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U.S. Department of State

Daily Press Briefing

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QUESTION: Could I go back to Korea for just a moment, please?

MR. RUBIN: I think it was - you can, but I'm not sure you're going to get much. It might even be less than banal.

QUESTION: Let me just ask you, Jamie, if you have anything with regard to North Korea missile testing, anything at all that would be an indicator or a sign of a positive movement due to the Four Party Talks and the periphery talks? Is there anything to say that the tensions have been reduced in Japan or on the Peninsula?

MR. RUBIN: I want to only say that we have used every available opportunity to stress our interest in improving relations with the North Koreans. We have also used every available opportunity to convey our concerns about a possible missile launch and its consequences and have urged strongly they not take such an action and, beyond that, I don't want to say.

QUESTION: (Inaudible) - 24-hour alert?

MR. RUBIN: I don't even know what that means.

QUESTION: A different North Korea question. South Korean officials have confirmed that North Korea recently purchased roughly 30 MIG 21s. Do you have anything about that?

MR. RUBIN: We are aware that a case involving MIG 21s in Kazakhstan is ongoing. We have been working closely with the government of Kazakhstan. We have serious concerns about transfers of this kind, and we continue to monitor this case very, very closely.

.............

(The briefing concluded at 1:20 P.M.)

[end of document]