U.S. Relations With the People's Republic of China (2008)

U.S. Department of State

Daily Press Briefing

Sean McCormack, Spokesman
Washington, DC
April 25, 2008

12:39 p.m. EDT

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QUESTION: Sean, we have asked many times that -- can you trust North Korea and Iran as far as their nuclear program is concerned, that answer was yes, and we are working on that. Now, can you have some links as far as this outcome is concerned from A.Q. Khan and China, as far as helping North Korea and then going to -- spreading other countries?

MR. MCCORMACK: I don't have any information in that regard, Goyal. And I -- just to correct what you stated at the top there, the whole reason why you have a verification regime is to possibly get to the state at which there is mutual trust among the parties in the six-party talks. That is something that is earned. It is something that is developed over time. Right now, we're working on the verification part.

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QUESTION: Sean, the question that's being asked after the revelation is -- very obvious question is whether the United States has raised this with North Korea and what was the response?

MR. MCCORMACK: Right. Certainly, over the past several months, this issue has been raised with North Korea. It has been in the context of the six-party talks and it has also been an issue that has been discussed. And the information, in some form, has been discussed among all the members of the six-party talks. And we believe, actually, that has been very constructive and helpful to the process of the six-party talks and, in fact, the mechanism of the six-party talks, because it has put verification really at the top of the list of the things that the six-party mechanism is trying to accomplish. You can have declarations, you can have actions, but those things need to be verified.

And this information has strengthened that case to the point where you have China that is now going to be chairing a group within the six-party mechanism on issues related to verification. And I would expect that, should the process move forward, that that is going to be an essential component of the six-party process. And also, it has had the effect of putting nonproliferation really front and center in this process.

When we talk now about the denuclearized Korean Peninsula, we talk about plutonium, we talk about highly enriched uranium, we also talk about nonproliferation as an equal component. And that is, in our view, a very significant development. It has always been part of the process, but really, the prominence of it within the six parties has been raised. And that has been a positive aspect, I think, that has come out of this.

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QUESTION: What is the next step now on a practical level in the six-party talks? What is going to be happening next? And can you say more about China's role in terms of verification?

MR. MCCORMACK: Well, in terms of verification, that's something that will, I would expect, evolve over time. The next steps practically are the five parties waiting for North Korea to provide a declaration. I suppose it shouldn't be a foregone conclusion that they will provide one. We all hope and expect that they will. Once they do, well, that'll be handed over to the Chinese as chair of the six-party process. Once that's handed over, it'll be examined, analyzed, judged. And if it does account for all aspects of their nuclear program, then the Secretary of State and this building will have to make a recommendation to the President whether or not the process moves forward. The President will have to decide. And if it does move forward, then that declaration, of course, would be subject to verification and they would also have to carry out their outstanding obligations with respect to disabling Yongbyon. And then the other parties would be, I believe at that point, prepared to fulfill their obligations.

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QUESTION: Sean, outside of the IAEA, were the other six -- were the six parties briefed separately, individually, as a group, on yesterday's --

MR. MCCORMACK: You know, I can see if I can share with you a bit more the variety of briefings that took place through diplomatic channels over the past couple of days. But the other, what, four parties, I guess you can say, over the period of months, and I don't have specific dates for you, were briefed in some form on the information that we have.

QUESTION: The other four? Don't you mean the other five?

MR. MCCORMACK: China --

QUESTION: Maybe not as full as the other -- as the four got, but --

MR. MCCORMACK: China and South Korea, Japan and Russia.

QUESTION: So they --

MR. MCCORMACK: They received the briefing. And also the North Koreans were presented with this information as well.

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QUESTION: About China. Chinese officials have said that they will meet a representative of the Dalai Lama in the coming days with the hope of bringing an end to the China-Tibet conflict. Do you have any comment on that?

MR. MCCORMACK: It's very encouraging. A very -- a potentially very encouraging step -- these statements. And we would welcome a resumption of a dialogue between China and the representatives of the Dalai Lama as a way of addressing issues on both sides. So we would urge that there be some immediate follow-up to these statements of intent, but these statements certainly are encouraging.

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(The briefing was concluded at 1:06 p.m.)