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CNN LIVE AT DAYBREAK
International News Desk
Aired January 8, 2003 - 05:36 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And, of course, CNN's international desk is staying on top of developments in North Korea and Iraq, everywhere in the world.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So let's check in with David Clinch, find out what else is going on.
DAVID CLINCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Good morning. yes, North Korea, I mean, as Andrea was reporting there very clearly, and you have to listen very carefully on this story, we are reporting that the United States has said they're ready to talk to North Korea. I think it in some ways would be more accurate to say they're prepared to listen to North Korea tell them that they're prepared to give up their nuclear weapons program.
In essence, they haven't really changed their stance. They're not negotiating. They're not ready to negotiate. They say they're ready to listen to them tell them they'll stop their nuclear weapons program.
We'll see. The North Koreans haven't changed their stance either, as we are reporting. They are giving their usual bellicose statements today. I've spent most of the night, or some of the night, watching North Korean television, which is quite a task, I can tell you, to see of any signs of any new information or statements from them. Nothing really particularly new.
But it is a subtle change.
VAUSE: Baby steps.
COSTELLO: Well, what is this criminal charges thing they're throwing at the United States now?
VAUSE: Yes.
CLINCH: Oh, I don't know. You expect me to know exactly what North Korea is talking about? I'm not sure, really. But, you know, again, their emphasis on -- I mean you cannot dismiss the possibility, and it is a possibility, that the North Koreans are absolutely sincere in their belief that the United States is ready to attack them. They've put them on the axis of evil list. They're sending hundreds of thousands of troops to Iraq to attack them. They've said they'll do preemptive strikes. It's not, I suppose, completely impossible that they sincerely believe that they will be attacked.
So, you know, you can't dismiss that possibility. We don't know. But we are waiting to see if there will be a breakthrough, if they'll respond to this offer of talks.
COSTELLO: Let's switch topics now and talk about Iraq.
CLINCH: Iraq also waiting for a next step on that. Hans Blix, as we're reporting, is going to tell the United Nations a very interim update. You know, we had el -- Mr. ElBaradei from the nuclear side of the inspectors saying that they haven't found a smoking gun yet. Hans Blix will tell the U.N. tomorrow, we're told, we're led to believe, that they haven't found a smoking gun yet. But he may emphasize still, rather than smoking gun, this gaping hole or whatever you want to describe it as, the unanswered questions which still remain from years and years and years. The U.N. has been asking Iraq to fill these, answer these questions, fill this hole.
VAUSE: Yes.
CLINCH: They haven't done it, John.
VAUSE: But the Iraqis are saying this is really a case of heads you win, tails I lose, isn't it?
CLINCH: Well, it is. But, again, subtle moves and subtle information is very important here, with the U.S. and the U.N. emphasizing that Iraq was asked to give a comprehensive report. They are apparently going to say that no, they haven't found a smoking gun, but it's not comprehensive. No answers yet to those specific questions on missing weapons, not nuclear weapons, but biological and chemical weapons.
COSTELLO: Yes, I don't know, I just always wonder if the inspectors themselves are surprised that they haven't found anything yet.
CLINCH: It's hard to say.
VAUSE: It's a big country.
CLINCH: It's a big country, a lot of sites.
VAUSE: There's only a hundred of them.
CLINCH: And also, we should say, January 27th there's a comprehensive report on this, but the inspections will continue, perhaps for months or longer. We shall see.
COSTELLO: We'll see.
VAUSE: OK.
COSTELLO: David Clinch, many thanks.
CLINCH: OK. VAUSE: Thanks, David.
CLINCH: All right.
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