Albright October 24 News Conference in N. Korea
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
(Pyongyang, Democratic People's Republic of Korea)
October 24, 2000
Press Conference by
Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright
Koryo Hotel
Pyongyang, North Korea
October 24, 2000
SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: I came to Pyongyang to convey directly to Chairman
Kim Jong Il the views of President Clinton and to prepare for a
possible visit by the President to the DPRK. During my visit, I have
held six hours of serious and constructive talks with Chairman Kim,
and also had an opportunity to meet with him more informally over
dinners and at cultural events.
I also met with Vice Marshall Jo Myong Rok, Presidium President Kim
Yong Nam, and Foreign Minister Paek Nam Sun.
I want to thank Chairman Kim, Vice Marshall Jo, and the North Korean
people for the exceptional hospitality they have shown me and our
delegation during this first ever visit by an American Cabinet Officer
to the DPRK. I was struck by the beauty of Pyongyang, and by the
genuine sweetness of the children.
I explained to Chairman Kim America's vision for relations between our
countries free from past hostility, relations which contribute to
peace and stability throughout the region, and which support the
process of reconciliation between the North and the South.
It is important that we work to overcome the enmities of the past and
focus on the prospect for a brighter future for our peoples.
Chairman Kim and I had serious, constructive, and in-depth discussions
of proposals on diplomatic relations, missile restraint, and security
issues.
Chairman Kim and I discussed the full range of our concerns on
missiles, including both the DPRK's indigenous missile programs and
exports. We also discussed Chairman Kim's idea of exchanging DPRK
restraint in missiles for launches of DPRK satellites. Chairman Kim
was quite clear in explaining his understanding of U.S. concerns.
Indeed, during the October 23 mass performance we attended together,
an image of the DPRK Taepodong missile appeared. He immediately turned
to me and quipped that this was the first satellite launch and it
would be the last.
While here, I also raised with our DPRK hosts the full range of our
concerns, including global issues and compliance with international
norms, terrorism, human rights, the need to obtain the fullest
possible accounting of missing persons, humanitarian issues, and the
need for concrete steps at tension reduction on the Peninsula. We made
important progress, but much work remains to be done, and I am pleased
to announce that our missile experts will reconvene next week.
I also had an opportunity to visit a World Food Program distribution
center and see with my own eyes some of the very talented and hopeful
children to whom our food aid is directed, and I hope my visit here
will be a step in helping them and all children on the Peninsula to
build a better future.
I will be reporting back to President Clinton on these talks and
consulting in Seoul with our Republic of Korea and Japanese allies.
Thank you and I am ready for your questions.
QUESTION: Madame Secretary, the quip you eluded to at the event last
night: Do you take that as an unqualified pledge on Chairman Kim's
part not to test missiles anymore?
SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: Well, as you well know, we have a moratorium on
testing of all long-range missiles, and we obviously are continuing
these very serious missile discussions. I take what he said on these
issues as serious in terms of his desire and ours to move forward to
resolve the various questions that continue to exist on the whole
range of missile issues.
QUESTION: Madame Secretary, what steps do you think are necessary
before a presidential trip would be warranted? What benefits would
such a trip produce in terms of improving this relationship?
SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: First of all, I think it's very important to
understand how long discussions have been going on in an attempt to
have the North-South relationship improve and to also have a change in
terms of our own relationship. This has been going on for at least a
year and a half in a variety of venues and on a variety of subjects --
the whole range of subjects. And we are taking this on a very
step-by-step approach and doing everything that we are doing in terms
of U.S. national interests.
I will report to the President the results of this trip and the
results of what I have described, characterized as constructive talks
and the value, frankly, of face-to-face discussions. I believe that
the six hours of serious talks that I had with the Chairman are a very
good way, I think, to learn more about his intentions and those of his
country. It's always useful to have these kinds of discussions, but I
will be reporting to the President and he will make the decisions
about future steps.
QUESTION: Madame Secretary, I'm curious a little bit about your
personal impressions of this country. It's one that has been closed to
Americans for many years. It's not easy for Americans to travel here.
Your personal impressions of President Kim Jong Il and also of the
performance last night - given your background as a refugee from
certain kinds of absolutist regimes, what your reflections are on
that?
SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: First of all, I think we have to keep things in
perspective. We haven't exactly seen a lot of this country. We have
seen Pyongyang, and I must say even though I had seen some photographs
that I found that it is an impressive city. Quite beautiful, I think,
with its landscaping and heroic monuments, and I was obviously
interested in seeing that. I found the performance last night - first
of all I wasn't born yesterday, and I have been a student of communist
affairs all my life, and so one knows perfectly well how these
performances are put together. I must say that I thought it was, of
that kind of a performance, it was quite spectacular and amazing. And
I just can assure you that these glasses that I have on are not
rose-colored.
As far as the Chairman himself, I was obviously very glad to meet him.
He is somewhat of a mystery to the world and to Americans. I spent, as
I said, not only the six hours at meetings, but our dinner last night
and the performance. And we're going to be having dinner tonight. So
there have been informal times, too. I think I would describe him as a
very good listener and a good interlocutor. He strikes me as very
decisive and practical and serious. We had serious discussions.
QUESTION: Madame Secretary, after two days of talks in Pyongyang, what
is your suggestion to Japan? Do you, are you now hoping that Japan
would go as quickly as the United States in improving its relations
with the DPRK, or do you think that they should take their time and
address their own concern about the Japanese Red Army terrorists and
kidnapping incidents and so on? And have you got any indication
whatsoever from the North Korean leaders that they would expel the
Japanese Red Army terrorists sometime in the near future?
SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: I spoke with Foreign Minister Kono before I got to
Pyongyang, and I'm looking forward to seeing him tomorrow in Seoul. I
believe that it's very important for each country to determine its own
pace. I do think there's value in our trilateral cooperation, which is
unique, I think, in this circumstance. But everybody, each of the
countries, we build on - at least from the American perspective --
our relationship is being built on what President Kim Dae Jung was
able to do. The Japanese have to make their own assessment, and it's
very hard for me to judge what the North Korean reaction is to the
Japanese conditions. We discussed it, but I think that it's difficult
for me to make an assessment of what they will do.
QUESTION: Several of our European allies have announced intentions to
resume relations. Did the Chairman indicate to you whether he would be
interested in seeing in an American liaison or a diplomatic facility
open here? And secondly, on the missile issue, in the talks next week,
does this indicate that there was enough progress made that you're
trying to get closer to some kind of formal agreement, or does it
indicate that we didn't make enough progress on this round of talks --
that other talks are needed?
SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: On representation, that's also been a subject that
has been under discussion for some time and obviously the Chairman was
interested in having just generally across the board, I think, more
informal and formal relations with the United States.
I think that the fact that talks are resuming on the expert level is
an important step forward, because there are numbers of issues that
are discussed in a general way but that need to be discussed by
experts specifically. So I would not take it as not enough work having
been done. On the contrary, that we are in a very systematic way
progressing in discussing what are clearly the most important issues.
QUESTION: You told us that you had lengthy discussions with our
Chairman Kim Jong Il. I'd like to know what are your impressions of
the Chairman, and also what kind of discussions did you have?
SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: I have to say that I was very gratified by the
length of our discussions, by the fact that we took up all the
subjects of importance to our side and presumably to his, and I found
him a very practical and decisive listener and interlocutor.
QUESTION: Madame Secretary, by the State Department's own report,
North Korea has one of the most repressive human rights records. How
did you bring up this subject with the Chairman, what examples did you
cite, and how did he respond?
SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: The issue of human rights was raised, the first
time that we have raised it, obviously, by a Cabinet-level person. I
think that it's obviously a subject of concern, but we have just begun
our discussions on the subject. They, obviously, will continue.
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