SHOW: FOX SPECIAL REPORT WITH BRIT HUME (18:00) February 06, 2003
President Bush Renews Warning to Saddam Hussein To Disarm; North Korea Threatens War Against the U.S.
By Brit Hume, Jim Angle, Greg Palkot, Major Garrett
HUME: Meanwhile, North Korea, which as up know is an isolated and cash-starved communist regime with a history of selling military equipment for hard cash, has restarted its nuclear weapons programs. And today, high-ranking North Koreans vowed to wage, quote, "total war" if the U.S. pre-emptively attacks their nuclear facilities.
While the White House has repeated its faith in a diplomatic solution, it issued a veiled military warning of its own.
Fox News correspondent Major Garrett reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MAJOR GARRETT, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The latest bellicose salvo from North Korea this warning from a senior foreign ministry official, "The United States says that after Iraq, we are next, but we have our own countermeasures. Pre-emptive attacks are not the exclusive right of the U.S."
The administration denies any hostile intentions and says diplomacy is the only way out. Even so, key officials made clear today that the U.S. military is prepared to respond.
POWELL: No military option has been taken off table, although we have no intention of attacking North Korea as a nation.
ARI FLEISCHER, WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN: The United States, of course, has contingency plans and the United States made certain that the contingencies are viable.
GARRETT: The secretary of state told congress that the U.S. is willing to negotiate with the North, but only if the outcome is a permanent end to its nuclear program.
POWELL: We believe that this time, this time, when we get the corks back in the bottles, the bottles have to be removed as well. And this is going to be a long and difficult process to accomplish this.
GARRETT: The Clinton era agreed framework allowed the North to suspend its nuclear program in exchange for U.S. energy and food aid, which the Bush White House considers a failure.
The secretary of defense said the North could soon triple its modest nuclear stockpile.
DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: The United States assesses that they may have one or two nuclear weapons already. And in the event they do start up their reprocessing, they could end up in a relatively short period of time with sufficient nuclear material for an additional six to eight weapons.
GARRETT: The U.S. says it's willing to talk, but on its terms, not the North's.
POWELL: And we are prepared to engage with the North Koreans and we're prepared to talk to them. But what we can't find ourselves in the position of doing is essentially panicking at their activities and their demands that you have to discuss this with us in only the way we say you should discuss it with us.
GARRETT: If the U.S. confirms the reactor at the Pyongyang facility is back online, analysts say military options, while still on the table, have drawbacks of their own.
JOHN PIKE, DIRECTOR, GLOBALSECURITY.ORG: After that reactor had operated for a short period of time, it going to be too radioactive for the United States to bomb it without causing a lot of radioactive contamination.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GARRETT: Despite the tougher talk from the administration today, senior military planners say that the plans for North Korea are entirely diplomatic and that there is no pre-emptive military war gaming going on at all. The strategy appears next to contain North Korea militarily and negotiate with it when the opportunity presents itself -- Brit.
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