Interview With Jin Jung of KBS News
Secretary Condoleezza Rice
Seoul, Republic of Korea
October 20, 2006
QUESTION: The first question is about PSI. Can you explain in details the United States request for South Korea to
participate more actively in PSI?
SECRETARY RICE: The Proliferation Security Initiative is a voluntary association of countries that use authorities that
they already have within their national authorities and international law, existing international law, to make certain
that dangerous cargoes are not being shipped, whether it's nuclear weapons or nuclear weapons materials. And it's done
through the sharing of intelligence. Sometimes if there is something suspicious, a country will be asked to prevent a
cargo from lifting or to prevent overflight rights. And so it is not what is sometimes thought of. We're not talking
about the Cuban missile crisis here with a blockade or quarantine. This is really just a voluntary association of
countries that are using their existing authorities to try to keep the trade in dangerous materials from taking place.
QUESTION: Let's talk about the Mount Kumgang project. Does U.S. want Korean -- South Korean Government to stop this
project?
SECRETARY RICE: Well, what projects the South Korean Government continues or discontinues is up to the South Korean
Government. I didn't come with a list of things that we wanted South Korea to do in terms of its relations with the
North.
The most important issue here is that we all have obligations under Resolution 1718, obligations to make certain that
North Korea cannot advance its nuclear weapons program. After all, they set off a nuclear weapons test right here in
South Korea's backyard. And so it is important to use whatever leverage a country feels that it can use to get the North
Koreans to make the right choice, to stop its aggressive behavior and to return to the six-party talks so that it can
dismantle its nuclear weapons program and join the international community of states.
And so what South Korea chooses to do specifically certainly is the business of South Korea. It's not ours to tell South
Korea what to do. But we are all trying to review what leverage we have in order to help the North Koreans -- or to make
the North Koreans -- make the right choice.
QUESTION: If North Korea conducts a second nuclear test, how will the U.S. respond? Will there be a military response?
SECRETARY RICE: Well, the United States has made very clear that we believe that there are diplomatic options here. The
United States -- the President of the United States has all kinds of options. But the President has made very clear we
have no intention to invade or attack North Korea.
Rather, we believe that the United States, China, Japan, South Korea, Russia and the international community more
broadly can bring enough pressure to bear on North Korea that North Korea chooses to give up its nuclear weapons
programs. After all, North Korea signed an agreement in September of 2005 that not only that it would denuclearize, in
other words dismantle its nuclear programs, but also laid out a set of incentives, a set of benefits that North Korea
would get, if it in fact denuclearized. What we are asking is that the countries that are -- that have leverage here use
that leverage so that North Korea comes back to the negotiating table and does the right thing.
But I want to be very clear. This is not U.S. policy. This resolution is not a U.S. resolution -- Resolution 1718. It is
a 15-0 resolution of the Security Council in which China, Russia, Great Britain, France and the United States, all
permanent members of the Security Council, agreed that this is the course that countries should take in order to bring
North Korea back to the negotiating table.
QUESTION: What is North Korea crosses the redline; that is, traffic nuclear weapons?
SECRETARY RICE: Well, the President has made very clear that the United States would take extremely -- I believe
extremely grave a North Korean decision to try to transfer a nuclear weapon or technologies either to another state or
to a non-state actor, for instance to a terrorist. And we would hold North Korea accountable for that.
But again, this is not a problem for the United States. We live very, very far away, in fact. This is a problem for
everybody, for the international system as a whole. And the neighbors here in this region need to be particularly strong
in making certain that they respond to the North Korean provocation.
QUESTION: Does the U.S. position remain unchanged with regard to the direct talks with North Korea and do you have a
plan to send a special envoy to North Korea?
SECRETARY RICE: Well, we have no plan to send a special envoy to North Korea. North Korea knows that they can talk to
the United States at any time in the context of the six-party talks. One of the great myths out there is that somehow we
have been refusing to talk to the North Koreans. We have talked to the North Koreans at the six-party talks. Our
negotiator, Chris Hill, in fact, in July of last year, 2005, had a long dinner with his North Korean counterpart. So the
North Koreans can talk to us anytime that they wish.
But you have to ask why are the North Koreans so insistent that there be direct negotiations with the United States when
they've had plenty of opportunity to talk to the United States. It's because they do not want to face the collective
pressure of China and Japan and South Korea and the United States and Russia. They would rather somehow that if they're
just talking to the United States and then there's an agreement and they violate that agreement, as they did the 1994
agreement with the United States, then it would be a problem between the United States and North Korea. This is not a
problem between the United States and North Korea. This is a problem between North Korea and the international
community.
QUESTION: Let's talk about the Banco Delta Asia investigation. Is there any possibility of removing economic sanctions?
SECRETARY RICE: The Banco Delta matter came out of illegal activities of North Korea, activities like counterfeiting our
money. The United States of America is not going to stand by and have North Korea counterfeit its money and do nothing
about it. And we've been very clear that this is about illegal activities. This has nothing to do with the nuclear
issue. It has everything to do with illegal activities that, by the way, threaten the very foundation and stability of
international finances when you have countries counterfeiting the money of one of the major currencies. And so we will
pursue this within our legal framework. It's a legal matter.
QUESTION: Discussion is about the main object of U.S. policy toward North Korea. Is it to prevent the spread of weapons
of mass destruction or regime change?
SECRETARY RICE: Well, the principal desire here, the principal goal of American policy, is to denuclearize the Korean
Peninsula. And it's not just the principal goal of American policy. It's the principal goal of South Korea, which has
lived up to its obligations under the 1992 joint agreement with North Korea not to have nuclear technologies, nuclear
weapons. It's the goal of China, which has made very clear that a denuclearized Korean Peninsula is in China's interest;
of Russia, of Japan and of the United States.
Now, we are quite aware that the regime in North Korea has a terrible human rights record. I think there's no doubt
about that, that the North Korean people are unfortunately always right at the edge of starvation because of the
policies of their government. And the North Korean people deserve better.
But we've made clear that we don't have any plans, any intention, to invade or attack North Korea. We've made clear in
the joint agreement in September of 2005 that if North Korea denuclearizes we could, in fact, with the verifiable
dismantling of the nuclear program, begin to see political engagement, all the way to normalization. That's written in
the agreement. And so when the North wants to confuse the issues about American policy, I would just say let's go back
to the agreement that we all signed, the six parties signed in September of 2005. It states very clearly what will
happen if North Korea dismantles its nuclear weapons.
QUESTION: This is the last question. You may have heard the criticisms on the U.S. Administration's policy toward North
Korea, and so what would you say to those critical voices?
SECRETARY RICE: Well, I would say it's not the United States that just set off a nuclear weapons test in South Korea's
backyard. It's North Korea. The United States has had an alliance with the Republic of Korea for 50 years now, more than
50 years, and an alliance that has kept peace on the Korean Peninsula, that has provided stability in this region.
Under the umbrella of that stability, South Korea has prospered. It has become a vibrant democracy where critical voices
are welcome. It's become an economic power. The South Korean people enjoy freedoms and prosperity. And if there's any
doubt about the value of both the alliance and of the democracy and the economic system that has developed here, I would
simply ask people to look across the DMZ and look at the sad state of Korean people on the other side.
QUESTION: Thank you for joining us.
SECRETARY RICE: Thank you.
2006/T2-5
Released on October 20, 2006
ENDS