Dr. William Perry
U.S. North Korea Policy Coordinator and Special Advisor to the President and the Secretary of State
Interview by Natalie Allen of CNN
Washington, DC, September 17, 1999
QUESTION: Secretary Perry, thank you for joining us.
DR. PERRY: Good to be here.
QUESTION: You have said that this year may represent historically one of the best times to alter the relationship with North Korea and US security concern; this may be the best time for some time to come. Why make those statements?
DR. PERRY: Yes, I believe that. We have to understand that since the ending of the Korean War we have not truly had peace on the Korean Peninsula. What we have had is an armed truce with more than a million men in the North Korean army on one side of the border and about half that many South Koreans and Americans deterring them on the other side.
Five years ago, that deterrence was challenged by the emergence of a nuclear program in North Korea and we came at that time very close to a dangerous military conflict. That was averted through an agreement called the Agreed Framework, by which that activity was frozen. And then just a year ago, we became concerned about the missile developments in North Korea ,which the most dramatic point of which was the firing of a long-range missile over Japan.
So all of that brought us to a case where we could see that this uneasy deterrence on the peninsula was being challenged, and it was necessary to move forward in a more positive way with North Korea. We have proposed a comprehensive -- a comprehensive -- move towards normalization with Korea. One step -- just one step -- in that relationship would be the North Koreans suspending their missile test-firings and the United States easing the sanctions.
I want to emphasize this is just one step towards a much broader and more comprehensive long-term program.
QUESTION: What are the concerns still regarding North Korea and what about the alleged selling by North Korea to US enemies of military technology? What if that still goes on?
DR. PERRY: There is substantial mistrust, I might say, on both sides -- mistrust by Americans of North Koreas, North Koreans of Americans. And it is important, therefore, that we move forward a step at a time in this process, not try to make a broad package deal because of this level of mistrust.
I also want to say that we are not alone in this agreement, this understanding, with the North Koreans. We have worked very closely with our allies, the Republic of Korea and Japan, and are really arm-in-arm with them as we proceed forward with this.
QUESTION: Well, if this strategy is successful will we see the same happen in Cuba, Iraq?
DR. PERRY: I would not want to forecast that because each of those countries poses a different problem, particularly a different security problem. But the idea of engaging a country to deal with a security problem I think is a sound idea.
QUESTION: Secretary Perry, William Perry, thank you for joining us.
DR. PERRY: You're very welcome.
(End of interview.)
[end of document]
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