13 January 2003
Transcript: Kelly Says Talks with North Korea, Energy Aid Possible
(Assistant Secretary's Jan. 13 remarks in Seoul, South Korea) (940) James Kelly, in Seoul for talks with the newly elected South Korean president, held out the possibility of talks with North Korea and even aid to that country in the area of energy production. "We are, of course, willing to talk to North Korea about their response to the international community, particularly with respect to elimination of nuclear weapons, and we're going to be talking here with government people over how are some of the best ways to do that," the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs told reporters January 13. The United States is well aware of the energy problems facing North Korea, Kelly said, and offered that "it may well be that -- once we can get beyond nuclear weapons -- there may be opportunities with the U.S., with private investors, with other countries, to help North Korea in the energy area." Following is a transcript of Kelly's January 13 press availability in Seoul, South Korea: (begin transcript) PRESS AVAILABILITY BY JAMES A. KELLY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE FOR EAST ASIAN AND PACIFIC AFFAIRS Monday, January 13, 2003, 11:30 a.m. Ministry of Foreign Affairs SEOUL, KOREA Assistant Secretary Kelly: Thanks very much. It was a special honor and pleasure to meet with the President-elect, His Excellency President-elect Roh, today, for the last hour. I was accompanied by the Ambassador, by Mr. Moriarty of the White House, Senior Director for Asian Affairs, and by Deputy Assistant Secretary Lawless from the Pentagon. We were primarily coming here to hear the President-elect's views. We met his envoy, Mr. Chyung, a Representative in the National Assembly, who will be coming to Washington before long. I wanted to hear directly from the President-elect some of his views and how he sees Korea developing under his Presidency, and he was very generous in explaining his views. We see this as a great opportunity to improve, to build our relationship and our alliance for the next 50 years, and Mr. Roh commented on that. I noted that this is January 13, a significant day. It was a hundred years ago that a couple thousand Koreans arrived for the first time in Hawaii, in the United States to take up residence. Now, we're talking about way over 2,000,000 Korean-Americans. This began exactly 100 years ago, and it was a very auspicious day to meet with the President-elect. Why don't we take a couple of questions now -- maybe one from an English speaker and one from a Korean speaker. Question: (Barry Peterson of CBS) - As you know, there were meetings over the weekend in Santa Fe with the former U.N. Ambassador, Bill Richardson, who after the meetings, expressed optimism that talks would begin soon. And then he said on one of the talk shows about the North Koreans "They believe, in order to get something, they have to lay out additional cards, step up the rhetoric and be more belligerent." And we have certainly had a dose of that this weekend, as I'm certain you've been aware -- all the things coming from the North. Do you see this belligerence as perhaps a prelude to them getting serious about talking, and if so, when or if might those talks begin? Assistant Secretary Kelly: I didn't hear Governor Richardson's views, but when I left it was a little disappointing, because we really hadn't heard anything from the North Koreans speaking to him that we hadn't heard in their public pronouncements before that. So, it is as you say a little mystifying, and I think we're just going to wait to see. We are, of course, willing to talk to North Korea about their response to the international community, particularly with respect to elimination of nuclear weapons, and we're going to be talking here with government people over how are some of the best ways to do that. Question: (Kim Sang Hyup, Maeil Kyungje Shinmun (Daily Business News)) - Do you feel any need to revise or discard the so-called Agreed Framework? Related to this question, there is a proposal, this is not official yet, but using the pipeline gas projects of Exxon Mobil in Sakhalin, might be useful too in solving the energy problems of North Korea, as well as solving its (inaudible). Have you thought about this? Assistant Secretary Kelly: With respect to the Agreed Framework, when I was in North Korea in October, I was told that it was considered nullified. They said it was because of certain U.S. actions. This is a position with which I don't agree. I believe we had been very careful to observe the provisions of it over time. But as a result, the KEDO board did stop the heavy fuel shipments, and we've had various other breakdowns, and the expulsion of the IAEA inspectors since then. So, where the Agreed Framework is going, I don't know. It's not in very good health. However, we do know there are energy problems in North Korea and it may well be that -- once we can get beyond nuclear weapons -- there may be opportunities with the U.S., with private investors, with other countries, to help North Korea in the energy area. I have a meeting now with some Transition Officers, then later on I'll meet with members of the government. An excellent schedule has been set up here. This is about talking to each other and exchanging views and improving our understanding. Thank you very much. (end transcript) (Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
