for Japan, well, we have already started the Japan-North Korea
normalization talks. We have that channel of communication and we
believe that this will provide an important channel for the resolution
of the security issues, as well as the abduction issue.
Concerning issues related to the stationing of US Forces in Japan, the
role that US Forces in Japan play in Japan and East Asia is very
important. We reaffirmed that point and will also reconfirm the
importance of improving the administration of the Japan-US Status of
Forces Agreement and implementing the final report of SACO, or Special
Action Committee on Okinawa. The Japanese side raised the issue of the
time limit regarding the use of a substitute facility for Futenma Air
Station in accordance with the cabinet decision of 1999, and work will
proceed towards the relocation and return of the Air Station on the
basis of the basic plan adopted this past July.
Japan will cherish the relations we have with the United States and
will maintain a coordination with each other in order to respond to
various circumstances that may arise. And I think it was very
important that we were able to reconfirm that importance.
Thank you.
DEPUTY SECRETARY WOLFOWITZ: Thank you. It's been an honor to represent
Secretary Rumsfeld at this meeting with Minister Kaqwaguchi and
Minister Ishiba. The Secretary was unable to be here today but
believes very strongly in the importance of this relationship between
our two countries. Indeed, he served on the US-Japan Advisory
Committee some twenty years ago, at a time when our Ambassador in
Japan was Mike Mansfield who was famous for saying there was no
relationship in the world, bar none, that was more important than the
US-Japan relationship.
So our belief that it remains vitally important for stability and
peace in the Pacific region, one of the most important, if not the
most important, regions in the world. And indeed, Japan is our partner
globally in many important activities that support security and
stability.
In the war on terrorism, indeed, Japan's important participation in
the global war on terrorism and her valuable contributions to the
Afghan reconstruction effort have been an important part of coalition
activities. Since December of 2001, Japan has provided over 60 million
gallons of fuel to coalition vessels engaged in Operation Enduring
Freedom, and Japan will soon be deploying an Aegis ship to the
operation. The state-of-the-art electronics and communications systems
on that ship will be a significant benefit to coalition forces.
In addition, and quite importantly, Japan has taken a leadership role
in the efforts to finance and implement the reconstruction activities
in Afghanistan. As a country, it has pledged $500 million dollars to
Afghan reconstruction efforts, including roads, education,
humanitarian projects, and these efforts are as important as anything
we do on the military side and contributing to long-term stability in
Afghanistan. We appreciate them very much.
As Secretary Powell mentioned, we discussed a number of important
regional and international security issues, perhaps most significantly
Iraq and Korea, and we had extensive discussions about our very close
defense cooperation, including in the area of missile defense, where
we believe that Japan, with its advanced technology and advanced
science capabilities, can contribute to its own defense and to ours in
joint cooperative efforts which we look forward to implementing.
Thank you.
DEFENSE MINISTER ISHIBA: Together with Foreign Minister Kawaguchi, I
had discussions with Secretary Powell and Deputy Secretary Wolfowitz.
I feel it was very important that we have had very useful discussions.
The ministers have already stated everything that needs to be said.
I believe we are faced with challenges of an entirely new age. And how
are we to respond to them? How are we to deter them? On this question,
I believe Japan and the US side have been able to share a common
perception that I believe has been very useful. Also, terrorism is
seen as a challenge against freedom and democracy, and therefore we
need to eradicate terrorism. On this point, again, I believe it is
very important that our two countries see eye to eye.
With regard to ballistic missile defense and other issues, I believe
we have found common ground in many cases and the question now is how
Japan, with its own initiative, address this question. That, I
believe, is the homework assignment given to us.
As for CONPLAN, the so-called CONPLAN, our two countries did validate
the plan, which means that in the future this plan will begin to play
an important role as a progressive one.
That is all I have to say. Thank you.
MR. BOUCHER: If we could start the questions with Mr. Schweid from the
Associated Press.
QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, North Korea is saying the signing of a
non-aggression treaty with the United States is the only way to
prevent a war on the Peninsula. You said in your remarks today that
the U.S. has no intention of attacking North Korea. Is there a virtue
in trying to commit that to formalize that in some way?
SECRETARY POWELL: The first thing that has to be done is for North
Korea to stop this activity with respect to enriched uranium or
putting their reactor back online by removing plutonium from the
stocks at Yongbyon. And then we can determine how to move forward with
respect to dialogue.
North Korea knows the United States does not intend to start a war
with North Korea. All of our friends in the region know it. The
President has made this clear repeatedly, as have I, as have other
members of the administration. And the issue of a treaty suggests that
we should pay something right now for their misbehavior. What we can't
do and won't do is reward North Korea for its misbehavior.
The whole international community has expressed a willingness to
assist North Korea during this time of difficulty with respect to
starvation, with respect to a lack of energy, with respect to a
failing economy. You have to keep in mind that when this story broke a
few months ago, Japan had committed to starting to move forward with
respect to normalization, we had begun to open routes north for
railroad lines to go from South Korea to North Korea. The community,
the international community, was responding to North Korea's needs and
what appeared to be some reaching out on the part of North Korea.
It all went in the other direction when it became clear they were
enriching uranium. This is the time for North Korea to make it known
to the world that they will not do that and they will not take any
precipitous action with respect to their facilities and the reactor at
Yongbyon. Then we can move forward.
MR. BOUCHER: I would like to invite a question from the Japanese side,
Mr. Osako of the Asahi Shimbun, please.
QUESTION: Related to this question, again, on North Korea, I would
like to ask this question of Foreign Minister Kawaguchi and Secretary
Powell. North Korea has announced its reactivation of nuclear
facilities and construction, and the situation on the Korean Peninsula
has become tougher. But the Japanese side wishes to proceed with
dialogue with North Korea, but the United States is not in position to
engage in dialogue with North Korea, so the positions of the two
countries differ.
Now you have the two countries have stressed from time to time the
Japan -- the close coordination between Japanese and the United
States. Now, I wonder now how you see the passage from the present
state, the resolution of the current state in a more concrete way?
FOREIGN MINISTER KAWAGUCHI: Well, between the governments of Japan and
the United States, I think you suggested that there is a fundamental
difference of position. Actually, between our two governments there is
no difference, no fundamental difference of position -- absolutely
none in that respect.
That said, we did discuss nuclear development by North Korea in our
meeting earlier today. Now, to resolve this matter in a peaceful
manner, Japan, US, and the Republic of Korea will need to maintain a
close coordination, and that is extremely important. And as Secretary
Powell mentioned, North Koreans will first have to dismantle their
uranium enrichment program. They need to do that in the first
instance. And then under the Framework Agreement, the freezing of
related facilities need to be maintained.
That is a message that Japan has communicated to North Korea on
numerous occasions. So there is no difference in the awareness of our
two countries, nor any difference between our two countries in terms
of the response we take.
Now, Japan is engaged in normalization talks with North Korea; in
other words, we do have a channel for dialogue with DPRK. And through
that channel, we've been communicating to DPRK the sort of thing that
I said, and also with regard to abduction issue, we've been asking
them to elucidate the facts and also have been asking DPRK, or telling
DPRK that it will be important for them to return the families of the
abductees to Japan.
SECRETARY POWELL: I agree completely with my colleague. Our positions
are identical. We have been in the closest touch on this matter since
the very beginning, not only with Japan, but with South Korea, with
Russia and with China. The United States is not seeking to precipitate
a crisis. And there are ways for North Korea to communicate with us
and for us to communicate with North Korea.
And we stand ready to move forward once North Korea does what I
believe it is obliged to do, and that is to end this activity with
respect to the enrichment of uranium and to, frankly, pull back from
the decisions that they made last week concerning the removal of
cameras and seals and other protection items from their reactor
facility and the construction site.
MR. BOUCHER: Let's go to Betsy Steuart of NBC.
QUESTION: Mr. Secretary and Mr. Wolfowitz, can either of you offer an
evaluation of the 12,000-page document that the Iraqis gave to the UN
based on the US assessment of these documents? And if Iraq isn't
forthcoming in providing lists of scientists or access to scientists,
is this a redline issue for this government?
SECRETARY POWELL: We have been analyzing the declaration for a week
now, and we have received some preliminary reports, but the analysis
is continuing and I will wait for the task force working on it to
complete their work before making a definitive statement.
We said at the very beginning that we approached it with skepticism,
and the information I have received so far is that that skepticism is
well founded. There are problems with the declaration. We are sharing
the problems we see with UNMOVIC and IAEA and we are in discussions
with the other permanent members of the Security Council.
But we will withhold making a final judgment or final statement until
we have completed our analysis, completed our discussions with UNMOVIC
and IAEA and our colleagues on the permanent membership of the
Security Council, and then statements will be forthcoming, I expect,
toward the end of the week after Dr. Blix makes his presentation to
the Security Council on Thursday.
The Resolution 1441 provides for those who need to be interviewed to
be made available, and if Iraq does not comply with that requirement
of the resolution, I'm sure the international community will take note
and decide what action is appropriate. But I would not like to
characterize what might or might not happen in the future at this
point.
Paul.
MR. WOLFOWITZ: I just agree with every word the Secretary said.
MR. BOUCHER: I invite a question from the Japanese side.
QUESTION: I am Takashi from NHK. A question for all four of you. My
question is as follows, and that is Japan's coordination regarding the
Iraqi situation. The four of you, in your respective initial remarks,
did refer to Iraq. In case new international cooperation is needed
vis-à-vis Iraqi situation, I understand you confirmed in your meeting
that Japan and US will engage in close coordination. When you speak of
new international cooperation, I believe you envisage military action
against Iraq.
If that military action against Iraq becomes inevitable, Japan has
various legal constraints, and therefore cannot have its self-defense
forces participate in combat action. So I wonder what sort of
assistance US considers would be appropriate by Japan or what sort of
assistance the US would hope to get from Japan, and I wonder what sort
of support Japan considers it possible to provide.
SECRETARY POWELL: President Bush, and I think all world leaders, hope
that this matter can be resolved peacefully. But if Iraq does not
cooperate and, once again, violates a UN resolution, then I believe
the international community has an obligation to act and do whatever
is necessary to disarm Iraq of its weapons of mass destruction, and
that includes the use of military force.
It remains to be seen whether Iraq will cooperate. It remains to be
seen what the UN will do in the absence of cooperation.
With respect to what Japan might or might not do, consistent with
their basic laws and their constitution, that's an issue I really must
yield to my colleague to address and I would not speculate other than
to say that we are in the closest coordination and it is up to the
Government of Japan and the people of Japan to determine how they
might respond in the face of a mandate from the international
community to do something about Iraq's lack of cooperation.
FOREIGN MINISTER KAWAGUCHI: In our meeting today, as I mentioned
earlier, we exchanged our views on Iraq, and of course a peaceful
resolution is most desirable, but if further action by the
international community would become necessary in accordance with the
Security Council resolution, then our two countries will engage an
even closer coordination. That is what we said.
As far as Japan is concerned, should there be material breach of the
UN resolution, and military action becomes inevitable, then what
response would Japan take? Now, in the first place, we have to
remember that the problem is caused by the weapons of mass destruction
of Iraq and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. So Japan
sees this as a challenge for the entire international community.
Japan, as a responsible member of the international community, needs
to consider what action, what response will be appropriate for Japan
as a responsible member of the international community. And we have to
decide on that with our own initiative, support for refugee, support
for the neighboring countries around Iraq. These are possible areas we
will have to take into consideration -- these and other options. And
we are, in fact, currently considering all sorts of possibilities.
We communicated this to the US side. A special envoy of the Prime
Minister visited neighboring countries of Iraq. At that time, the
special envoy explained that in case there is military action, refugee
assistance and assistance for the neighboring countries would be
necessary, or rather, these were the points raised by the neighboring
countries. So we'll keep in mind various possibilities.
MR. BOUCHER: Quickly, we can take two more. Let's go to CNN.
QUESTION: This is for both Secretaries Powell and Wolfowitz. There's
another country whose nuclear and WMD program has been in the news of
late, and that is Russia -- excuse me, Iran. And a report in today's
paper -- I know, big news there. And there's a report in a paper today
that says that the US believes that Russia has been supplying, and
this is -- you've hinted as much, has been supplying the Iranian
nuclear program, not just for peaceful means for energy, but for
nuclear weapons.
Has anyone in the administration spoken either with Iran to send a
warning there -- can we expect a similar action as was taken in the UN
toward Iraq -- and have you spoken with the Russians about this
recently?
SECRETARY POWELL: It is a matter of continuing discussion with the
Russians. Ever since the administration came into office, Presidents
Bush and Putin have discussed it on a number of occasions, and it is a
subject of discussion foreign ministry to foreign ministry and defense
ministry to defense ministry.
Russia has been providing support to Iranian power generation nuclear
plans. We've always found it curious as to why Iran would need nuclear
power when they are so blessed with other means of generating
electricity, and thereby that kind of leads to the possibility of
proliferation. And we have had conversations with Russia that we are
concerned about this and that some of the support they are providing
might well go to developing nuclear weapons within Iran, and it will
continue to be a matter of discussion with us and the Russians.
With respect to messages delivered to Iran, I have no comment on that.
We haven't delivered a particular message, but it is a matter of
continuing assessment on our part.
Paul.
DEPUTY SECRETARY WOLFOWITZ: Very little to add, except to say that
it's not an accident that in the State of the Union message President
Bush spoke about those three countries. It's also the case that each
one is different in its level of threat that it poses and the state of
its programs, and also in where we stand with respect to the
international community in addressing common solutions to the problem.
And that's why each one of these has got to be approached in a
different fashion.
MR. BOUCHER: One brief question from the Japanese side.
QUESTION: -- Asahi Shimbun. My question is for both Secretary Powell
and Secretary Wolfowitz. Now that DPRK newspaper said -- (interpreter
inaudible) -- friends or allies.
Thank you very much.
SECRETARY POWELL: I don't know that I would characterize the situation
as being on the verge of war. The United States has no plans to attack
North Korea and I see no indication that North Korea, however
concerned it might be, is taking any action that would suggest we are
on the verge of war from them attacking south. It is a difficult
situation. It is a dangerous situation. And the way to get away from
this situation, to step back from it, is for North Korea to comply
with its obligations under existing agreements with respect to
developing weapons of mass destruction.
So if there is any concern about war, that concern has been raised by
North Korea's actions, not the actions on the part of the United
States or any other member of the international community or any other
state in the region. Every state in the area, every nation in the area
-- Japan, South Korea, Russia, China -- all have been saying the same
thing: We do not want to see nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula;
North Korea is moving in this direction; it is time for North Korea to
step back and worry not about nuclear weapons, but to worry about
people who are starving, people who do not have electricity, an
economy that is in desperate need, and an international community that
wishes to help North Korea.
Let me remind everyone that the United States is the largest provider
of food to North Korea and so we would not do that if we thought we
were on the verge of war. We want to help the North Korean people. We
do not want to attack the North Korean people. And the way to move
forward, not just with the United States but with all of the other
nations that I have touched on, is for North Korea to step back from
these steps they have taken, from these actions they have taken in
recent months, and we can find a way forward if they were to act in a
more responsible way.
DEPUTY SECRETARY WOLFOWITZ: I would only add that it should be obvious
the real threat the North Korea's security comes from the collapsing
state of its economy and that the world, including both the United
States and Japan, have made it clear, amply clear, that our
willingness to assist in that recovery if North Korea will honor the
agreements that it has already made to get rid of weapons of mass
destruction. It's really up to North Korea, and I think that's how
they can address what is clearly the most serious problem they face.
MR. BOUCHER: Ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much for coming, and
thank the ministers for their time.
(end transcript)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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