White House weighing N. Korean missile deal, Clinton trip

December 8, 2000
Web posted at: 11:44 PM HKT (1544 GMT)

From CNN Senior White House Correspondent John King

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Senior U.S. administration officials say they are approaching a critical point in deciding whether to pursue a missile deal with North Korea that would clear the way for President Bill Clinton to visit that country in the final days of his term.

The U.S. administration wants a deal to be largely completed in advance of any commitment from Clinton to visit; the North Koreans say only President Kim Jong Il can make the necessary decisions, and he wants to negotiate face to face with the U.S. leader.

But two senior officials said the a trip remained possible because of what they described as modestly encouraging indications that the North Koreans are prepared to negotiate a deal that would shut down their sales of missiles and missile technology and significantly curtail North Korea's own missile program.

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"We now have a consensus on what we believe it would take to get a viable, verifiable deal," said a senior official involved in the discussions. "Our next hurdle is the question of whether we think there is the time and the right environment to pursue it."

If the decision is made to push for a deal, the next formal step would be for State Department Counselor Wendy Sherman and other U.S. negotiators to travel to North Korea.

"They would then have to have more than reasonable assurances that they were ready to complete a deal if the president came," said one of the senior officials. There are no plans for such a trip, "but she is poised if it is decided to go ahead," said a State Department official involved in the discussions.

In October, Madeleine Albright opened a new chapter in U.S. relations with the isolated Stalinist nation when she made the first visit there by a U.S. secretary of state. Since then, Clinton -- who leaves office January 20 -- has expressed keen interest in becoming the first U.S. president to travel there.

It is a delicate political as well as international policy matter. Advisers to Texas Gov. George W. Bush are known to oppose a Clinton trip, but have said they would not try to influence the administration's decision-making process.

"We understand that what we do will influence who comes after us," said one of the senior Clinton administration officials. "But that cuts both ways: If it is not certain, we would not make the final push -- trip included. But if it is real and doable, we would be irresponsible not to make the final push knowing it could be a year or more before a new administration could turn its attention to this and it could fall apart in the interim."

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October 2, 2000

U.S. State Department
Korean Central News Agency (KCNA)
Korean Information Service
South Korean government
North Korea: Politics and Government
North Korea
UniKorea
European Union

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