26 May 2001

U.S., Japan, South Korea Share Views on N. Korea

The United States, Japan, and the Republic of Korea completed a second round of talks on North Korea as part of the Trilateral Coordination and Oversight Group.

During a press briefing in Honolulu May 26, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs James Kelly said "the greatest result of this TCOG meeting is to have further information and detail from our allies for us to take back to Washington to truly inform the process of making the American policy."

Kelly noted that President George Bush is receptive to the idea of direct talks between the United States and North Korea, but cautioned that "it's too early to characterize those issues that would be discussed."

"We have made clear that we will be engaging North Korea. We have made clear there is a range of issues, but the exact precedence and priority is something that would have to be decided later, once again in consultation with our allies and friends," he said.

Following is a transcript of the briefing:

Assistant Secretary Kelly: Good afternoon everyone. Thanks for coming in to the Hilton Hawaiian Village. I wanted to welcome and thank my colleagues, Deputy Foreign Minister Yim Sung-joon and Director General Kunihiko Makita of Japan. Of course, Deputy Foreign Minister Yim is from the Republic of Korea. We're very thankful that they have come to Honolulu to join me and my colleagues from an interagency group of the U.S. Government in a meeting of our Trilateral Coordination and Oversight Group.

This is the second such meeting that has been held this year. It's the first of which I've had the honor to participate and, of course, the first in which I've had the honor to be the host on the part of the U.S. These meetings are rotated among the three countries, and the last one was held in Seoul. And probably the next one will be held in Tokyo.

I'll just make a few remarks here and then be open to questions. Our practice, as I understand it, is for the chair of the host side to respond to the questions. I'm not going to go on all that long and, as you'll see, perhaps not be able to have quite as much detail as everyone would like.

As you know, we're at the final stage in the comprehensive review of U.S. policy toward North Korea. We have said that an integral part of that review had to be full consideration with our key allies - the Republic of Korea and Japan. As President Bush has made clear, we strongly support President Kim Dae-jung's reconciliation efforts with North Korea. Ultimately, solving the fundamental security problems of the Peninsula requires North-South rapprochement. We here at this meeting have just concluded a very important TCOG meeting, and I'm appreciative of the excellent exchange of views that we have had with our Japanese and Korean friends. I will be returning to Washington to report these discussions, which will be reflected as fully as possible as the U.S. moves to conclude its review.

Continued close military and diplomatic cooperation among our three nations has been the foundation of our success in maintaining stability on the Korean Peninsula and will remain essential to our efforts to deal with North Korea. We highly value the close trilateral cooperation that has developed through the TCOG process and will continue to use these talks to consult closely on interactions with the North.

That ends that. We have a longer Joint Press Statement that is in the process of being copied and will be distributed to each of you. And I understand there are translations also available for later on. We don't have a great deal to say, but I would be happy to take questions for a few moments.

Question: Mr. Kelly, did you discuss at all the possibility of direct talks with North Korea - either with all three countries or the United State alone - and what those talks might contain and when they might be held?

Assistant Secretary Kelly: We discussed that. As President Bush had made clear in the past, we will be talking with North Korea. And very much a part of our consultation was some of the elements that we would think would be important in those things and that. We did not go into precise detail as to when such talks may be done. That would all be dependent on the end of the policy review on our part.

Question: (Translated from Korean) I'd like to ask a question on the Agreed Framework. The U.S. position is to continue the Agreed Framework as for now, but it is understood there are talks on the possibility of improving the implementation of the Agreed Framework. I'd like to know whether such methods were discussed in the TCOG meeting and also whether the issue of having North Korea accept IAEA's inspection of its nuclear facilities was also discussed in the meeting.

Assistant Secretary Kelly: Well, the U.S. does intend to continue observing the provisions of the Agreed Framework, and I think that was again reiterated in our discussions with our colleagues. We won't go into any future developments. Those would be, as we say, not only after the end of this policy review, but after the end of a process that would be ongoing, and it's not at all clear whether anything like that would ever occur or not. The second part of that question respecting the International Atomic Energy Agency, that's an important part of the longstanding Agreed Framework. And we made the point on the American side that we continue to think that that is a very important element.

Question: Mr. Kelly, how would you characterize the state of relations with North Korea at this time and the impact that perhaps these talks are having?

Assistant Secretary Kelly: I'm not sure I can characterize anything about North Korea. We've had these discussions in the past, and we will have some in the future.

Question: There's no added tension? We understand in the past month North Korean talks - calling off the cabinet talks - kind of speculation as to why that happened and the understanding that perhaps the recent meeting with President Bush may have had some impact on that and the review itself is having on the relations?

Assistant Secretary Kelly: It's unfortunate that the contacts between North and South have slowed. We hope they will soon resume. There is a commitment by Chairman Kim Jong-il to reciprocate his visit by going to South Korea, and we very much hope that can happen as soon as possible.

Question: (Translated from Korean) You have stated that the U.S. will engage in dialogue with North Korea in due course and shortly. But it is expected that you will assume a gradual step-by-step procedure in engaging in dialogue with North Korea. Could you elaborate on this?

Assistant Secretary Kelly: No I don't think I can, because the review is not finished. I think what you describe is a good statement of the situation at the moment.

Question: Were there concerns today about curbing missile proliferation? Did the discussions (inaudible) about that?

Assistant Secretary Kelly: You'll see that in the press statement. I think that always is something that comes up. It's just one of a number of concerns.

Question: (Translated from Korean): What is your assessment of the missile talks that took place at the end of the Clinton Administration? How would you assess it?

Assistant Secretary Kelly: I don't think it's helpful to characterize the talks that had gone on before because they were very much incomplete. They weren't finished. There may be further talks after our review is concluded. When there are, any verification of anything will be a very important part of anything that happens. And that was an area I don't think that was adequately covered before.

Question: Mr. Kelly, can you tell us about how long you expect the review to take?

Assistant Secretary Kelly: I don't want to put a precise date on it. I was in South Korea only about a couple of weeks ago, and we indicated that it was moving rapidly. And it still is. It's definitely further along than it was at that time, but I can't put a precise date on it. But it will certainly be a matter of weeks rather than months.

Question: (Translated from Korean) The Bush Administration has stated it would emphasize verification in North Korea's behavior. Does it only include North Korea's nuclear and missile issues, or does it comprise all aspects of North Korea's behavior?

Assistant Secretary Kelly: Verification is something that emerges in specific international agreements, and all aspects of the behavior of any country are not really a matter of international agreement. So I think I would leave it at that.

Question: (Translated from Korean) Regarding North Korea's conventional weapons, I would like to know what kind of discussions went on in the TCOG meeting. Any kind of discussions?

Assistant Secretary Kelly: No, there were no specific discussions of any kind of military equipment that the North would have. That is one of the problems. It's not just missiles. It's not just weapons of mass destruction. There's also very significant conventional forces that face each other across the Demilitarized Zone and always have. And so there is an observation that these are all manifestations of the same problem on which we wish to work together very carefully.

Question: (Translated from Korean) What do you think is the greatest result of this TCOG meeting?

Assistant Secretary Kelly: The greatest result of this TCOG meeting is to have further information and detail from our allies for us to take back to Washington to truly inform the process of making the American policy. The American policy in Northeast Asia cannot possibly exist on its own. Its core is on the strong relationship that we have with our allies in the Republic of Korea and in Japan. So, therefore, all of the views of our colleagues are absolutely essential. And that was the purpose of this meeting, and I am delighted to say that was well-achieved.

Last question.

Question: (Translated from Korean) In the initial talk with North Korea, when you first start to engage North Korea in dialogue, what will be the issues that will be discussed in those initial talks?

Assistant Secretary Kelly: It's too early to characterize those issues that would be discussed. We have made clear that we will be engaging North Korea. We have made clear there is a range of issues, but the exact precedence and priority is something that would have to be decided later, once again in consultation with our allies and friends.

Thanks so much.