*EPF402 08/01/2002
Transcript: State Department Noon Briefing, August 1, 2002
(Powell/Asia trip, Rewards for Justice program, Deputy Secretary Armitage/Israeli Foreign Minister Peres meeting, department/visa procedures, NATO/membership of Ukraine, WMD, Israel/Palestinian Authority, Jordan, Venezuela, Libya, Russia, Romania, Treasury Secretary O'Neill's travels to South America) (6710)

Deputy State Department Spokesman Philip Reeker briefed.

Following is the State Department transcript:

(begin transcript)

U.S. Department of State
Daily Press Briefing Index
1:20 p.m. EST -- Thursday August 1, 2002

BRIEFER: Philip T. Reeker, Spokesman

DEPARTMENT
-- Secretary Powell's Asia Itinerary
-- Rewards For Justice Program
-- Deputy Secretary Armitage's Meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Peres
-- Secretary Powell to Meet with Palestinian Delegation
-- Secretary Powell's Meeting with Foreign Minister Ivanov
-- Visa Procedures
-- Secretary Powell's Meeting with Foreign Minister Paek

NATO
-- Membership of Ukraine

MISCELLANEOUS
-- Proliferation of Missile Technology

ISRAEL/PALESTINIANS
-- Hebrew University Bombing Update
-- Ambassador Kurtzer Attendance at Ceremony for Bombing Victims
-- National Security Advisor Dr. Rice's Meeting with Foreign Minister Peres
-- President Bush's June 24th Speech
-- Reform of Palestinian Institutions
-- International Cooperation Against Terrorism
-- Travel Warnings to Israel, the West Bank and Gaza
-- United Nations Report on Jenin

JORDAN
-- President Bush's Meeting with King Abdullah

VENEZUELA
-- Office of the Inspector General's Report
-- Venezuelan Government Contact with Libya

LIBYA
-- PAN AM Flight 103 Crash

RUSSIA
-- Under Secretary Bolton and Secretary Abraham's Talks in Moscow
-- Dialogue between U.S. and Russia to Address Proliferation Concerns

ROMANIA
-- Acting Foreign Minister Diaconescu and Under Secretary Bolton Agreement Signing
-- Article 98 Agreements

WESTERN HEMISPHERE
-- Treasury Secretary O'Neill's Travel to South America


U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DAILY PRESS BRIEFING

1:20 P.M. EDT -- THURSDAY, AUGUST 1, 2002
(ON THE RECORD UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED)

MR. REEKER: Welcome back to the State Department, ladies and gentlemen, on this fine Thursday. Welcome to August. Secretary Powell, as you know, is still traveling in Asia. His party has arrived in Indonesia -- we'll double-check, we'll double-check on where the Secretary is in his itinerary, with which you are all familiar. He'll be in Indonesia, he'll be in the Philippines, before returning this weekend to Washington.

And since Ambassador Boucher is accompanying him on that trip, I am here to take your questions. And we can start with the representative of the Associated Press -- (laughter) -- or someone else if they care to.

QUESTION: Earlier today we were told that the United States Government is working with Ukraine on securing its nuclear arsenal -- its nuclear technology and missile technology, and that representatives from Iran and Iraq had been to that country seeking meetings and access. Could you give us a comment about that?

MR. REEKER: I'm afraid I couldn't. I believe there was a briefing arranged with some of our officials who are familiar with Ukraine, our work with them on nonproliferation and other issues, but I don't have anything additional for you at this point.

Ben.

QUESTION: If I could just follow up.

MR. REEKER: Sure.

QUESTION: The United States is particularly sensitive about this technology and the aura -- the insecure aura around it. Is it possible that the United States could object to NATO membership for Ukraine if this issue is not -- if this technology is not made more secure?

MR. REEKER: I don't know if I want to draw any particular parallels or make any broad statements on that. I don't know that Ukraine's membership in NATO has been a subject of tremendous discussion right now, as we look forward to the Prague summit in November. But I just don't have anything really to add to you.

Our sensitivities and concerns about transfer of sensitive technology, particularly related to proliferation of missile technology or processes or components involved in weapons of mass destruction, is something we are obviously very concerned about. It's a high priority for our government, for the State Department, and certainly a subject that we discuss with many countries, including Ukraine.

And our concerns about Iran and Iraq have been well documented, certainly from this podium and in regular reports we make. Our concerns with both of those countries and others in terms of their attempts to acquire and develop weapons of mass destruction or missile technologies with which to deliver those weapons, because those are states that have continued to support terrorism worldwide, have focused their resources on developing those types of weapons. And so that will continue to be a concern of ours.

Eli.

QUESTION: Has the State Department or the U.S. Government had any contacts with Israel regarding the Americans who were killed in the bomb blast at Hebrew University?

MR. REEKER: Yes, certainly. And as the President said earlier today at the White House, we mourn the loss of innocent American lives. Our prayers and sympathies go out to their loved ones.

Let me, if I may, just confirm for you that the State Department has confirmed the deaths of five American citizens, and we have been in touch with next of kin and are able to tell you that 36-year-old Janis Ruth Coulter from New York; Benjamin Blutstein, born in 1977 from Pennsylvania; David Gritz, born in 1978 in France, a dual national of the United States and France; and Marla Bennet, born in 1978 from San Diego, California, we have confirmed were killed in yesterday's tragic and outrageous terrorist attack at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. A fifth American has been identified, but pending notification of next of kin I am not in a position at this point to provide you the name of that American or other information.

The U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv, as I said, has been in touch with next of kin of the four that I mentioned to convey our deepest condolences and offer our assistance in this time. As you may have seen, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Daniel Kurtzer attended a ceremony at Hebrew University today, where he laid a wreath in honor of the victims. The Embassy is working to determine the next of kin for the fifth victim.

We extend our deepest sympathies, again, to those persons who lost their loved ones at Hebrew University, as well as to those that were injured in this. Our consular officers from our Consulate General in Jerusalem were on the ground at the university working with police, working with the Government of Israel, to determine the status of American citizens after the attack. They followed up with injured American citizens through personal visits to ensure their well-being. And consular officers from our Embassy in Tel Aviv assisted in identifying the bodies of the deceased at the morgue in Tel Aviv.

We also, as I said, made the calls to notify next of kin and we are remaining closely in touch with families to do whatever we can to support, support their wishes for bringing bodies back to the United States if that's appropriate.

QUESTION: Can I follow up? Have you specifically broached the topic with the Government of Israel about sending in, maybe, an FBI team or a team to investigate the --

MR. REEKER: Well, we are deeply committed to bringing those responsible for this heinous, unconscionable, terrorist attack to justice and we are going to be in close consultation with the Israeli Government regarding this issue and their investigation. In terms of how far that's moved along, you may want to check with the Justice Department on that. But I would note that under the Rewards for Justice Program administered by the Department of State, we have offered substantial monetary rewards for individuals providing information leading to the arrest or conviction of those responsible for this or any other international terrorist act against U.S. citizens or property.

And so, as I said, we are deeply committed to seeing those responsible for this brought to justice and we are going to be in close consultation with the Israeli Government regarding the issue.

QUESTION: Can you say whether you've offered to send in a team to investigate?

MR. REEKER: At this point, I don't know exactly what may have been offered. I'd have to check with the Justice Department. And our Embassy there has been focused, obviously, on the consular aspects of this, identifying the Americans, working with their families and working with all those that were injured, as well.

QUESTION: Have we posted a sum for the Rewards for Justice Program yet with regard to these attacks? I know it's fairly soon.

MR. REEKER: I don't know, Eli. I'd have to check. I can let you consult the website if there's anything specific on this attack, but the Rewards for Justice Program in general does apply to this and other such attacks.

QUESTION: How is this recent attack with Americans being killed, how does that affect what the next steps might be in U.S. policy towards trying to calm the situation over there between the Israelis and the Palestinians?

MR. REEKER: Toby, I'd refer you to what the President said today. He spoke publicly with King Abdullah of Jordan, making some of the points that I just reiterated in terms of our outrage at this attack, at any terrorist attack that takes the lives of innocent civilians, including, in this case, American citizens, as well. And he also reiterated our position, our view of working towards peace, the vision that we have, the strategy that we need to pursue, the fact that all parties should focus on that vision and work on security forces, the reforms necessary for the Palestinians' constitution, financial transparency. So I'd just refer you back to the President's remarks and how --

QUESTION: Is there a concrete next step that's going to be taken?

MR. REEKER: The President talked about working towards our goals. We've been meeting, as you know, with a number of leaders from the region, including King Abdullah today. The President said quite clearly with the King that this outrage, this terrorist act, will not stop us from rallying the world to fight for peace and to fight that kind of terror, and having the vision of peace that the President made clear again in his June 24th speech.

We still think peace is possible and we look for a peace that will improve the situation and conditions of everyone in the region. So, including the contacts with King Abdullah today, also Israeli Foreign Minister Peres is here in Washington. He met with Deputy Secretary Armitage, or is meeting him this afternoon. He was at the White House earlier where he met with National Security Advisor Dr. Rice. The President dropped by that meeting. And as you know, Secretary Powell is planning to meet with a Palestinian delegation after Secretary Powell returns to Washington and will focus, as the President did, on Palestinian civil reform efforts, the renewal of security cooperation, the resumption of political dialogue.

And so it remains essential as we move forward with the President's strategy, with the strategy that the full international community, including the Palestinians and the Israelis have said they agree with, it remains essential to end the violence and terror. These acts are perpetrated by the enemies of peace who undermine the real interests of the Palestinian people. We need to work to create an environment in which progress is possible.

QUESTION: Just to follow up on that, are you able to give us today any information about the Palestinian delegation or any contacts you've had with the Palestinians --

MR. REEKER: No, I don't have any updates on that at this point, no.

Ben.

QUESTION: Do you hold the Hamas political leaders responsible for this attack on the Americans?

MR. REEKER: I believe I saw that Hamas claimed responsibility for this attack. In terms of an investigation into the attack, I don't have any more details. But as I said, we want to see the perpetrators of this attack brought to justice and we'll be consulting closely with the Israelis on their investigation.

QUESTION: And will you seek to extradite if anybody is arrested?

MR. REEKER: I would have to refer you to the Justice Department on that. We are deeply committed to seeing those responsible for these heinous crimes brought to justice. We'll consult with the Israeli Government on the issue. But for specific questions on that, you need to talk to the Justice Department.

We do have an extradition treaty with Israel, but it would be a little early to speculate on such issues as extradition at this point. But we will be in close consultation with them.

Eli.

QUESTION: Yesterday you referred to these terrorists as "enemies of peace." Would you also refer to them as "enemies of America" and "enemies of Israel"?

MR. REEKER: I don't know if I want to give them the credit of having any more titles, but they're clearly enemies of peace, they're enemies of their own people. As the President pointed out, they carry out these murderous crimes in the names of false pretense, and they're only undermining the goals and aspirations of their own people. And that's why we want to work with all of the parties. That's why we're accepting the responsibilities that the President talked about in his June 24th speech, and why we're encouraging everyone else to take their responsibilities to work together in this process to work toward a peace that will bring hope, will bring better lives to the Palestinian people and security to the Israeli people, will have two states living side by side in security, Israel and Palestine.

Charlie.

QUESTION: Phil, can I go back to the numbers in yesterday's attack? Do you have an updated number of wounded, how many Americans might still be in a hospital and how many were wounded?

MR. REEKER: I'm aware of four injured American citizens, and their exact status I don't have particular details. We do not have Privacy Act waivers to discuss their circumstances with the press from any of those Americans.

QUESTION: Well, I'm not asking for names, just numbers. Four is --

MR. REEKER: Four is what I just said.

Joel.

QUESTION: A question. Have you analyzed the, I guess you could say, the street theater in Gaza and other West Bank towns? Right after that bombing, they were clapping, and it's like for them it's retribution and you're going to have, I guess, tit-for-tat back and forth. Are you making any attempts to talk, as you said I guess in the last week or so, with other moderate PA officials? Does King Abdullah of Jordan agree with you that you're going about this correctly, talking with moderates?

MR. REEKER: For the King's views, you would need to ask the King his views, but I will point out that he had some remarks and comments with President Bush when they met a short time ago in the Oval Office.

As we have said for some time now, we pursue dialogue and talks with a variety of Palestinian figures. We want to see reform in institutions that will be necessary to create the state which is the vision that the President has called for. That is what will give to the Palestinian people the lives that we feel they deserve. There has been too much suffering in the Palestinian community, and they have got to have leaders that can actually lead, take responsibility, play an active role in this process, work on security, work on pursuing a political dialogue, and work on creating all of the necessary institutions, including financial institutions, that are transparent, free from corruption, that will benefit the Palestinian people. That's the direction we're looking.

We've got to get the terror down, we've got to end the violence and focus on these positive directions, because that is the solution. The President has laid that out. The international community has supported that. The Quartet, including the United Nations, including the European Union, including Russia, is working with us. Arab leaders are working with us in helping the Palestinians to move in this reform direction. And both of the parties, the Israelis and the Palestinians, need to work in that direction, too.

QUESTION: Change of subject?

MR. REEKER: End of Middle East? One more.

QUESTION: Given everything that has happened up to this point, why is it that you still can stand there and say that peace is possible at this point?

MR. REEKER: Can I just refer you, Toby, to what the President said? He is a man of peace. He has a vision of peace. The people of the region deserve peace and they deserve security. The people of Israel deserve to have a country where they can pursue their lives and prosperity with security to raise their families, just as the Palestinian people deserve to have a country, an independent country with its own borders, to also live in security.

And that has got to be the final outcome and we cannot be derailed by these criminals, by these terrorists who pursue their own selfish agendas and kill innocent people. And the world is speaking out against that. We're fighting terrorism all around the globe and we're going to continue with that fight. As the President said, we are not going to allow this to derail us from our fight against terrorism and we're not going to allow it to derail us from our vision of peace in the Middle East.

Betsy.

QUESTION: One more. Is there any indication that U.S. citizens were targeted in this bombing?

MR. REEKER: I don't believe that we have any indication at this time that Americans were singled out for attack. We will continue, as I said, to be in close contact with Israeli authorities as they pursue an investigation. We will monitor all sources of information closely to gauge the threat to American citizens.

As you are aware, our advice to the American community is the same as it has been for some time. We have a Travel Warning in place which warns travelers to defer travel to Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. It's noted that in the past, as again yesterday, American citizens have been killed in terrorist attacks. It's a very clear warning and we urge potential travelers and Americans visiting these areas to give our warning careful consideration. We try to provide as much information as we can on which Americans can make their own reasoned, educated decisions about their travel plans and think about the precautions they may want to take.

Yes, Eli.

QUESTION: One more. Just given Hamas' links to other state sponsors of terrorism in the Middle East, particularly Iran, has the U.S. -- has the State Department sent any messages to those governments through third parties in light of this recent attack?

MR. REEKER: I'm not aware of any new particular message. I think our message has been quite strong and consistent about Hamas and other terrorist organizations who are, as we said, as the President indicated, the enemies of peace and are only seeking a sort of perverted agenda of their own, which won't accomplish anything for anyone.

You want to change now to another subject? One more, I'm sorry. Pardon me. I knew I saw you there.

QUESTION: The President stressed work on the security force and political reform this morning. I am wondering, is the U.S. Government looking for any Israeli steps to alleviate conditions in the West Bank and Gaza, or is that something that would follow improvement in security?

MR. REEKER: Well, we have talked about the importance of that. The President -- I'll just refer you back to his remarks -- over a long period of time has talked about steps needed to be taken in terms of tax revenues, in terms of easing some of the situation for the Palestinians, because there is a lot of suffering going on there. And there's no change in our position on that.

QUESTION: The Inspector General's report on Venezuela --

MR. REEKER: Did you find it?

QUESTION: Yes, I did.

MR. REEKER: The whole thing? Just where I promised you would.

QUESTION: (Laughter.) Not the whole thing. There are parts omitted.

MR. REEKER: This does -- this does occur.

QUESTION: Well, one of the interesting aspects of this that's causing comment in Caracas is the revelation that the Embassy warned President Chavez of a plot to assassinate him and on other occasions have warned the government of plots, presumably military plots, against it. Now the question that's being raised is: How does this square with the theme of the report, which is that the U.S. was, yes, getting lots of information from all sectors and probably mostly from dissident sectors, but it was using it for its own information and not to affect the -- its activities or constitute any kind of intervention in Venezuela?

MR. REEKER: I don't know if I quite understand the premise of your question. I'm not going to talk -- I'm not in a position, ever, to talk about intelligence sources or information we may gather. I think what the report points out is that after all of the interviews and all of the examination of documents and other information that the Office of the Inspector General made in preparing this report at the behest of the Senate, they found that the policy of the United States towards Venezuela was to support democracy and constitutionality. And --

QUESTION: So was giving this information to Mr. Chavez support for democracy? Is that what you're saying?

MR. REEKER: I can't comment on specific intelligence information. What we have always said is that any changes and political changes in Venezuela should be carried out in a constitutional manner, not in non- or extra-constitutional ways. And so our --again, I can't amplify the report for you. I'll let you read it, as you have, and it speaks for itself, and found that all of the activities that our diplomats in Caracas participated in, and here in Washington as well, found that these actions were consistent with U.S. policy, that we had consistently urged the Chavez government to conduct itself in a democratic and constitutional fashion, that we had discouraged undemocratic and unconstitutional moves against the Chavez government, and the Department and the Embassy urged the provisional Carmona government to conduct itself in a democratic and constitutional fashion. All of those actions, as the report reiterates, were consistent with the Inter-American Democratic Charter designed to promote democracy and constitutionality in the Americas.

QUESTION: May I ask further if you've got any information on that reported deal, oil deal between Venezuela and Iraq to -- ?

MR. REEKER: You asked, you asked me about Libya about a week ago.

QUESTION: I'm sorry. Libya, yeah.

MR. REEKER: And all I can tell you is that in any conversations with Libya, we would hope that the Venezuelan Government would reiterate the points that the United Nations has and that we certainly have, that Libya needs to focus on complying with UN Security Council resolutions and the requirements under those resolutions involving the Pan Am 103 downing. If Libya wants to pursue better relations with the rest of the world, then that's the first starting point. There are no shortcuts in terms of the steps they need to take in that, and we would hope anybody talking to Libya would make that very clear to them.

QUESTION: Back to Venezuela for a second. How did the conclusions that you just summarized square with the fact that in the wake of the coup, for the 72 hour coup, the U.S. Government seemed to accept that a change in government had occurred?

MR. REEKER: That's what the report's all about, Eli, so I would recommend that you read it. And the report speaks for itself.

Ben.

QUESTION: Do you have some reaction to the UN report on Jenin?

MR. REEKER: I think we may have offered that at the United Nations, as well. We have said before, as this was being prepared, that we appreciate Secretary General Annan's efforts in putting together this report. I think it pretty much speaks for itself. Its clear, underlying theme is that civilians have suffered far too much, as I mentioned in my earlier comments, and that this suffering must end.

The Secretary General concludes his report by calling on the international community to help find a peaceful and durable solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. And as we just discussed as part of your colleagues' questions, that's exactly what the administration is working intensively to do right now: engage with the parties to take concrete steps, first of all, to prevent terrorism, to alleviate the serious humanitarian situation on the ground, promote Palestinian reform, and help both sides return to a political dialogue and the search for a negotiated settlement.

QUESTION: But the -- there were allegations of a massacre of 500 or more people who might have been killed by the Israelis. And the report, I believe, found that that was not true. I mean, do you have any comment on that?

MR. REEKER: The report speaks for itself, exactly what I said.

Yes, Dmitri.

QUESTION: Anything about the results of talks of Secretary Bolton and Secretary Abraham in Moscow?

MR. REEKER: Yes. As we discussed earlier in the weeks, Under Secretary of State Bolton along with the Secretary of Energy Abraham were in Moscow -- if I can find the notes I had on that. They, in their talks there, conveyed our concerns to senior Russian officials regarding reports that Russia intends to cooperate with Iran on additional nuclear reactors. I think we mentioned yesterday, and you probably saw it in transcripts from Secretary Powell's traveling party, that the Secretary raised the issue of Iran's nuclear program when he met with Russian Foreign Minister Ivanov. They had lunch earlier in the week.

The Russians have told us they're still considering the issue, and we will continue our intensive dialogue with senior Russian officials to address proliferation concerns. This is, as we discussed earlier, directly out of discussions that our presidents, President Putin and President Bush, had in Moscow at their summit and in the Kananaskis summit, where it was agreed that we would pursue this dialogue to deal with the concerns we have on the nonproliferation issue.

Yes, Elise. Sorry, Steve has one on that.

QUESTION: The Russians, when they made their announcement on the expanded cooperation with Iran last week, there was some -- some uncertainty maybe you'd describe it, as to what exactly it meant. After your talks with the Russians, are you satisfied that you actually know what the Russians' intentions are with this project?

MR. REEKER: I think the best I can do is just reiterate what I said, that the Russians have told us they're still considering the issue. This dialogue is an important thing and we're going to continue to pursue this intensive dialogue, as was expected by our two presidents, and continue to address that issue. And I don't think I can really add anything more from here. I'd let the Russians speak for themselves in terms of that.

QUESTION: Okay, and just one more on Bolton. Is he -- you said yesterday that he was moving on to Romania to sign that, it is Article 98 Agreement -- ? or whatever it is on the ICC.

MR. REEKER: Yes. Would you like to talk about it?

QUESTION: Has it been done now?

MR. REEKER: It has. Today in Bucharest, Romania's Acting Foreign Minister Cristian Diaconescu and Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security John Bolton signed an agreement under the auspices of Article 98 of the Rome Statute to protect persons from surrender to the International Criminal Court. We very much appreciate that Romania was the first country to sign an Article 98 Agreement with the United States. And as we've said before, we expect to conclude similar agreements with a large number of countries and we are actively pursuing discussions toward this end. And I'll post a written statement to that effect right after the briefing, or I'll have someone post it for me.

Elise's turn. Or anything else on --

QUESTION: My question was on the ICC, so --

MR. REEKER: Okay. Is that enough?

QUESTION: Are there any other countries that he might be signing another agreement with?

MR. REEKER: At this point I'm not certain of Under Secretary Bolton's schedule, but as I said, we'll be working with a number of countries to conclude similar agreements, a large number of countries, and we very much appreciate the fact that Romania was the first of those countries to do this. So from Moscow, Under Secretary Bolton went down to Bucharest, where he was able to sign that in a ceremony this morning, all part of helping us provide the safeguards we seek to protect U.S. citizens from surrender to the International Criminal Court.

Toby.

QUESTION: How many personnel that would be affected by this are in Romania?

MR. REEKER: I don't know if I would have any specifics on that. I'm not aware of the details, but we have to see. It doesn't -- you know, it's not just a sort of moment in time. It's an agreement that has a lasting effect for Romania. And that's why we'll be working with other countries to bring about similar Article 98 agreements with them.

Ben.

QUESTION: On visas, have you sent out any additional instructions to your visa officers around the world about tightening procedures and being careful not to let terrorists in the country?

MR. REEKER: I think we have an almost continuous dialogue with our posts around the world about visa procedures, about all of the security aspects there. As you know, we have talked about reviewing procedures at every post that issues visas around the world and we've been working very closely with law enforcement and intelligence agencies in this country to make sure that we have access to the full amount of information that the entire U.S. Government has for our name check system so that we can have --

QUESTION: Any new instructions on it this week that you sent out?

MR. REEKER: I don't know, Ben. I don't know. It's a continuous thing in terms of working with all of our posts and updating them on any new ideas, thoughts, reviewing how processes are carried out as we execute the law.

QUESTION: I understand that there were some new instructions that were sent out this week to all of the missions around the world.

MR. REEKER: I'm not aware of that.

QUESTION: Both the Post and The Wall Street Journal have had front-page stories in the last few days about the very badly worsening economic situation in Latin America. And Uruguay particularly now is in a jam. I think Secretary O'Neill, the last I heard, was still planning to go to Brazil --

MR. REEKER: Yes, and he's briefing the press, I believe, at 2:30. So I would refer you over to his briefing on that. I think he's traveling to South America to a number of countries, and that's where I would direct you for that.

QUESTION: Well, I just wanted to ask the question -- is it the State Department's understanding that U.S. policy continues the same of not doing anything to help out these countries until they can satisfy IMF --

MR. REEKER: I'm not going to accept your sweeping categorization of U.S. policy, but what I would do is refer you to the Treasury Department where they can talk about those specifics, particularly today because they have scheduled a press briefing on that very subject regarding Secretary O'Neill's travel to the region.

Yes, ma'am.

QUESTION: During the ARF, Secretary Powell also had meetings with the foreign ministers of South Korea, Japan, China, as well. I'm wondering if you could tell us about those meetings, especially --

MR. REEKER: I'm afraid I can't. I would have to refer you to the traveling party on that. I don't have any readouts from the Secretary's meetings in Asia. Okay?

Yes, sir. Excuse me. Yes.

QUESTION: On North Korea at the ARF meeting, the Foreign Minister of North Korea just announced that U.S. might be sending the envoy to Pyonyang and probably that person should be Mr. James Kelly. So at this point, do you have a -- could you give us some idea how and when?

MR. REEKER: I think I'll just refer you to what Secretary Powell, himself, said about that meeting. He had a useful meeting with the North Korean Foreign Minister. As the Secretary said, he's coming back to Washington this weekend. He'll be reporting on the conversations he had with his North Korean counterpart, he'll be reporting to the President and to his other colleagues in the national security community, and then there will be decisions on next steps on that. So you can go back -- we can make sure you have the transcripts of everything the Secretary said about that in his press conference earlier today from Brunei, where he addressed that subject.

(The briefing was concluded at 1:55 p.m.)

(end transcript)

(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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