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COPYRIGHT 2008 Voxant, Inc.
Original Source: THE SITUATION ROOM
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Jack, thanks.
To our viewers, you're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
Happening now, North Korea hands over details of its nuclear program and President Bush responds by lifting some U.S. sanctions. But the hard part of the deal may still lie ahead.
Also, for the first time in history, the U.S. Supreme Court defines the right to bear arms in a ruling that could mean more guns in your city.
And Arnold Schwarzenegger throws a fellow Republican governor under the bus, sort of, in a major GOP embarrassment.
I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
We're following a major movement today in long-running efforts aimed at trying to dismantle North Korea's nuclear program. Just a short time ago in Beijing, Pyongyang handing over a long-awaited accounting of its nuclear activities. President Bush is calling it -- and I'm quoting now -- "the beginning of the process." He now says he'll remove North Korea from the list of states that sponsor terrorism and call for the lifting of some sanctions.
Our chief international correspondent, Christiane Amanpour, is covering all these dramatic events. She will be in North Korea tomorrow, where she'll witness another major step scheduled to take place.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm reporting to you from North Korean television, here inside the studio, with a backdrop -- a painted backdrop of Pyongyang behind me. There this is a very rare occurrence and we are invited, amongst a small group of journalists from the six parties who are party to these negotiations that are aimed at disarming North Korea.
On Friday afternoon North Korea time, a Yongbyon nuclear plant, North Koreans are going to implode -- collapse their cooling tower -- the distinctive tower that is an important feature of the nuclear reactor.
Experts are saying that this, coupled with the systematic disabling of the Yongbyon nuclear plant ever since last summer, is a giant step forward in ending all the activities at Yongbyon.
Yongbyon, don't forget, is where North Korea, over the years, has been extracting plutonium and has been able to make several nuclear devices with that plutonium.
I'm Christiane Amanpour, CNN, in Pyongyang, North Korea.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: U.S. officials say they remain wary about whether North Korea is serious about ending its nuclear activities.
Let's go to our state correspondent, Zain Verjee.
She's following all of this for us -- Zain, what are you learning about what is included in this deal as opposed to lots of stuff not included?
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, just getting the document is a breakthrough. But there is a lot we don't know.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Today, we have taken an important step in the right direction.
VERJEE (voice-over): That step, a 60-page declaration North Korea handed over confessing some of its nuclear sins from 1986. Senior State Department officials tell CNN North Korea admits to having roughly 40 kilograms of plutonium. U.S. officials say that's enough to make at least seven nuclear bombs. They've already tested one. The U.S. believes North Korea could have up to 50 kilograms of plutonium.
North Korea has also agreed to tough inspections so the U.S. can double check its claims.
A win for Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her top North Korea diplomat, Christopher Hill.
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: Having direct talks between the United States and these very difficult countries does and can produce results. One has to be a tough negotiator.
VERJEE: But there's a lot missing from the declaration -- no details about how many weapons or where they're hidden. Nothing on its suspected uranium enrichment program and no information on what nuclear secrets North Korea may have shared with Syria or others.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've got to be very careful and to ensure that this is not insufficient. Because if it is, what we're looking at is a continuation of this process that will take many, many more years to come to conclusion.
VERJEE: The next step, North Korea must hand over its weapons. In an op-ed, Secretary Rice admits North Korea may end up cheating and keeping them.
Then what?
"It's simple," Rice says. "We will reimpose any applicable sanctions we have waived, plus add new ones."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VERJEE: Diplomats are going to meet on Monday in China to work out how to verify North Korea's claims -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Zain, thank you.
North Korea is still being punished by the United States and the United Nations for nuclear proliferation, its nuclear test of October 2006 and many human rights violations. The remaining sanctions include no economic assistance except for humanitarian aid, a ban on all weapons sales and luxury goods, and a ban on all imports from North Korea.
President Bush says he's under, in his words, no illusions about North Korea. But some critics say he's not being tough enough with Pyongyang.
Joining us now, the former White House homeland security adviser and the relatively new CNN national security contributor, Fran Townsend.
Frances, thanks very much for coming in.
FRANCES FRAGOS TOWNSEND, FORMER BUSH HOMELAND SECURITY ADVISER: Good to be here.
BLITZER: One of those critics, President Bush's former United Nations ambassador, John Bolton, who tells the Associated Press, "It's shameful. This represents the final collapse of Bush's foreign policy."
And that's from a conservative Republican.
TOWNSEND: You know, Wolf, I think John Bolton's reaction is not surprising. But let's be honest, the North Koreans didn't get very much today. They were taking -- the president announced in 45 days they'll take them off the state sponsor list. Well, there's no evidence they've committed an act of terrorism since 1987.
We've removed the trade...
BLITZER: That's when they blew up a South Korean jetliner.
TOWNSEND: That's exactly -- a passenger liner. That's right.
BLITZER: Yes.
TOWNSEND: Then, well, there's also the Trading with the Enemy Act. They removed three of the sanctions related to that. Two of them, the president reimposed -- two additional ones -- by executive order that he signed today.
And so the reaction of the United States government has been very modest to what North Korea has done so far.
BLITZER: A lot of people will agree that diplomacy in this case, diplomacy with Libya in dismantling its nuclear weapons program, apparently have worked and worked pretty well.
So the question is: Why not engage in this kind of direct dialogue with Iran and try to get them to do the same thing?
TOWNSEND: Well, you know, as Steve Hadley acknowledged in his briefing, that is what we're trying to do through the E.U.-3 plus (INAUDIBLE).
BLITZER: But why not directly, the United States and Iran?
TOWNSEND: Well, because the circumstances are a little different. As you know, Iran is the largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world. They are giving money in support to Hezbollah and Hamas. We know that Iran is transferring weapons into Iraq. They're being used against Iraqi and coalition forces.
And so, for a lot of reasons, it's a different circumstance. We are trying multilateral negotiations. But you can -- there are good reasons why we don't talk to them directly, given their current ongoing terrorism activities.
BLITZER: Fran Townsend, thanks for coming in.
TOWNSEND: You're welcome.
BLITZER:...
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