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U.S. Daily Press Briefing - 10/01/2008

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  • U.S. Daily Press Briefing - 10/01/2008

    U.S. Daily Press Briefing
    Wednesday, 1 October 2008, 9:50 pm

    Press Release: US State Department

    U.S. Daily Press Briefing
    Scoop.co.nz (press release), New Zealand

    MR. WOOD: I don't have anything for you, so why don't we go right to
    your questions.

    Sir.

    QUESTION: Could I ask for a reaction on the Belarus elections? Are you
    guys planning to recognize --

    MR. WOOD: Well, what I have is an initial read and I think we found
    them to be well short of international standards. We certainly took
    note of the OSCE report. But again, this is an initial take. We
    obviously want to work with the Belarusian Government and we'll be
    looking for ways to do that. But again, this is just an initial read,
    and hopefully, we'll have some more details for you a bit later.


    QUESTION: Can you go into why you think it's well short of
    international standards?

    MR. WOOD: Well, I think, there were some issues with regard to the
    vote count. But again, this is, as I said, an initial take. Let us get
    back to you with a more fuller readout a little bit later.

    QUESTION: What is Assistant Secretary Hill going to do this week?

    MR. WOOD: Well, he's leaving today from New York and he is going to go
    to the region. He'll be meeting with his counterparts in the Six-Party
    Talks. He'll arrive in Seoul tomorrow, Tuesday evening, where he'll
    meet with Kim Sook. Later in the week, he'll visit Pyongyang before
    going to Beijing, where he'll meet with the Chinese Vice Foreign
    Minister Wu Dawei. He is also scheduled to visit Tokyo for
    consultations with the Japanese. I don't have any more details on his
    schedule. Sung Kim will be traveling with him, but that's all we have
    at the moment. So we'll update you as we can.

    QUESTION: So later in the week -- you said Pyongyang.

    MR. WOOD: Yeah, later in the week.

    QUESTION: No specific date.

    MR. WOOD: No specific date.

    QUESTION: And he's (inaudible) for Seoul?

    MR. WOOD: He's in New York now. He'll be leaving for Seoul later
    today.

    QUESTION: And Tokyo follows his trip to Beijing?

    MR. WOOD: To Beijing. That's correct.

    QUESTION: And just simply stated, can you tell us why he is making
    this trip?

    MR. WOOD: Well, obviously, we're very concerned about some of the
    reversal of disablement activities that the North has been in engaged
    in. And he obviously wants to consult with his counterparts in the
    region out there to see what our next steps are going to be with
    regard to a response to what the North is doing. Again, we encourage
    the North very strongly to submit that verification regime so that we
    can move forward on the other aspects, positive aspects of the
    Six-Party framework. And Assistant Secretary Hill will be obviously
    out in the region looking for ways to work with our allies to bring
    North Korea into compliance with its obligations.

    QUESTION: Two things, Robert.

    MR. WOOD: Yes.

    QUESTION: One, on all the things you just described, I think are all
    things that he could have done in New York this past week, or the
    Secretary could have done, in other words, consult with your allies
    and partners in this process. And I think the thing that is most
    interesting to us is that he's going to Pyongyang. Can you flesh out
    at all what he hopes to do in Pyongyang? Is it to get a better feel
    for why they have begun to roll back on the denuclearization steps? Is
    it to see if there's some kind of negotiating room on the nature of
    the verification mechanism? I mean, what ` that's probably the aspect
    that's most striking about this trip, so if you could try to address
    that?

    MR. WOOD: You know, I'll do the best I can on that. The Secretary
    obviously believes it's important for Chris to go out to the region,
    particularly to go to Pyongyang to get a sense on the ground as to
    what's going on and obviously to talk with North Korean officials
    about why they've taken the steps they've taken. And obviously, as I
    said earlier, to encourage them, once again, to submit this
    verification package, which we have said is not an onerous task that
    we have asked the North Koreans to undertake. It's a standard, you
    know, verification package that's been done in other cases in the
    international community. And so that's, in essence, is why the
    Secretary wants Chris to go to the region, so that we can get a
    firsthand look at what's going on.

    QUESTION: And, just one other related one. Forgive me, I wasn't here
    on Friday, so I don't know to what extent you addressed this. But the
    Post on Friday said it had obtained a copy of ` a four-page copy of `
    that essentially laid out the verification procedures that the Bush
    Administration wanted to see. It quoted David ` well, being a former
    weapons inspector David Albright as saying that this was a very
    extensive one. And The New York Times in an op-ed today says, I think
    ` excuse me, an internet editorial says that it was so extensive that
    only a vanquished ` a country vanquished in the war might submit to
    the verification measures that the United States is seeking of North
    Korea. One, are -- was The Washington Post report correct in terms of
    the verification document? And two, how would you ` since I assume you
    would dispute the notion that this was, in fact, a very intrusive and
    extensive set of verification measures?

    MR. WOOD: Well, for one I'm not going to comment on the Post story
    that referred to a document that wasn't to be made public. But again,
    as I said on Friday, I believe it was July 10 ` 12 ` there was a heads
    of delegation meeting in which the verification principles were agreed
    to by the parties. And so again, this call from us and from others in
    the international community for the North to submit this verification
    package is not new and we have made the case over and over again that
    this needs to happen before we can take any steps with regard to
    delisting.

    And as I said, we're talking about a standard verification
    package. This is not onerous. It's not unusual in terms of trying to
    verify activities that may have taken place. So you know, the North
    cannot expect that after submitting over 19,000 pages that, obviously,
    we, the other parties to the framework ` we need to be able to verify
    what they've submitted. And so again, Chris Hill will be going to the
    region, trying to look for ways that we can encourage the North to
    live up to its obligations.

    Kirit.

    QUESTION: Just a follow-up on that: When you say that the Secretary
    wants Chris Hill to go and get a sense on the ground in Pyongyang with
    what's going on over there, do you mean to say that you're trying to
    understand who is calling the shots now with the reports or the
    indications that Kim Jong Il is sick? And given their turnaround since
    that time, is there an effort to find out who is in charge right now?

    MR. WOOD: I think the effort is to find out why North Korea has taken
    the steps that it's taken. And we want to see those steps reversed.

    And again, Chris is not just going to Pyongyang, although that's a
    very important stop, obviously, on the trip. He is going to meet with
    his counterparts in other capitols in the region to talk about how we
    can get the North back on the path to what it's committed to
    doing. And so I think it's more trying to get a sense as to why they
    took the steps that they took.

    QUESTION: In a general sense, is it fair to say that you know that
    it's partly because of the delisting issue and the verification issue?
    That they find it too stringent, the verification? Can you say that at
    this point?

    MR. WOOD: Well, you know, all I can say is that they haven't submitted
    a verification package. Hopefully, we'll be able to find out better
    why they have not done so. And again, in conversations with his
    counterparts, Chris Hill is going to try to see what ways we can work
    with our allies in the region to get the North to submit this
    verification package.

    But again, I want to stress this is not something that's out of the
    norm. It is a standard verification package. The North knows that it
    is supposed to present the Six-Party ` the other members of the
    Six-Party framework with this verification package. And again, Chris
    will be making those points when he goes to the region.

    QUESTION: Can I follow up with one more on this, Robert?

    MR. WOOD: Sure.

    QUESTION: You know, the North Koreans are known to be sticklers on
    written agreements. I don't believe that any of the agreements -- any
    of the written agreements ` flowing from the September 2005 agreement
    actually explicitly addresses verification or explicitly requires the
    North to submit a verification package. I think that the key document
    referred to their making a complete and correct declaration, but I
    don't think it said anything of their nuclear programs ` but I don't
    think it said anything about submitting a verification package.

    And the Singapore agreement ` again, an agreement on verification
    principles ` is different from a specific agreement to, sort of,
    produce a package or to accept the package that the United States has
    proposed. So from the North Koreans point of view, they may feel that
    they gave you a declaration. They may regard it as complete and
    correct, and they may not feel obliged to accept your definition of a
    verification regime.

    MR. WOOD: Well, all I can say is that the North knows exactly what it
    has to do. The verification package ` they're quite aware that we need
    to have that in place, a verifiable one, so that we can move forward
    on other aspects of denuclearization. I can't tell you why the North
    is saying what it's saying, but let me just again reiterate the fact
    that this is not new. The North Koreans know exactly what's required
    of them. And you know, the idea that they couldn't possibly ` or a
    verification package is not something that they believe that they
    needed to submit. That's just not the case.

    All the other members agree that we need to be able to verify the
    declaration that the North submitted. And in order to do that we need
    a verification package.

    Let me try to ` go ahead, Kirit.

    QUESTION: This is follow up on Arshad's question Is there a ` can you
    say whether Chris Hill is leaving the U.S. with any sort of idea or
    compromise in mind to try to break the logjam?

    MR. WOOD: Well, if he is, I'm not going to reveal anything here.

    QUESTION: Could you say if he has ` I mean, is there something ` he's
    had a lot of meetings -- the Secretary has, as well -- over the past
    week in New York. Can you say whether in those conversations ` the
    consultations with the other four members, whether they've been able
    to come up with some sort of proposal that they're going to present at
    Pyongyang?

    MR. WOOD: Well, again, I'm not going to go into the substance of any
    message or proposal that Chris may be carrying to the region, except
    to say that we are going ` he is going to the region to try to look
    for a way to move this process forward. And obviously, Chris will have
    some ideas about how to do that. And we'll just have to wait and see
    where we go from there.

    Please.

    QUESTION: The process has been going precipitously backward for a few
    weeks now. And going to the region is pretty much standard operation
    for Chris Hill, but going to Pyongyang is not. Is this a -- an effort
    to try to salvage the process? Because he's only gone to Pyongyang at
    critical moments of the process. Is this an effort to try to salvage
    the process right now?

    MR. WOOD: Well, we want to get the process back on track. You know,
    the fact that the North has taken these steps at reversing disablement
    is of concern, major concern to us and the other members of the
    Six-Party framework. So obviously, this is an important visit. And as
    I said, Assistant Secretary Hill is looking to see what the reasons
    are that the North took ` or what the reasons are for the North taking
    these steps to reverse disablement. So that's about the best I can say
    on that at this moment.

    QUESTION: If he comes away empty handed, is that very damaging for
    this process?

    MR. WOOD: Well, let's not speculate. Let's let him get to the region
    and have him begin his diplomacy there.

    Please.

    QUESTION: Thank you. Very recently there was a meeting between
    Armenian President and --

    MR. WOOD: Can we stay North Korea and then we can come back to that?

    Charley.

    QUESTION: Okay.

    QUESTION: Just briefly, you said he's going at the direction of
    Secretary Rice. Did he receive an invitation from the North Koreans?
    Did he seek an invitation? Is there anything you can give us about the
    timing of that?

    MR. WOOD: I don't know the details of that. I just know that he is
    going to the region, and he's going to obviously meet with
    representatives of the North Korean Government. But I don't know the
    background of that, Charley, as to --

    QUESTION: Do you have any update on the activities in Yongbyon? Like,
    do you have any information?

    MR. WOOD: No, no new information.

    QUESTION: What's going on?

    MR. WOOD: No new information, but again, Chris will be going there and
    hopefully will be able to get a better read on what's happening there.

    QUESTION: The (inaudible) are still there?

    MR. WOOD: Yes, our monitors are still there.

    QUESTION: He's not going to go to (inaudible) -- he'll stay in
    Pyongyang, right?

    MR. WOOD: I don't know. I just know that he's going to Pyongyang. His
    schedule isn't, you know, finalized yet and there'll obviously be more
    details and we'll try to fill you in on those as they become
    available.

    QUESTION: Do you know how long he will be ` his trip to North Korea?

    MR. WOOD: Don't know. Don't know. Anything else on North Korea?

    QUESTION: Did you --

    MR. WOOD: Oh, I'm sorry, was there one more? Okay. Please, go.

    QUESTION: I'm sorry. Did you say that ` who he's going to meet in
    Pyongyang?

    MR. WOOD: No.

    QUESTION: You don't have that information?

    MR. WOOD: We don't have the information.

    Okay, sir.

    QUESTION: Thank you. Yeah, there was a meeting between President of
    Armenia in New York with Condoleezza Rice, the United States
    Secretary. I'd like to ask if you can provide any information how the
    meeting passed? And maybe we can broaden the topic of how you estimate
    U.S-Armenia relations during the last period, especially after the
    Ossetian crisis when there was cooperation between Armenia and the
    United States concerning U.S. citizens who were coming from Georgia to
    Armenia for ` leaving the region? Thank you.

    MR. WOOD: Yeah, our cooperation with the Government of Armenia is very
    good. I'll have to refer you to the ` our people up in New York for a
    more detailed readout of the Secretary's meeting, because I don't have
    them here. Sorry.

    QUESTION: Okay.

    MR. WOOD: Anything else?

    David.

    QUESTION: Did you have anything on the Ecuador election that passed,
    the constitutional changes that would sort of solidify the position of
    the president there?

    MR. WOOD: Yeah. We offer our congratulations to the people of Ecuador
    on the successful referendum and we reaffirm our commitment to build
    on our successful cooperation with Ecuador, consistent with our
    commitment to supporting Ecuadorian efforts to strengthen democratic
    institutions and the prosperity of its people.

    QUESTION: You're not at all concerned about the provisions there that
    would allow the incumbent president to stay in office?

    MR. WOOD: Well, again, this referendum is something that was decided
    on ` or the results of the referendum were decided on by the
    Ecuadorian people and it's a decision for them to make.

    Charley, were you going to ask some more? No, okay.

    QUESTION: This ` the weapons on this Ukrainian ship that was hijacked
    by Somali pirates on its way to Sudan, apparently -- does the
    U.S. interpret this sort of arms shipment as a violation of the UN
    arms embargo?

    MR. WOOD: Well, right now, I understand the Pentagon has a ship that's
    monitoring the situation out there right now. I don't have any other
    details about it, other than to say that, obviously, we've been
    concerned about piracy in this part of the world for a very long
    time. We've had travel warnings in the past about the situation off
    the coast there. And ` but beyond that, I don't have anything for you
    on that. I'd probably refer you to the Pentagon for more details on
    that.

    QUESTION: Do you have lawyers who are examining whether this was a
    violation of the UN --

    MR. WOOD: I'm sure people will be looking at those aspects of it. But
    right now, they're obviously trying to resolve a standoff in the area,
    first and foremost.

    QUESTION: Could you say whether the U.S. is concerned or welcomes a
    Russian ship that is also heading towards this, apparently, hijacked
    ship?

    MR. WOOD: Well, the Russians, I believe, are trying to lend their
    support to the ship that was hijacked. So I don't have anything to say
    beyond that on it. They're obviously concerned about it as we are.

    QUESTION: Thank you.

    MR. WOOD: Okay, thank you.

    ENDS
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