Human rights, denuclearization are the next step for North Korea negotiations

“What cannot be undone [...] is the knowledge that North Korea has gained in their nuclear development program since 2002”, said Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) at a full committee hearing on the North Korean Six-Party Talks and implementation activities. “That knowledge will always exist, and with it, the concern that a weapons program could be resumed, or the knowledge proliferated.”

Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill of the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs said that cooperation with the People’s Republic of China has been very important for the talks, and has helped the nation emerge as a responsible stakeholder in the region. He went on to say that during the first two phases of negotiations, North Korea has shut down and began dismantling the Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center in exchange for 420,000 tons of heavy fuel oil and other energy supplies.

Hill also said that the US will continue to push the North Korean government for information on abductions of Japanese citizens, while also negotiating continued human rights reforms in response to reports of abuse.

William Tobey, deputy administrator for defense nuclear nonproliferation in the Energy Department’s National Nuclear Security Administration said that the third phase of negotiations will focus on implementation of comprehensive verification and denuclearization, and that the costs of these activities would be substantially higher than the previous steps. However, Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) expressed concern over the costs of the next phase, expressing a desire to discuss sharing the expenses with other 6 members of the talks.

Obama is weak on dictators says Hoekstra (R-Mich.)

Senator John McCain's (R-Ariz.) presidential campaign held a conference call on the one-year anniversary of Senator Barack Obama's (D-Ill.) declaration that he would hold diplomatic meetings with various dictators "without preconditions" once he becomes President.

Kori Schake, the senior foreign policy adviser for the McCain campaign said Obama does not understand the consequences of such a policy decision. Congressman Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.) said if Obama carries out these negotiations with the leaders of Iran, North Korea, Venezuela, Cuba, and Syria, he would greatly undercut efforts to restrain the nuclear activities of those countries. Hoekstra said that Obama's intent to talk with those dictators sets him up with very high performance expectations. Upon Obama's assumption of the Presidency, his credibility would be tested immediately and his open approach to discussion with dictators puts him in a weakened position to deal with real threats to national security. Hoekstra contrasted Obama's plan with McCain's objective of having a strong, multilateral approach to prevent states from becoming nuclear powers.

Randy Scheunemann, another senior foreign policy adviser for the McCain campaign, said Obama's plan shows his inexperience, stubbornness, and malleability. He added that Obama's recent softening of his plan showed that the tried to change his position without the media noticing. (21:41)

White House Gaggle

Briefer: Dana Perino

President’s Schedule

President Bush had his normal briefings at 8 am. At 1.30 pm he will make remarks in honor of Columbian Independence Day in the East Room of the White House. The President will highlight the need for Congress to pass the US-Columbian Free Trade Agreement. Secretaries Gutierrez and Schafer, members of Congress, and members of the diplomatic corps, will be in attendance along with another 220 guests. At 2.20 pm, the President will depart the White House en route to a Goddard-Georgia victory committee reception. He will return to the Washington later this evening.

White House Press Secretary Dana Perino will brief the press at 12.30 pm today.

Announcement: On July 31st, the President will make remarks at the 2008 annual meeting at the West Virginia Coal Association and then travel to Kennebunkport, Maine where he will spend the weekend.

Russia-Cuba

Perino went back to remarks from the G8 meeting where the Bush Administration repeatedly said that they seek strategic corporation with the Russians. Perino said that they want to work them to prevent missiles from rogue nations like Iran. “Our missile defense system should not be seen as a threat to Russia, “Perino said.

India

When asked about the prospects of a nuclear deal with India considering their political climate right now, Perino replied that President Bush met with Prime Minister Singh a few weeks ago and got an update from him. Politics in India have been tough to deal with, but the Prime Minister has been trying to build a consensus. It will be up to the Indian Congress to decide whether they will move forward with something that the Bush Administration considers being a very good opportunity. They are going to need a lot of energy and one of the best ways of doing that is to have clean nuclear power instead of coal fire power plants, Perino said.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown

Perino was asked about a reaction to Gordon Brown’s statement to withdrawal of British troops in Iraq, and she said that because the conditions on the ground in Iraq have dramatically changed, mainly attributed to the surge, not only American but also British troops can start to think about transitioning their troops in Iraq. When asked if the President was informed of the Prime Minister’s remarks before hand, Perino said that she was not sure if the President knew but the National Security Advisor was informed.


Iraq

We share the goal of the Iraqis wanting taking over their own security; that is what we have all been working on, Perino said and continued: “We also support setting a time horizon that we said we would do in this agreement.” When asked what a time horizon is, Perino replied that it is an aspirational goal looking into the future, looking at a date in the future when the Iraqis can take over their own security. Perino gave a rare hypothetic; For example, they would look for month “x” when Iraq will take over “y” province, but if the conditions were not right, they would go back and reevaluate the situation. Perino said that Anbar province is a good example of a territory where the Iraqis have been close to taking over the security control, but now it is a rolling date because conditions are not right and they are not ready yet. Whenever the agreement is finalized, the White House does expect an aspirational goal with possibly several separate dates.
Also, when asked if President Bush would like to see Iraq again before leaving office, Perino said that she did not know. In the remaining six months, the President wants to make sure that he is in contact with troops as much as possible, but there is nothing on the schedule terms of a trip to Iraq.

Presidential Candidates travel

Perino was asked if the White House thinks it is appropriate for any American presidential candidate to go to both a war zone and visit foreign capitals on a trip very much designed as a presidential trip, and she responded that it is up to the media and the candidates themselves to decide that.

North Korea

When asked about how hopeful the White House is on reaching a verification agreement with the six party talks before the August 10th, and Perino said that President Bush thinks the verification piece of the six-party talks is critically important, but “he is very skeptical of the North Koreans, and that is why we have to continue to verify, and push and we are going to be rigorous in that verification”, Perino said.

A snowball in the Middle East

John Bolton, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, discussed North Korean and Iranian nuclear proliferation at a banquet in the House of Representatives. Bolton described the current status of the North Korean and Iranian programs and attributed the White House’s changing policy towards North Korea and Iran to President Bush’s desire to leave a positive foreign policy legacy. He said both states have large influence in the Middle East and that making concessions to them could cause a snowball effect in the region.

Bolton lambasted President Bush’s suggestion to remove North Korea from the state sponsors of terrorism list. He said North Korea directly engages in acts of terror and should not be removed from the list simply due to its unrelated nuclear status. Bolton countered Bush’s stance by saying North Korea has not halted its uranium enrichment program and that the Bush administration is going out of its way to cast doubt on its existence.

Bolton also expressed frustration towards US-Iranian diplomacy, saying the Bush administration’s policy of not engaging in talks with Iran until Iran dismantles its nuclear program is in violation. He said the possibility of the United States placing foreign affairs officers in Tehran would show Iran that the United States will concede if given time. Bolton also added his opinion that an Obama administration would allow Iran’s quest for nuclear power to continue uninhibited.

Rice: "Replace old patterns of conflict with new patterns of cooperation"

The Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice discussed the United States’ policy towards Asia at the Heritage Foundation. Rice talked about the rise of Asia and how it is reshaping the world today. She explained that the United States is actually in a stronger position in Asia now than at any other time in the past.

Rice explained that the U.S. has been able to create good relations with both Japan and South Korea, and is continuing to work to establish good relations with both China and Russia by resting on common interests. The U.S. is trying to establish mutually beneficial cooperation rather than competition and at this present time has better relations with Northeast Asia than the countries in that region have with each other. Rice also said that the Korean Peninsula is the greatest source of conflict in Northeast Asia.

In order to solve the problem in North Korea, Rice explained that using the six party policy would be best. Each of the six parties has the same goal, ensuring the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Rice also explained that the six party policy has three different phases, the third phase ending with the abandonment and dismantlement of all weapons and nuclear facilities. The parties will not just trust North Korea, they will attain verification at each step therefore making it as hard as possible for North Korea to cheat.

Rice explained that though this policy is not perfect, it is the best among all other alternatives. She said that by working together and replacing “old patterns of conflict with new patterns of cooperation,” the six parties have the best chance of success.