Washington -- Karl Inderfurth, the new U.S. Special Representative for the Global De-Mining Initiative, says "I feel deeply about this subject. I have seen the victims of land mines around the world, and there are far too many of them.

"Every 22 minutes of every day there is another victim," he said, "a life lost or a life destroyed."

At a special briefing following Secretary of State Albright and Secretary of Defense Cohen in the State Department Briefing Room October 31, Inderfurth said, "I also want to thank the President for designating me his Special Representative to deal with the issue. I know first hand his strong commitment to achieving the international goal that he first articulated in New York at the United Nations in 1994; namely the elimination of anti-personnel land mines worldwide.

"With the announcement today by Secretary Albright and Secretary Cohen of the 2010 Initiative," Inderfurth said, "we are moving closer to the day that the President's call with become a reality."

Following is the State Department transcript:

(begin transcript)

INDERFURTH: For those of you who haven't been satiated with land mine issues and answers let me briefly read a statement for you and then perhaps answer a few more questions and then return it back to the normal briefing pattern.

First, I want to thank Secretary Albright and Secretary Cohen for being here this morning to unveil the 2010 Initiative, and to make the announcement of a new Special Representative of Global Humanitarian Demining.

I remember first discussing the issue of land mines with then-Ambassador Albright after we had visited Somalia and Cambodia in July of 1993. We saw many land mine victims. We discussed then that something had to be done about this problem. The initiative announced today will do just that in a very big way.

I also look forward to working hand-in-glove with the Defense Department on this issue. No agency or department of our government has done more to address the humanitarian consequences of anti-personnel land mines than DOD.

I also want to thank the President for designating me his Special Representative to deal with the issue. I know first hand his strong commitment to achieving the international goal that he firstarticulated in New York at the United Nations in 1994; namely the elimination of anti-personnel land mines worldwide. With the announcement today by Secretary Albright and Secretary Cohen of the 2010 Initiative, we are moving closer to the day that the President's call with become a reality.

Finally on a personal basis let me say that I feel deeply about this subject. I have seen the victims of land mines around the world, and there are far too many of them. Every 22 minutes of every day there is another victim, a life lost or a life destroyed.

When Ted Turner announced his very generous $1 billion gift to the United Nations and his intent to raise more, he said, "If you are wealthy, you can expect to hear from me." I would like to paraphrase Mr. Turner to say that, "If you care about land mines, if you have resources or something you can contribute to accomplish our demining goal by the year 2010, then you can expect to hear from me." Governments and non-governmental organizations, international organizations and individuals, we are going to join together to get this job done, not in decades, but hopefully in a few short years.

So let me just see if there are any further questions. Or I'll also be available for other types of --

Q: China has been described as a "Saudi Arabia of land mines." Did that subject come up in discussions with President Jiang?

INDERFURTH: Well, I didn't take part in those discussions. I'm not sure exactly why that reference would be made to China. China certainly is involved in the land mine issue. It has its own stockpile of land mines, and we certainly want to see China become involved in the overall issue, including in the humanitarian side.

Q: Well, I think the name comes from the fact that they turn out millions of these little $4-jobs that are made of plastic and can blow off a leg.

INDERFURTH: They do. We will be talking to the Chinese about this. We have been doing this in Geneva and in other places. I intend to talk to them about what the might be able to contribute in terms of the humanitarian demining initiative. They do have deminer and they can, I think, make a contribution to what we're going to be asking them to do.

Q: Rick, I was just wondering what kind of access you have or hope to have in Afghanistan, for example, because a very difficult situation there politically, I mean, and militarily also.

INDERFURTH: Well, the situation in Afghanistan -- actually just last month in New York, the United States made another $1 million contribution, bringing up our total this year to $3 million for demining activities in Afghanistan. There is a UN agency known as UNOCHA, which is doing the demining there. They have made progress. They continue to work and that's going to be one of the priorities for this effort. It is one of the largest countries with a demining problem.

Q: So you would work through that agency?

INDERFURTH: Work through that agency.

Q: Can you elaborate on your plans for Korea? What the plan is, if there is any type of schedule? I know Secretary Cohen talked about the alternatives, but is that just a research plan for now? Or what is going to happen? Can you expand on that?

INDERFURTH: There is a distinction here between the Korean problem and what I will be dealing with. The Korean issue very much relates to our overall land mine policy. Assistant Secretary Newsom is here to help out on the policy issues relating to Korea or the various goals that have been set, 2003 and 2006, for the targets for the United States to be able to move toward elimination of land mines.

With respect to my part of this, the issue of what we will do for alternatives, I'll be focusing on research and development for the efforts to demine and to clear the mine fields. Right now, as the Secretary said, a stick is the best method for still going after this. We need to do better. There are things like airborne detection systems that are being looked at, chemical neutralizing systems that could be addressed to this problem. More money, as the President stated last month, will be put into R&D for demining activities. That is what I'm going to be focusing my attention on.

Q: So Korea does not fall within the 2010 initiative?

INDERFURTH: From the President on down, Korea is a special area, which we also hope to address. But that by the year 2006 is the date that we hope to see that issue resolved.

Q: There have been several statements about the scope of this initiative. But could you just spell out exactly what mines are covered by it? And what are not?

INDERFURTH: Anti-personnel land mines. The T-72 Chinese anti-personnel land mine and others made by other countries that arecurrently in the ground. There are estimates of over 100 millionthat are in the ground. Those are the ones that we're going after. These are the APL, not anti-tank.

Q: I'm sorry, just to follow up. But Secretary Cohen seemed to be saying that the force protection mines would remain. So how do you distinguish between the ones that stay and the ones that go?

INDERFURTH: Those that are posing threats to civilian populations, which is the vast bulk of the land mines placed around the world are the ones we're going after. We want to see more countries move and some already are into a mine-free category. The United States has demining activities in 17 countries today around the world. Others are being considered. Some of those are moving toward a mine-free status and we want to see that take place with all of them.

MR. RUBIN: We're going to have -- Ambassador Inderfurth will be available during the course of the day to take any further questions. Let's do a last question right here. You still have a question?

Q: Well, let's see, yes. I have a question.

Q: About Lebanon, the demining includes the security zone?

INDERFURTH: Demining will be in all those areas where civilians are at risk. So we will be looking at that. I would have to get back to you on specific geographic areas. But again we're going to those large areas of countries around the world where civilians are at risk because of wars that are no longer being fought, but the land mines remain.

Can I just do one plug for something? I think we have copies of this comic book. If some of you who may not be quite as involved in this issue as I have been, if you have not seen it, this is a comic book done by Warner Brothers-DC Comics. It's a mine-awareness comic book that Secretary Albright was very involved with and the First Lady, that was announced several months ago. It's for Bosnia, for the children of Bosnia.

Of course, it's in the languages of the children, not just in English. The purpose of this was to pull together mine-awareness information for the children of Bosnia. DC Comics in New York did the creative work. The Department of Defense added mine-awareness experts that they have, including putting up money for the producing and distribution of this. UNICEF was involved in trying to get this to the children of Bosnia. We did an initial run of half a million. That ran out very quickly. We did another half a million. It's probably the most successful mine-awareness booklet prepared. We hope to have this same approach done in other parts of the world and other languages.

So we are going to try to, as I said, harness the private sector in this effort. This is not going to just be governments. It's not going to be just working with the NGOs, but we are going to get the private sector to help us in this effort.

I think I am being run off the podium.

RUBIN: Thank you. Ambassador Inderfurth will be available during the course of the day to take any further questions if you contact Lee McClenny in the Press Office. Thank you.

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