State Department Noon Briefing, Wednesday, October 11, 2000
U.S. Department of State
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2000 -- 12:50 P.M.
(ON THE RECORD UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED)
Q: Could you give us a rundown on Mr. Jo's talks this morning?
BOUCHER: To sort of bring you up to date from yesterday at briefing
time, yesterday afternoon there were about four hours of discussions
between Ambassador Sherman and Vice Foreign Minister Kang, a member of
the North Korean delegation. They talked all afternoon. Those kinds of
discussions will continue today, probably are ongoing now.
There was a dinner last night. I think you all saw the press coverage
of the dinner on the occasion of the visit that was hosted by the
Secretary.
This morning, about 10 o'clock, the Secretary met with Vice Marshall
Jo. They continued the discussions of issues that were discussed
yesterday at the White House and elsewhere. They talked about the
developments in the region and the development of US-North Korean
relations in that context. And then, as I said, now we're moving into
more detailed discussions among members of the delegations. That will
continue during the day.
Vice Marshall Jo has a meeting this afternoon with Secretary of
Defense Cohen, and then this evening he will be hosting a dinner where
the Secretary will attend.
Q: Where is that dinner?
BOUCHER: Have we put that out? Have we said so? The Mayflower.
Sometimes security gets into this.
Q: Well, can you just give us an idea of how the talks are going? Do
they continue to be positive and fruitful?
BOUCHER: They continue to go well. We continue to have positive
discussions on a variety of issues. We continue on both sides to look
forward to ways to end the hostility between our two nations and to
develop a better relationship.
Q: Richard, at last night's dinner, the Secretary invited quite a few
members of the business community to it. And when she was in Seoul
earlier this year, she had a meeting with the American business -- the
Am-Cham there, at which she encouraged these people to move in, to
move in to North Korea.
And I'm just wondering, is that something that was brought -- that
you're aware of, you having been at the dinner, that was discussed
last night at the dinner? And, also, if this is something that she's
going to bring up at this lunch with the APEC people that she's
supposed to be having right now.
BOUCHER: I assume that sort of developments in Korean Peninsula will
come up as we talk with people about the region and Asia. These APEC
lunches, these business people that come for these lunches, are a
fairly wide-ranging discussion of developments, so I assume that will
be discussed.
As far as sort of where the business things stand in terms of the
overall relationship, I haven't been in all the meetings. The ones
that I have been in have concentrated on other things. Obviously, the
development of business ties and commercial ties is something that we
look forward to over time. We have lifted most of the restrictions on
US business doing business with North Korea at this point, so that's
something that we would expect to development. But I don't want to
characterize it in terms of the issues that are being discussed at
this stage. I wouldn't say it's number one or two or three.
Q: No, no, no. I'm suggesting at the dinner last night. Would you like
to see more? Because it looks as though that the only company that has
taken advantage of this -- well, that has followed this is Coca-Cola,
which kind of sent a small shipment of its product over the border.
BOUCHER: I think, first of all, there is a lot of interest in our
business community on what is happening and how things will develop,
and therefore we do keep in touch with our business community,
including the Secretary. I remember that when she talked with the
people at the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan as well, there was
a lot of interest in how this would develop.
So we do keep our business community informed. Ultimately, they make
the decisions on business and commercial grounds. But it is something
that we would expect to develop over time as the relationship
develops.
Q: At the dinner last night, Jo said in his toast that there can not
be full cooperation between the two countries unless North Korea
receives assurances from the US about respect for North Korea's
security and territorial integrity. Do you have any response to that?
BOUCHER: I think it's probably better at this moment that I not try to
respond to every specific statement or aspect of this. Certainly we
look forward to developing a better relationship with North Korea.
That's the whole context of our discussions, and all these issues are
being discussed in that context. And we will expect sort of to have
more information for you at the end of the visit on how some of these
discussions have turned out.
Q: Is there a briefing planned after the talk today or perhaps
tomorrow?
BOUCHER: Yes.
Q: Which?
BOUCHER: After the talks today. By tomorrow, we will have something.
Probably tomorrow.
Q: Would it be fair to say, then, that this is not just a nice
briefing but that these discussions are substantive?
BOUCHER: Yes, they are substantive, they are detailed. They cover both
general terms in terms of the developments of the relationship and
developments in the region, but they also cover some of the specific
issues that we need to discuss. I think that yesterday we talked to
some extent about the missile issue and how that needs to be
addressed, for example.
Q: Do you have expectations for some sort of joint communiqué at the
end of the visit? And when does Jo actually depart, do you know?
BOUCHER: We've done that sort of thing in the past, but at this point
I don't want to make a specific prediction. I believe he leaves early
tomorrow morning.
Q: What are the chances that you'll hear before they leave that the
North Koreans are willing to take the steps necessary to get off the
terrorism list? And is it disappointing at all to -- you know, if that
doesn't happen?
BOUCHER: I don't do chances, particularly other people's chances. I
think that clearly the issue of terrorism is one of concern to them
and to us. We did put out a joint statement last week about how we
would address the issue, and the basis on which we felt we needed to
resolve the issue, the common understanding in that regard.
We have made quite clear what we think needs to be done. And for them
to get off the terrorism list, we're happy to discuss that with them
and work with them on that, but it is up to them when and how they do
those things.
Q: Did that come up during the Secretary's meeting today?
BOUCHER: Yes, it is one of the issues that comes up, yes.
Q: But if you're encouraging American businesses to go there --
BOUCHER: I don't -- I mean, during the Secretary's meeting today? I
don't remember the -- the part of the session that I was in, I don't
remember it coming up. But it is one of the issues being discussed by
delegations, as well as senior people.
Q: But if you're encouraging businesspeople to go there and make their
fortune, that would mean you don't suspect -- expect that might be a
risky thing to do in a terrorist-sponsored state, isn't it? Aren't you
diluting the meaning in this case, as well as in some others that we
needn't get into, of what it is to be listed as a terrorist state? I
know it's a legal judgment, but still --
BOUCHER: It's a legal judgment, and there are certain specific
sanctions and restrictions that apply, and those remain in effect
until they are off the list. What we are looking for, as you know in
all these cases, is a clear renunciation and steps to end and prevent
any future support for terrorism. That doesn't -- you know, we deal
with the question of safety of Americans sort of separately. If that
impinges upon the safety of Americans, we'll make that quite clear
when we talk to Americans about their safety in various countries of
the world.
Q: The joint statement last week -- did that meet your requirement for
a renunciation? It looked like it, on the face of it.
BOUCHER: You know, once again, it's a common basis of understanding,
but it's not the solution yet. We have not -- I'm not going to try to
check these off as we go along. They know quite clearly what needs to
be done, and we'll tell you if they get there.
Q: Just going over old ground, can you tell us quite clearly what
needs to be done again, just so we are all up to date?
BOUCHER: No. I mean, we have told them quite clearly what needs to be
done. I think we have made clear to you in our terrorism report and
elsewhere what some of our concerns are, but I'm not into doing the
public checklist on this one.
Q: Mrs. Albright specifically mentioned about the necessity of the
expelling of Red Army members as a condition of the lifting the list?
BOUCHER: Once again, I don't think we have, at least in public, tried
to give a checklist of steps. I think you're all quite aware of our
concern about the provision of safe haven to Red Army members. That is
in our terrorism report, and that is one of the things we need to
resolve.
Q: Richard, what is the -- (inaudible) -- State Department security
status of Vice Marshall Jo because of he changed the uniforms to
civilian dress to the military uniforms, and the United States offer
the room for change?
BOUCHER: I'm sorry -- what?
Q: I mean, security status for Mr. Jo's changing from civilian dress
to the uniforms?
BOUCHER: Is there a security problem with people changing clothes in
one of our buildings?
Q: No, because he bring the uniforms with the -- probably a bag, or
whatever. You know, bring it inside and --
BOUCHER: I'm sure we're following appropriate security procedures, but
I don't think I have anything more to say about how to make sure
somebody changes clothes safely.
Q: Most of the commentators, Ambassador Sherman included, indicated
that the prerequisite for this meeting, this visit this week, was the
summit between North and South Korea. Can you tell me exactly what
role did US diplomacy play in that, and how much was it kind of the
initiative of President Kim to take that step? That is still very
unclear. Some reports say that the US might have been caught somewhat
by surprise by that.
BOUCHER: I'm not, I don't think, in a position to do the entire
history of US policy on Korea with you, but I think I'd say generally,
if you look back over time, we have always encouraged talks and
discussions between the people on the Peninsula, between North and
South. We have at various times felt that that was the most important
way for people to be talking, rather than to try to address some
questions with us that are better addressed with their brethren in the
South.
So it was clearly Jim Dae Jung's initiative, and his policy -- his
Sunshine Policy -- to go ahead with this summit. We welcomed it, we
supported it, we think it's a great idea, and it has indeed led us to
the prospect of reducing the tensions on the Peninsula, which has
always been our common goal with our South Korean allies. So, it is
certainly an initiative that he has taken, but one that we welcomed
and supported and which fits very much with the overall policy
approach that we have followed with South Korea for many years.
Q: Has the Secretary, in her meeting yesterday or today, mentioned her
abiding desire to travel to Pyongyang before the end of the
Administration? And has this issue come up? Has there been a formal
invitation delivered, are you aware of?
BOUCHER: I think -- I don't really have an update on that one, beyond
-- what did she say before -- "Stay tuned." I think that's where we
will stay for the moment, and at the end of the visit, we'll try to
answer some of these questions more definitively.
Q: Is this not a subject that has come up?
BOUCHER: Again, I'm not going to -- at this stage, in the interim, I'm
not going to try to get into every subject that has come up.
....
Q: I'd like to confirm one thing about North Korea. Do you really
expect that the discussion will continue late into the evening, even
after the dinner?
BOUCHER: We'll have to see. There will be meetings and discussions
going on all afternoon, members of the delegation, and then over with
Secretary Cohen. They can talk at dinner, but I just don't know
whether it will extend beyond that or not. I don't have -- there is
nothing scheduled at this point beyond dinner.
Q: You said that maybe tomorrow morning there will be an announcement
or a joint statement. If so, the discussions will continue in the --
late at night?
BOUCHER: Not necessarily.
Q: Not necessarily?
BOUCHER: No, we might finish it and put it to bed.
(The briefing was concluded at 1:50 P.M.)
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